CHAPTER XVII.CASINGS.
Description of Beef Casings — Round Casings, How Made — Selection of Round Casings — Export Casings — Domestic Rounds — Beef Middles — Turning and Sliming — Inspection and Measuring — Beef Bungs — Bung Gut Skins — Beef Bladders — Beef Weasands — Packages — Salt — Cleanliness — Water Temperature — Machines for Casings — Hog Casings — Small Casings.
Description of Beef Casings — Round Casings, How Made — Selection of Round Casings — Export Casings — Domestic Rounds — Beef Middles — Turning and Sliming — Inspection and Measuring — Beef Bungs — Bung Gut Skins — Beef Bladders — Beef Weasands — Packages — Salt — Cleanliness — Water Temperature — Machines for Casings — Hog Casings — Small Casings.
—Casing is a product made from the intestines of cattle, sheep and hogs. They are saved when animals are slaughtered in quantities sufficiently large to warrant the care and attention required. This was one of the products which was wasted where animals were slaughtered on a small scale. It is a product worthy of careful attention to its production in order that it be in a good, marketable condition.
Casings consist of round or small guts, middle or large intestines, bungs, weasands and bladders, these being the names of casings obtained from cattle. In the preparation of casings there are five essential points to be considered:
—Clear water and plenty of it.
—That they be handled promptly, otherwise they become discolored and color in casings has much to do with their value.
—That too hot water is not used so as to injure them.
—That the pieces are long and the casings are put up free from tearing or holes.
—Cleanliness and good workmanship.
—These are the small intestines and are taken from the edge of the ruffle by cutting with a knife. The running,as this work is termed, is skillful work and care has to be exercised to avoid cutting. They should if possible be removed in two lengths. They are then stripped free from contents, and the clinging fat removed either by hand scraping or passing through a machine. It is essential thatallthe fat from the casing should be removed, as it is detrimental if left on. After they have been “fatted” they are put into a vat of water and “turned,” which process turns them wrong side out, exposing the internal part of the intestine. They are then put through a scraping-machine, which removes all the membrane. This operation is sometimes done by hand. When this work is completed it is only the muscular portion of the intestine that remains. After they are thus finished they are inspected either by examination in passing through the fingers or by air blowing, preferably the latter. The casings are measured into sets of 108 to 110 feet, green length. A standard set of rounds is supposed to measure 100 feet, but the larger measure is allowed as in the salting and curing they shrink so that when measured, cured, they will not exceed 100 feet. A set of rounds should not have to exceed five holes, or consist of more than five pieces, the less the number of either holes or pieces the more desirable.
After they are thus measured they are put in a salting box, where they are shaken up by hand so as to make all the salt possible adhere to them. They are then piled on an open truck or rack, so that all the water possible will drain off. Remaining in this condition for a day they are resalted and packed into tierces. It is necessary, in order to get the quantity of casings in a tierce to use pressure and press them tightly.
—Round casings are classified under several headings, namely, export, wide, narrow and domestic.
—The export rounds are reasonably narrow and absolutely free of knots. The knots referred to are those on the intestines chiefly found in the entrails of native cattle, or cattle that have been highly fed, and are objectionable to the foreign trade. They are packed 200 sets per tierce.
FIG. 77.—FATTING MACHINE FOR CASINGS.
FIG. 77.—FATTING MACHINE FOR CASINGS.
—These are for domestic trade. They are wider and heavier than those exported. They are handled in the same manner, packed from 150 to 170 sets to the tierce, the difference in the number of the sets indicating that they are wider casings and not as carefully selected.
—After the ruffle has been pulled off the intestines, the middles are pulled apart, leaving all the fat that will adhere to them. The contents are washed by inserting a hose at the larger end, partially filling the casing and pouring the contents into a separate pipe leading to the catch basin. The workmen press the casing rather than strip it, as the latter method strips the fat and causes a considerable loss on account of fat carried to catch basin. The contents of the intestine washed out, the gut then goes to the fatter, who cuts off all the fat with a knife. It is very important to see that no fat is left on the casing. Any fat which may be left on the casing will detract from the appearance. It is usual after fatting, to scrape the casing with a wood scraper so as to remove any clinging tissue and fat.
—The casing is now turned, fatted side in, and when turned exposes the inner surface. This is hand or machine scraped and must be perfectly clean, inspection being made to ascertain this condition exists.
—It is best to inspect middle casings by air, at which time they are selected for wide and narrow standards, especially in the larger works. They are measured 62 feet to the set, allowance being made for shrinkage in salting, so that after they have been salted they will measure 57 feet, this being the standard commercial length per set. These are handled on the salting benches, etc., the same as rounds. They are selected as follows: They must be of prime quality, properly cleaned, slimed and salted, closely fatted, free from holes, good color and smell, no piece to be less than three feet in length, not more than one such piece in a set, and the thin end of the gut must be cut off. They should be assorted in accordance with requirements into—
The salting and packing process is the same as described for round casings.
—These are the larger intestines and have one blind or closed end. They have an average length of four feet, but vary with the cattle size. The opening, where the small intestine connects with the large, should be in the center. The cleaning process is similar to other casings, except the scraping is done by hand work, or using a revolving washing machine.
Bungs, handled practically the same as the previously described casings, to be of good quality, full length, properly cleaned, slimed, salted and fatted, free from holes, reasonably free from scores and cuts and of good color. The regular run of these casings should be packed 400 pieces to the tierce, tied in bundles of five each.
—From the bung gut is often removed the membrane, known as “bung gut skins.” These are used by gold beaters. They are handled as follows: The bung gut skins should be started at the cap end, being careful to remove the skin for about four to six inches from the end of the cap, then remove same around the bung end, back of the cap end first, and next take off toward the open end, after the bung is skinned back as far as possible beyond the small intestine. The skins are thin and difficult to remove; there is no difficulty experienced, however, in getting them thirty inches or over in length. After the skin is removed it is placed in ice water, and, when well chilled, is salted thoroughly in the cap and outside. The object of putting the skin in ice water is to facilitate handling.
