Boudin casings

Hello, I usually hang out in the wine forum, because I never scrolled down far enought to see this section. I love making boudin. I use natural hog casings and they end up splitting before they are done cooking. Did I soak them too long, @ 15 minutes in warm water? Is there a better casing to use so that they won't split? The best boudin I have had was at Coop's Place, in New Orleans, before Katrina. I want to say that they boiled them and grilled them. Theirs did not split and the casing was crisp and not greasy, but, for lack of a better word, dewey? Anyone have any suggestions? Stupid question-can you use chitterlings? I just don't want to keep making this beautiful boudin and end up having to make boudin balls or pattys because the casings keep splitting. Thanks a bunch. Oh, if I wanted to smoke it, what casings would be the best for that? Thanks again...I am off to the wine forum! -Annie

Maybe the problem is that you are overstuffing them? Or, do you mean you want bigger casings?

Hmmm, I never thought that I was overstuffing them. You might be on to something. I use the sausage attachment on my kitchen aide and sometimes it is a little awkward. Thank you.

Did you use the little bit of vinegar in the water you soaked them in? If you stuffed them too much they'll split. Although if I stuff sausage that much, they usually split when not cooked. Did you put tiny holes in the casing before cooking them to let the extra juices out?

MzAnnie said:

Did I soak them too long, @ 15 minutes in warm water?

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I've always soaked casings for at least 12 hours.

They are overstuffed. Don't stuff them so full

delta said:

I've always soaked casings for at least 12 hours.

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I think I go with a 30-60 minute soak in water treated with vinegar. The vinegar makes them much more pliable. I also rinse them out really well first (of the salt). I'd have to check the recipe book (yeah, I have a sausage recipe book) to see which I follow. I need to look up something to use some ground chuck in. I have some other beef in the freezer that I could grind up too. Just need to get some extra fat to toss in to make them not too dry.

I soak hog casings overnight in vinegar. First, I run cider vinegar through them (not easy, but you'll figure it out). The acidic vinegar makes them more pliable.

Before you cook them, use a toothpick to poke holes along the length of each one of them. There is a lot of juice in boudin and that will cause the sausage to expand a lot. The holes let the juices boil and leave the sausage without it exploding.

Here's a video of my son a friend stuffing boudin blanc into hog casings. Seems like I just posted this link a week ago.

passedpawn said:

Here's a video of my son a friend stuffing boudin blanc into hog casings. Seems like I just posted this link a week ago.

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I seem to recall you posting it recently too.

IME, running cider vinegar seems like extreme over-kill. I've had great results with even just a 30-60 minute soak in the vinegar treated water (1 tablespoon per cup of water). I don't think your 12 hour soak does anything after the initial ~60 minutes. It would be interesting to do a side-by-side test with both time frames though.

Golddiggie said:

I seem to recall you posting it recently too.

IME, running cider vinegar seems like extreme over-kill. I've had great results with even just a 30-60 minute soak in the vinegar treated water (1 tablespoon per cup of water). I don't think your 12 hour soak does anything after the initial ~60 minutes. It would be interesting to do a side-by-side test with both time frames though.

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Yea, you might be right. No idea. But it keeps working, so I'm reluctant to change it.

passedpawn said:

Yea, you might be right. No idea. But it keeps working, so I'm reluctant to change it.

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Come on, be brave... Next batch, do up half the casings the shorter method and see what happens. Or even enough to just make a half dozen links. You could shave a full 12 hours off your prep time that way.

Golddiggie said:

Come on, be brave... Next batch, do up half the casings the shorter method and see what happens. Or even enough to just make a half dozen links. You could shave a full 12 hours off your prep time that way.

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It's no extra time. Calendar, yes, labor, no. Next batch should be italian. Or hot dogs if I get ambitious, but I don't have the casings for those I don't think.

I just soak my casings in warm water, for maybe an hour or so, then I re-rinse and run warm water through them before stuffing. I don't treat the soak water with vinegar, although I do use a bit of vinegar blended into the stuffing sometimes, along with the water.


This past Sunday I did a batch that was half Italian, and half chorizo. The chorizo came out amazingly tasty. I might have to write down what I did for that one. The Italian sausages are very good, too, but nothing that completely blows me away. However, I have come up with a few ideas to improve the recipe for my next batch.

weirdboy said:

I just soak my casings in warm water, for maybe an hour or so, then I re-rinse and run warm water through them before stuffing. I don't treat the soak water with vinegar, although I do use a bit of vinegar blended into the stuffing sometimes, along with the water.


This past Sunday I did a batch that was half Italian, and half chorizo. The chorizo came out amazingly tasty. I might have to write down what I did for that one. The Italian sausages are very good, too, but nothing that completely blows me away. However, I have come up with a few ideas to improve the recipe for my next batch.

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I'd love to see your chorizo recipe. Been considering that for a while. Maybe open a new thread in here.

Thank you all, I am going to use the pin prick method, next week when we have boudin for dinner. If that works then I will be making more. Just reading aout Chorizo, is making my mouth water. I like the course ground, so I never put it in casings. I use it instead of hamburger in everything but hamburgers. I love that stuff!!! Maybe I'll try putting it in casings and smoke it the next time I make pemmican. Mmmm, I am so hungry, now!