There are 4 most common types of casings:
- Natural casings;
- Artificial collagen casings;
- Artificial cellulose casings;
- Artificial plastic casings.
Among the natural casings, we have:
- Pork tripe;
- Cattle tripe;
- Sheep tripe (mutton).
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Natural casings
Natural casings are extracted from the intestines of animals, and are basically composed of collagen, but do not confuse them with synthetic collagen casings, which are processed using collagen from cattle skin. The external fat and internal mucosa of natural casings are removed during production.
Natural casings have been used for centuries and have remained unchanged since then, they are completely edible and very well digested by the human body. Their processing basically involves the use of salt and water, which is why they can be used in organic products, as there are no chemical additives in the process.
Advantages of natural casings
Natural casings have much more efficient internal “breathing”, allowing smoking and cooking processes to insert much more flavor into the sausage. The final appearance of the product is also better, as the natural casing is softer and provides a more visually pleasing curvature at the ends of the sausages. In addition to providing a unique texture when biting.
Natural casings are the most accepted by consumers, as they have a more pleasant texture and appearance for most fresh sausages, such as sausages. Smoked products are much better with natural casings, but consumers are already accustomed to purchasing products with artificial casings, such as salami, Calabrian sausage, ham, mortadella, etc. In many cases, the product already comes without the casing, such as low-quality industrial sausages, which have their cellulose casing removed before final distribution packaging. Good quality sausages, such as Frankfurters, are generally produced and sold with sheep casings, as they are thinner than the pork casings used in fresh sausages.
Artificial/synthetic casings
Collagen
Collagen casings are generally produced with the collagen present in the skin, bone and tendons of cattle or pigs. They have been produced for over 50 years and their market share has been growing. It has higher productivity, better weight control and thickness than natural casing, which is why it is more profitable for the industry.
The softness of collagen casing has improved over the years, but the bite texture is still far from that provided by natural casing. They are generally edible, but some are very thick and are often removed by consumers, as is the case with some salamis.
Cellulose
Cellulose casings are generally produced with cotton fiber and/or processed wood pulp and transformed into casings for the manufacture, mainly of sausages and hams for snacks. The cellulose casing is removed from the product after cooking, resulting in the skinless sausages sold by most major manufacturers. Ham, turkey breast and other similar smoked meats are produced in almost the same way, but with a thicker cellulose casing. This type of casing can also be permeable to smoke and vapor. They can also undergo a treatment prior to filling to give them a smoked aroma and dyeing.
Plastic
Plastic casings do not migrate the smoking aroma and do not eliminate water from the internal product, which is why they cannot be used in matured or smoked products. Its use is not recommended as there is controversy regarding possible contaminants present in plastic, especially when subjected to slightly higher temperatures during the cooking of products. Despite this, it is still common to find this type of casing on low-quality chicken hams or mortadella.
| Attribute | Natural TRIPA | Collagen | Synthetic/Cellulose |
|---|---|---|---|
| cost | High | Low | Low |
| Need to keep refrigerated | Yes | Yes | No |
| Softness | Softer | Rigid | It is not edible |
| Breakage during processing | Greater chance | Unlikely | Nonexistent |
| Advance preparation | Yes | No | No |
| Requires rinsing and water bath | Yes | No | Sometimes |
| Smoke penetration | High | Low | None |
| Performance | Smaller | Average | Bigger |
| Final product uniformity | Low | High | Totally uniform |
| Edible/digestion | Yes good | Yes / Low | It is not edible |
| Visual appeal of the final product | Bigger | Low | None |
Sheep Casings
Caliber / Suggested Products
16-18mm / Frankfurters, hotdog, Beer Stix
18-20mm / Fresh sausage, hotdog, Frankfurters
20-22mm / Fresh sausage, hotdog, Frankfurters
22-24mm / Fresh sausage, hotdog, Frankfurters
24-26mm / Fresh sausage,Frankfurters, Bockwurst
26-28mm / Fresh sausage,Frankfurters, Bockwurst
28mm+ / Fresh sausage, Frankfurters, Landjaeger
Pork Casings
Caliber / Suggested Products
30mm- / Pork Sausage
30-32mm / Frankfurters, Italian Sausage
32-35mm / Pork Sausage, Bratwurst, Frankfurters, Italian Sausage
35-38mm / Smoked Sausage, Pepperoni, Pepperoni, Bratwurst, Italian Sausage
38-42mm / Smoked Sausage, Pepperoni, White Sausage, Pepperoni, Rope Sausage
42-44mm / Smoked Sausage, White Sausage, Pepperoni, Salami
44 mm+ / Salami, Pepperoni, Special Items
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Fabric casing with peppers for salamiR$ 29,00 -
Tubing pork casingR$ 39,00 -
80 cup collagen casing and stapled salamiR$ 45,00 -
Collagen film 1m x 57cmR$ 21,00 -
Collagen film 3m x 29cmR$ 35,00
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Transparent polyamide 6 plastic casingR$ 12,00 -
Red polyamide 6 plastic casingR$ 12,00 -
24mm cellulose casingR$ 21,00 -
Lamb tripe 22/24R$ 75,00 -
Transparent polyamide 9 plastic casingR$ 19,00 -
Red polyamide 9 plastic casingR$ 19,00 -
Transparent polyamide 15 plastic casingR$ 25,00
English 
Português do Brasil
Good afternoon friend, I would like some help from you
I make sausages here on my property to help with my household, our income comes from it, I make thin pork sausages using 30% of bacon, I wash the collagen casing minutes before and leave it hanging to dry, I use it while it is still wet, and then I pre-smoke the sausage, when I make it I let it rest for 12 hours before filling the casing, and even then there are a lot of people complaining that the sausage is bursting when frying, can you help me please??
