Sausage Casings

These are generally lengths of intestine from various animals. The small intestines of sheep provide the narrowest, and also some wider ones. Pig casings are wider. Wider still are ox ‘runners’ (small intestines), and the widest of all are ox ‘bungs’ (large intestines), which may be over 10 cm (4") wide and are used for mortadella and the largest salami. The stomachs of sheep and pigs provide round casings for haggis and hog puddings, and for their equivalents in other countries. In the past bladders and even wombs have been used. The caul or mesentery of a calf is a sheet of fatty tissue from around the intestines. With the fat left on, it can be used as a filling for andouilles, or it can be scraped to make a convenient flat sheet of casing which can be made into parcels around a faggot or other items. Weasand (oesophagus or gullet) was used for polony (dyed red outside).