Kosher Sausage Casings

[dmel]

Rather than replying to an old thread on this, I figured I'd start a new one...

I am looking to purchase kosher sausage casings to try out my new meat grinder and sausage stuffer. The old threads I found all pointed to Devro in Australia as the only manufacturer of natural casings. My contact form submission on their website went unanswered, so I called the USA office in South Carolina and was told that they no longer produce kosher (or vegetarian) casings, and have sold out of their existing stock. They gave me the number of a distributor who may have stock left. I haven't heard back yet.

I'm on Long Island, so I figured I'd check local places that make their own sausages (as suggested in other threads). Le Merais in NYC will sell me one "pack"(?) for $14... they say it is enough for about 5lbs of raw meat. I don't know if it is natural or collagen. I'm waiting for a call back from the manager at Gourmet Glatt in Cedarhurst.

[Moishefrompardes]

ad rosenblatt has.

[meek7]

Hey,

If you are looking for collagen casings there is a company called viscofan/ Naturin who has now done a kosher production of skins. These are from both glatt and non- glatt animals, unlike the devro skins. There is also a japanese company called Nippi that sells collagen casings from non kosher animals, with hashgacha based on a kula. In the UK it is not accepted. Try and see who is doing distribution for Naturin.

[thelonecabbage]

you can buy the viscofan 23mm casings here: http://www.sausagemaker.com/27801vege...

I asked for the heksher and he provided me with one

[ganeden]

These are not edible casings, except maybe the cellulose one. The plastic casings are for skinless hot dogs, the fiber ones are for salami. The cellulose may be for sausages and be edible, but something about eating paper doesn't really sit well with me. I'm glad I still have 2/3 box of Devro collagen casings. And it's too precious to give away, except to Jeff's, who gave me a couple of sticks of them when I was first getting started.

[thelonecabbage]

"#27801 23mm (15/16") Vegetarian Collagen Casing "

They are edible collagen, they are made by another company Viscofan, I've seen their products here in Israel (already stuffed sadly)

I've ordered 2 boxes, I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

[ganeden]

It may well be, but they are not listed on the OU letter. Just plastic, fibrous and cellulose. Unless what they are calling "Vegetarian collagen" is actually the cellulose one. But cellulose is not protein, which is what collagen is. Cellulose is paper. Cellulose may be treated to produce cellophane and other bioplastics, but in the end, they do not have the properties of collagen. So I'm thinking that it is something different than that shown on the OU letter.

[zsero]

WARNING. WARNING. WARNING.

If the manufacturer told you that this casing is certified the OU, and gave you this letter as proof, that claim is FRAUDULENT. The OU only certifies the casings listed in the letter and no others. The one that you linked to is certified by a European rabbi that the OU does NOT ACCEPT.

If you are relying on the OU then DO NOT BUY this casing. If you still want to buy it you need to contact the manufacturer again and demand to know the name of the actual hechsher, and then research it to determine whether you feel safe trusting it or not. If you decide that the name they give you is reliable enough, then I would advise contacting that person and confirming that you haven't been lied to again, and he does indeed certify this particular casing. The manufacturer's word can certainly not be trusted, if he's already tried to deceive you once.

[meek7]

The viscofan COLLAGEN casings that are marked with the hechsher, are supervised under Dayan YY Lichtenstein of the Federation of Synagogues in London. The hides used for the production were only of kosher animals. I assume that the skins being sold in the US are not from this batch, as it was only done very recently.

this is the Federation website
www.kfkosher.org

[thelonecabbage]

I ordered 2 boxes, so I'll let you know when I get them. On the part of the seller, it may just be an honest confusion. We'll see.

[zsero]

How does vegetarian collagen come from hides?! And I'd be surprised if the OU doesn't accept the Federation's hechsher.

[meek7]

I have the certification, but its not letting me post it, saying "Please enter something before responding." any suggestions?

[thelonecabbage]

can you post it to something like flicker and link it from here?

[meek7]

I dont have an account. If you want I can email it to you dirctly

[thelonecabbage]

I'd rather not put my email up on a public board, and It would be good if other people googling for this can find it.

[zsero]

Just put some text in your comment as well as the photo.

[meek7]

Here it is - http://www.flickr.com/photos/72161700...

[ganeden]

It says kosher l'Pesach l'ochlei kitniyus. Implying that it is indeed not animal based (hides or other proteinaceous material), but also that most would be unable to use them for Pesach (which is not among the description of things you wanted to accomplish anyway).

[psycomp]

The only distributor for the Devro Casings was Jerry Hirschman, formerly of Synergy Delivery Systems in Somerset, NJ. He is offering boxes of casings for $200 + $25 s&h

BUT....

When asked about the production date of the boxes, he responded "please cancel your order". Not a very professional response.

Any butcher shop that has them (which is getting more unlikely) will probably be holding onto them. Park East Kosher in NYC no longer has them. Jeff's Kosher Sausage Factory in Los Angeles doesn't have them. I'll bide my time until someone starts producing natural casings to satisfy the "Kosher Foodie" market.

[KosherChef]

Rabbi Elkin, of YU, has started a meat company in Hackensack NJ where he is doing the Shechita himself and is also "treiboring" the back half of the animal. He does NOT have a national hasgacha, however i checked with my local rabbi (orthodox) and he has deemed it acceptable.
He might be a good source for casings.

Check out his website www.bisrakosher.com

I will be purchasing some goat as soon as I talk my wife into trying it!

[zsero]

Try Glatt Mart in Brooklyn

[dmel]

Will do.

Gourmet Glatt called back and said they coudn't sell me any, as their supply was running low (they used the now no longer available Devro casings).

[The Cameraman]

Kosher West in Lakewood, NJ makes their own sausage, why don't you give them a call. [phone]