After they are thoroughly salted they are hung over a bar covered with a piece of burlap and allowed to hang for one or two days, until they are thoroughly drained, or dried. When dry each skin is separately handled, the loose salt shaken off, and examined for holes and fat and ragged ends. Holes near the edge of the skins can be cut out without materially injuring them. All fat on the edge and ragged ends should be cut off. After the skins have passed this inspection they should be spread full length and width on a table, one over the other, gathered in bunches of fifty, tied in the centerand packed in a tierce. Care should be taken in handling the skins not to let them come in contact with any iron as that will discolor them. Many casing men object to removing the bung gut skins, believing that it injures the casing. If they are handled carefully, however, the injury will not be more than five per cent.
—Bladders should be cut with a long neck and after they have been fatted should be blown up as large as possible and hung in a dry room to dry. After they are blown and dried, the necks are cut off and they are flattened out and packed in bundles of twelve each. The first grade consists of bladders fourteen inches in length, with or without necks. The second grade consists of bladders from eleven to thirteen inches in length with the neck. The third grade consists of bladders with or without necks, not under nine inches in length.
—After the meat has been removed from the outside the weasand is turned wrong side out, washed, both ends tied, and blown full of air. After they are blown with compressed air they are hung in a dry room, which should have a temperature of 110° to 120° F., and left there until thoroughly dried. They are then taken out, the ends cut off, the weasands put in bundles of twenty-five each, twenty bundles tied together into a large bundle, five or ten of these large bundles constituting a case. Regular weasands must be of prime quality, properly dried, entirely free from worms, and at least twenty-four inches long, allowing not over four pieces of shorter (same to be at least eighteen inches long) to the bundle of twenty-five. Two of such short ones will be counted as one full weasand.
Narrow weasands are those which, while being dried, have a weight of about three pounds hung on the end, drawing them out as long as possible, which has the tendency to make them narrow. These should not be blown as full of air as those not drawn. After they are dried they must be at least twenty-six inches long and from two to two and one-half inches in width when flattened out. Other conditions same as the regular weasands, except that they must be entirely free from skin worms and skin-worm marks.
—The packages used for beef casings are usually soft wood tierces, free from any stain such as occurs in an oak stave. A second-hand glucose tierce is preferable. They should be cleaned thoroughly before filling, by scraping free from any char, and then well washed.
—The salt usually used is the “No. 1 Fine” grade of evaporated salt. In first and second saltings the casings must be carefully covered, particularly at the points where the bunch is tied.
—It is difficult to properly describe the care necessary in every stage to insure clean casings. Water from inland or murky rivers should be settled of filtered to make clean, bright casings. Every particle of fat or fibre to which any sediment or stain can adhere makes a black spot upon the finished salted casings. There is perhaps no department where such scrupulous care is needed.
—Water used in cleaning casings should be about 90° F., in temperature, and kept uniformly so, until the casing has been turned and slimed, when it should be submerged and kept in cool water at a temperature of about 40° F., until passed to the salting boxes.
—Beef casing machines equipped with rice-root brushes are termed “fatting machines,” while those fitted with bristle brushes are termed “sliming machines.”
To process middle guts by machine, they are passed twice through a fatting machine, turned and passed three times through the sliming machine.
To process round guts they are passed through the fatting and sliming machines twice. To obtain the best results the brushes should run 1550 r. p. m. About three horse-power is required to operate a machine. Salt in the sliming water is an advantage.
—It is more difficult to describe the saving of hog casings. The first item is the removing of the bung which should be pulled carefully, and be as long as possible. The removal of the bung without scoring, breaking or cutting is a part of the slaughtering work and requires skillfulknife work to accomplish it properly. As soon as the bung gut is pulled it is stripped and trimmed carefully so as to not destroy the crown. The clinging fat is removed and the bung is then turned, after which they are classified and salted over night in a pickle for the purpose of curing. The following day they are bundled and packed in second-hand hardwood tierces. The grading is difficult to describe since the standards vary slightly. They are usually classified as No. 1, medium primes, and No. 2 quality.
The grading of hog bungs for export and medium primes require that they shall be full crown, free from cuts and scores, pulled full length, and when wind tested and blown to about the distention when stuffed, are measured eighteen inches from the crown:
—The small casings are pulled from the set stripped and soaked over night to allow a fermentation or decay of the slime and muscle on the tissue. The length of time for the soaking and the fermentation are controlled by the workman. Soaking too long or too much heat rots the casing. Too little makes it difficult to properly clean. Water test each gut. This is an advantage since it washes each piece and locates all holes. At the same time the casings are selected for width. After selecting and cleaning in this manner the casings are put in bundles of equal size measured as to quantity. They are then well salted and placed upon draining benches to cure. After a period of from three to five days they are shaken free from salt, rubbed with new finely ground salt and packed in hardwood barrels. These barrels should be cloth lined after soaking several days, the water being changed every forty-eight hours.
The salting process is the trick in the casing business. Casings are usually sold on a free of salt basis, and are supposed to contain forty per cent salt, this quantity being allowed. On shaking, at times, they will show sixty per cent, therefore it behooves the buyer or seller to be on guard.
Machines are used for passing the casing through for removal of muscle and slime. In these, rapidly revolvingknives or scrapers fitting closely to a roller, perform the process. The casings after passing through the machines are handled by hand, each piece being scraped while on a board and any holes that may appear being cut out, as well as ragged ends cut square.
The average yield in hog casings is usually one-quarter pound per hog. It takes close attention to develop this quantity.