Sheep Casing Sizes Explained

Natural sheep casings offer the reliable combination of quality and consistency you need to produce delicious sausages at scale. Their thin walls, tender texture, and clean appearance make them a top choice for small-diameter sausages like frankfurters, wieners, and cocktail varieties like chipolatas.

But choosing the correct casing isn’t just about texture or visual appeal. It’s about getting the right size for your specific production needs. Even small differences in diameter can affect how the sausage fills, cooks, and fits into its final packaging.

For processors operating high-volume lines or introducing a new product, selecting the correct casing size reduces waste and improves efficiency. Let’s learn how to measure sheep casing sizes, explore the different options available, and review a few key tips for selecting the right fit for various kinds of sausage production.

Understanding Sheep Casing Calibers

In sausage production, caliber refers to the diameter, in millimeters, of a soaked casing ready for stuffing. For example, a sheep casing labeled 22/24mm means it will expand to a diameter between 22 and 24 millimeters after soaking.

Choosing the right caliber matters because it directly impacts:

  • The sausage’s appearance
  • Your production efficiency
  • How well the final product cooks

A consistent casing size helps maintain standard portioning, improves visual appeal in packaging, and ensures the sausage cooks evenly. 

When production lines run thousands of pounds of product daily, a mismatch in casing size can lead to under-filled or overstuffed links and wasted materials. Instead, a snug fit between your casing and stuffing machine setup ensures smooth throughput and reduces casing breakage.

Common Sheep Casing Sizes and Applications

Sheep casings have thin walls and a soft texture, making them the perfect choice for smaller sausages. When paired with a fine emulsion, they offer a tender bite that’s ideal for premium products. Different-sized casings, however, work better for various applications:

20/22mm: Breakfast Sausage and Snack Sticks

The 20/22mm caliber is mostly used in the high-volume production of smaller-diameter sausages such as breakfast links, cocktail sausages, and snack sticks. 

20/22mm casings offer:

  • Uniform link sizing for consistent packing in industrial containers or individual retail packages
  • A delicate bite that complements a finely ground, emulsion-based recipe
  • Smooth operation with high-speed stuffing and linking equipment

Products made with the 20/22mm caliber are compact, easy to portion, and well-suited for sale to both retail and food service establishments.

22/24mm: Hot Dogs and Pork Sausages

The 22/24mm sheep casing is one of the most commonly used sizes in industrial sausage production—especially for hot dogs, smoked wieners, and pork links. Its moderate diameter makes it a versatile choice for both emulsified and coarse-grind products.

This caliber is ideal for:

  • Consistent hot dog sizing that meets industry packaging and portioning standards
  • Uniform cooking performance in smoking, grilling, or steam environments
  • Smooth operation on automated stuffing and linking equipment

Whether you're producing fully cooked franks or fresh pork sausages, the 22/24mm casing delivers a tender bite with the strength needed for high-speed processing.

24/26mm: Lap Cheong and Dried Beef Sausage

The 24/26mm size is a common choice for specialty applications such as Lap Cheong (a Chinese-style dried sausage made with various spices) and dried beef sausages. 

These products usually require a slightly larger diameter to fit coarser blends or sugar-based recipes. This size:

  • Supports recipes with traditional spices, sweeteners, and larger chunks of ground meat
  • Provides the casing strength needed for fermentation, air-drying, or an extended time in the smokehouse
  • Maintains a tender bite even after drying or curing

The 24/26mm size offers flexibility for regional sausage styles and niche products that require a greater diameter without using denser, thicker casings.

26/28mm – Larger Breakfast Links and Specialty Sausages

The 26/28mm casing is suited to larger sausage formats—including oversized breakfast links and tightly-stuffed regional varieties.

Processors may choose this caliber for:

  • A wider, more robust link that retains a natural snap and smooth mouthfeel
  • Its ability to accommodate both fine emulsions and coarse grinds

  • The visually hearty appearance it offers 

This size is ideal for processors looking to develop distinctive sausage products without switching to pork or beef casings.