Hi Guilherme. Collagen casing is a little stiffer and more prone to bursting than natural casing, which has more elasticity. But the natural one will also burst if the sausage is baked/fried/grilled at a very high temperature or with a direct flame. It is necessary to instruct people to use medium heat and no flame on the sausage. Too much heat evaporates too much water quickly inside the sausage, creating pressure and bursting the casing. Direct flame damages and weakens the casing.
goodnight,
I intend to purchase a grinder/filler to make pepperoni using 45mm collagen casing. On the market I am only finding equipment with a 20mm funnel. Is it possible to use it for filling 45mm?,,,thanks
Good afternoon, where can I buy pork tripe in Rio de Janeiro????
because I need them urgently for an event and the internet is taking a long time, when it arrives…thank you.
Hi José, unfortunately I don't know a supplier in RJ, maybe you can find one in a municipal market, in butchers (meat shops).
From what I understand, the collagen casing adheres to the piece and conforms to it as it shrinks, correct? Does cellulose have the same characteristics?
Lucas, cellulose casing has adhesion but does not have porosity like collagen casing. For it to “breathe” you will need to make holes. The collagen casing for salami is designed with porosity for correct drying. The cellulose one is not designed for this purpose, but it can even work if you make the holes.
Hi, I have a question. Do you have to store beef casings in the fridge or they could be left out?
When preserved in salt, it can be kept out of the refrigerator, but the ideal is to store it in a tightly closed refrigerator, without light and with as little air as possible. This way, well packaged and refrigerated, it will maintain its characteristics for much longer and the fat present at the bottom will take much longer to oxidize (become rancid).
Hello, I'm getting ready to make fine caliber sausage for my own consumption. So I have two questions for now.
What casing size and which casing is better, sheep or pork? Thank you very, very much.
Sandra
Hi Sandra, sheep intestine is the thinnest and most tender there is, it has the best bite. Pork intestine is also soft, but a little less than sheep intestine and has a larger caliber. If you want to make a thicker sausage, use pork. Another option is cellulose casing, which is not edible. Cellulose casing is the most used casing in supermarket sausages. In this case, the casing is removed after cooking the sausage.
I would like to know how many meters approx the jar of beef tripe contains and shipping CEP79905424 thank you, I'll be waiting
I have a question, can collagen tripe be roasted on the barbecue?
my barbecue sausage is falling apart. I suspect it's because of the casing because I've been kneading the dough for about 20 minutes.
Can someone help me?
20 minutes is a lot, beat for 2 or 3 minutes. Are you grinding the meat or cutting it with a knife? What is the composition?
If you wrap the salami in PVC film (which doesn't let the product "breathe"), won't it develop that unwanted green mold?
Leave it well refrigerated and, if mold appears, remove it with a cloth dampened in water, salt and vinegar. The ideal is to do this by vacuum packaging, but wrapped in PVC also works. The intention is for the moisture in the center to migrate to the outside and balance the texture of the piece.
Thank you very much, Eduardo.
Another issue is that the salami dried very quickly. The texture of the interior was great. But the outside was a little hard.
I don't have a maturation chamber, nor can I invest in one right now.
For the next productions, as I only do it for my own consumption, I thought about embedding it in two beef casings. I imagined that this would make the salami dry more slowly, avoiding this hardening.
What do you think?
