`Casings are not necessary for home sausage making,`` write Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly in ``Hot Links and Country Flavors.``
They point out that a sausage mixture can be merely formed into patties and fried. The mixture also can be formed into sausage shapes and rolled in a covering of cheesecloth, plastic wrap or even aluminum-foil. The ends are twisted and tied with string and the sausage is then poached until firm. The sausage will not be as perfectly formed as one in casing, but it will taste just fine. Remember to remove these wrappers before grilling or frying the sausages.
Sausage casings made from cleaned hog, lamb or beef intestines, can be purchased from custom butchers, some supermarkets or by mail order. They usually come in large quantity, packed in salt, but the unused portion will last for years if refrigerated.
Aidells and Kelly recommend medium hog casings, 1 1/4 inches in diameter, the size of the standard Italian sausage. Allowing 2 feet of these casings for each pound of sausage mixture, they soak the casing in warm water until soft and pliable, 1 to 2 hours, running warm water through it to wash out the salt. The casing is fitted over a piece of special equipment-a sausage-stuffing horn-that is fitted onto a hand-grinder or onto a grinding attachment to an electric mixer or food processor. The casing is gently pushed onto the horn until only 3 or 4 inches are left dangling. The grinder is then filled and, as the mixture begins to enter the casing, the end is tied into a knot. As the casing fills, a skewer or hat pin is used to prick any air bubbles that appear.
They recommend controlling the rate and tightness of the filling by using your thumb against the tip of the horn. The casings should be packed firmly, but not too full as they will burst during linking or cooking. Stop with 3 to 4 inches of casing left.
Links, they advise, should be 5 to 8 inches in length. Place the knotted end on your right, measure the desired length and pinch the casing between the right thumb and forefinger. Repeat to form a second link. Hold the second link in both hands, twirl it clockwise until it twists the casing at both ends and seals both links. There should be 1/4 to 1/2 inch of twisted casing between each link. Repeat until the end is reached, then knot the end to seal the last link.
Finally, cut through the twisted casing between each link to create individual sausages. Seal the ends with string. Refrigerate until ready to cook.