Is it healthier to remove sausage casings?

[Anonymous]

Hi- My sister bought Whole Foods chicken sausage yesterday to make gnocchi, kale and sausage for dinner. She baked the sausage in the oven with a little olive oil on them, casings on, and served it sliced into the gnocchi and kale. I would have removed the casings, crumbled it and cooked it in a skillet with a little oil. Putting the taste part aside, I am curious if removing the casings would have made a difference in calories/"healthiness"?

[Anonymous]

natural sausage casing accounts for less than 2 calories per inch of sausage dont' sweat it...

[Anonymous]

You might be able to drain out fore of the fat if you cook it in crumbles, but I doubt chicken sausage has enough internal grease to make a difference.

You could “test kitchen” it by cooking side-by-side batches. See how much fat you can drain off from each. I’d be shocked if it’s enough to make a difference.

[Anonymous]

Healthier? No, I don't think so. Just an issue of texture and possibly flavor. The casing doesn't add much, but neither does removing it. Whether made from the traditional intestine or from collagen, it is using all of the animal and is no more unhealthy than the rest of the sausage. Might be healthier.

To each their own.

[Anonymous]

No. It’s completely negligible. It just holds the sausage together so you can slice it. Your version would crumble it. Calorically and nutritionally the same.

[Anonymous]

The casing is usually pork. So if you don't eat port I would remove it or not buy it. As far as health, you know what goes into sausages right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi- My sister bought Whole Foods chicken sausage yesterday to make gnocchi, kale and sausage for dinner. She baked the sausage in the oven with a little olive oil on them, casings on, and served it sliced into the gnocchi and kale. I would have removed the casings, crumbled it and cooked it in a skillet with a little oil. Putting the taste part aside, I am curious if removing the casings would have made a difference in calories/"healthiness"?

Why would you think this would have fewer calories? Also, honestly, your method would make it look like you are serving barfed up food. No one perks sausage casings off.
I think that you need some therapy to deal with the feelings of jealousy and inadequacy you have towards your sister.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi- My sister bought Whole Foods chicken sausage yesterday to make gnocchi, kale and sausage for dinner. She baked the sausage in the oven with a little olive oil on them, casings on, and served it sliced into the gnocchi and kale. I would have removed the casings, crumbled it and cooked it in a skillet with a little oil. Putting the taste part aside, I am curious if removing the casings would have made a difference in calories/"healthiness"?

Why would you think this would have fewer calories? Also, honestly, your method would make it look like you are serving barfed up food. No one peels sausage casings off.
I think that you need some therapy to deal with the feelings of jealousy and inadequacy you have towards your sister.

[Anonymous]

Gross. Why on earth would you do that? It’s bizarre. Certainly not a health issue.

[Anonymous]

Either way is fine. Depending on what I’m serving, sometimes I’d do it her way, sometimes I’d do it your way, but there’s certainly no health reason for one method over another.

As for to PPs who would never remove the casings...links are just ground sausage in casings. You never use ground sausage in anything?

[Anonymous]

Agree with a PP. Therapy is needed here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The casing is usually pork. So if you don't eat port I would remove it or not buy it. As far as health, you know what goes into sausages right?

Actually, casing could be pork, beef, lamb, sheep, or even horse. If an animal is processed somewhere in the world, it's intestines are making it into the supply chain somewhere. Artificial casings are sometimes used, but any organic sausage is most definitely going to be using a natural casing.

[Anonymous]

If you add oil but remove the casing I can't imagine you'd wind up with lower calories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Why would you think this would have fewer calories? Also, honestly, your method would make it look like you are serving barfed up food. No one perks sausage casings off.
I think that you need some therapy to deal with the feelings of jealousy and inadequacy you have towards your sister.

I have done it once or twice. I took some uncooked and unsmoked sweet Italian sausage to use in spaghetti. I wanted the sausage ground and not chopped. so I cut and peeled the casing nd cooked it up...

[Anonymous]

I was wondering the same thing. I just looked up a keto recipe and it says to take the sausage out of the casing. As I have read, I guess it takes some of the extra fat out.