One-piece shirred casing

A casing article for encasing a single stuffable sausage, said article comprising:

• a one-piece length of casing for encasing a single sausage, the casing being shirred, said casing having a closed end and an open end;
• container means for holding the one-piece shirred length of casing and for preventing de-shirring of the casing prior to stuffing, with the closed end of the casing being arranged so that it can extend form the container means during stuffing;
• and
• said article being of compact size capable of being held by an operator of a sausage stuffing machine and easily manipulated by hand to place the open end of the casing onto a stuffing horn without requiring hand shirring of the casing, with the casing being pushed from the container as meat emulsion is forced through the stuffing horn into the closed end of the casing, the open end of the casing being thereafter closed to form a single sausage product.

A casing article for encasing a single pepperoni sausage product, said casing article comprising:

• a one-piece shirred length of fibrous casing having a length of less than about 70 inches prior to shirring, said casing having an outer diameter of less than about 85 millimeters, and the casing further having a tied end and an open end;
• a rear disk abutting folds of the shirred casing towards a rearward end thereof, the rear disk having an outer diameter greater than the outer diameter of the shirred casing;
• a forward disk abutting folds of the shirred casing towards a forward end thereof, said forward disk having an outer diameter greater than the outer diamter of the shirred casing, with the tied end of the casing being arranged so that it passes inwardly through the forward disk during stuffing;
• a sleeve of radially stretchable material stretched over the disks and forming a container for the shirred casing having a length less than about 6 inches;
• the sleeve, prior to being stretched over the disk, being a tubular film with an outer diameter less than the outer diameter of the disks;
• and
• the sleeve being connected to the disks with sufficient force so that the container prevents de-shirring of the casing prior to stuffing, with the casing article being of compact size to enable an operator of a stuffing machine to easily slip the open end of the casing article on to a stuffing horn without requiring hand shirring of the casing, and whereby the container remains on the stuffing horn during and after stuffing of the casing wherein meat emulsion is forced through the stuffing horn against the closed end of the casing causing the casing to be pushed from the container and filled with the meat emulsion, the open end of the casing being thereafter closed to form a single pepperoni sausage.