Hi Renan, the hard exterior is exactly that, it dried very quickly because of the refrigerator and created a rigid layer on the outside. You can wrap it in PVC film, two or three turns, and leave it in the fridge for a week, it tends to balance the piece. Next time you can bag it twice in beef intestine or once in beef intestine and a few more turns with dry intestine or collagen film. I believe it will control moisture loss better.
Good afternoon!
Following the basic recipe on the website, I managed to produce a good 100% pork salami.
To embed, I used beef intestine.
However, it was very difficult to remove the casing when consuming the product.
Is there any trick to make this gut removal process easier?
Natural casings have good adhesion and hold well on the meat, creating this problem when removing from the salami. If you want to remove all the casing at once, you can moisten the outside by spraying water or wiping with a damp cloth, this softens the casing and helps with removal. A big hug!
What is the shelf life of natural pork and beef casing after it has been desalted and stored under refrigeration.
Hi Leonardo! Did you manage to get any information about these cellulosic casings? I also want to know if anyone sells them here in Brazil, but I didn't find anything on the internet. Only on foreign websites.
Hello, I would like to receive all information related to charcuterie and not just on any specific subject. Thanks!!!
I loved all the information.
However, I would like to know if there is any exclusivity in this world of charcuterie, in any type of genuinely Brazilian product?
Ahh and what is the cost of shipping products to CEP 55.042-280?
Shipping to PE is 46.50.
Good evening, I would like to know the size of the pork casing for sausage, like the thickness of a broomstick, thank you
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW MUCH SHIPPING COSTS TO COROATÁ-MA
Which tripe do you want to buy?
Goodnight !!!! All good ?
In the case of pork tripe, what is its shelf life? Can I store it in the refrigerator?
Hug
The pork intestine that comes in salt can be stored in the refrigerator and has an indefinite shelf life. Lasts a long time! It won't spoil because the salt protects it, but you will need to discard it when it starts to lose elasticity and burst very easily. It will last at least two years in good condition.
Good morning,
I want to make homemade pork and chicken sausage.
I would like to know more information about natural pork and lamb intestines.
Price per kilo
Caliber
Thickness
Price and minimum quantity for delivery to RJ
I await response,
Hello, where can I buy here in São Paulo?
(I'm vegan, so I want the cellulose one)
how much?
Hi, I'm looking for plastic casings. What would be the ideal size for a product measuring 6cm in diameter +-? Thanks!
Good morning, do you sell on a large scale to Minas Gerais? please get in touch.
For those interested in these products in Portugal, Islands or Europe, I sell any quantity and diameter, from 22 to 100. Natural fresh, salted, dried and collagen casings.
calornatura@gmail.com
Afonso, do you sell cellulose or plastic casings?
Cellulose casing is really very difficult in Brazil, I've tried it with several manufacturers (mostly importers) and they're not bringing it to Brazil because there's not much of an outlet. I have some of the plastic ones, I'll check the gauges and let you know.
Angu, I sell cellulose casing, yes. I also sell plastic casings, what is the diameter, what is the purpose?
Good morning,
I want to make homemade pork and chicken sausage.
I would like to know more information about natural pork and lamb intestines.
PRICE PER KILO
CALIBER
THICKNESS
I await response,
M. Regards,
Berenice Fonte Boa
Where can I find collagen casing in Santarem-Pará?
Good morning, I would like information about suppliers of cellulose casing for sausages online. thanks.
Hello! Congratulations on the blog! Where can I find synthetic sausage casings in Porto Alegre? I want to make a natural recipe at home! Thank you very much!
Collagen or cellulose casing (if you are going to remove it) low gauge, between 18 and 22. I don't know where you will find it in POA, if you want I can send it by mail. contato@charcutaria.org
Hello thank you! Didn't know you were selling? What the value? Is it per unit or package?
In fact, for now we only help by sending to those who have difficulty finding it or can only find it in very large quantities. Do you want the collagen one? How many kilos will it fill? I can send as much or as little as you need. Describe via email more or less what and how much you will do. contato@charcutaria.org
OK! Great. I don't know the quantities yet, I'm in a bit of a rush. But as soon as possible, I will contact you by email! Thank you very much!
Good afternoon, I am producing artisanal sausages and I would like to make them in the size of the Blumenal sausage, but it will not be smoked but fresh and grilled on the grill, which would be the best indication of natural casing. pig or sheep and the size. grateful
Pork casing caliber between 24 and 30.
Good morning, could you recommend me a casing, type and caliber to make Bresaola, Pork Filetto and Lonzino. Thanks.
Beef bottom 90mm or larger or high caliber artificial collagen casing specifically for coppa and other large sausages.