Choosing the Right Size for Your Operation

Selecting the appropriate sheep casing size goes beyond matching a diameter to a recipe. It’s about aligning the casing specifications with every step of your production process—from filling formulas and machinery compatibility to putting it into the final packaging.

A well-chosen casing caliber creates uniform final products and supports a more predictable, cost-effective production process. Here are the key factors to consider when choosing casing sizes for your operation:

Casing Uniformity

Maintaining a uniform caliber across lengths of casing is critical for consistent sausage appearance and mouthfeel. Even slight variations in diameter can lead to uneven link sizes, which may affect aesthetics, cook times, and production efficiency. 

In high-volume production, uniformity maintains strict portion control by ensuring that every unit weighs and measures the same. This consistency enhances your sausages’ shelf appeal—particularly in clear vacuum packs or trays—which can attract more customers and improve retail sales.

Machine Compatibility

Automated and semi-automated sausage stuffing equipment relies on precise calibration to maintain production speed and accuracy. When your casing calibers are outside your machine’s operating range, you may experience issues like nozzle misalignment, filling irregularities, or breakages.

Ensure your casings are within the correct range for your equipment to:

  • Maximize throughput
  • Reduce downtime
  • Maintain consistent stuffing quality

The right diameter is especially important in multi-shift, large batch operations where the first and last sausages must be the same size despite being produced hours apart.

Yield Management

Casing diameter is a primary factor in deciding your portion sizes and filling volumes. A few millimeters of difference in caliber can significantly impact how much filling goes into each link—which in turn affects unit weights, pack counts, and yield targets. 

If your casings are too narrow, they may restrict your ability to fill them and force too much pressure onto the casing wall, resulting in potential breakages. If they’re too wide, you might end up with overfilled links or inconsistencies in length. 

Consistent weight control and product counts are essential to meet food safety requirements, making the correct casings key to your continued operation.

Workflow Efficiency

The right casing size creates a smoother, more predictable workflow on the production floor. When casings match your equipment and product specs, you reduce the need for on-the-fly adjustments or trial-and-error calibrations. 

This not only speeds up prep, but it also cuts down on unnecessary downtime during stuffing and linking. Properly sized casings also simplify quality control processes by delivering more uniform results, making it easier to spot and correct issues before they impact the final product. 

For processors aiming to maintain both speed and quality, having the correct casing size is a small detail that makes a big difference.

How Sizing Affects End Product Consistency

Consistency isn’t just a goal in modern sausage production, it’s a requirement. Whether you turn out ten thousand links a week or ten million a month, your customers expect consistency across:

  • Appearance
  • Texture
  • Cooking time
  • Flavor

Achieving that kind of precision starts with one seemingly small detail: casing size. 

Appearance

Consumers notice when a product looks off (even if they can’t quite put their finger on why). A sausage that’s too short, too plump, or slightly misshapen can stand out for the wrong reasons. 

Using a consistent casing diameter ensures each product looks uniform and professional—whether it’s sealed in a clear vacuum pack, lined up in a multi-count tray, or packed in bulk for foodservice. That visual consistency signals quality, builds trust with repeat buyers, and helps maintain your brand’s reputation in a competitive marketplace.

Cooking Performance

Sheep casings are highly heat-resistant and breathable, allowing for even cooking, smoke penetration, and excellent browning. They naturally shrink with the meat during cooking, resulting in a smooth, wrinkle-free finish and helping sausages retain their shape and juiciness. 

Size matters when it comes to cooking time. A few millimeters of difference in diameter can influence how heat penetrates during: 

  • Smoking 
  • Steaming
  • Sauteing
  • Grilling
  • Baking 

With standardized casing sizes, production teams can recommend specific preparation instructions to avoid undercooked centers or dried-out ends. This level of control is especially critical in large-scale production facilities where timing is essential and there’s no room for trial and error.

Texture and Bite

Sheep casings deliver a superior bite thanks to their natural thinness, elasticity, and seamless mouthfeel. When cooked, sheep casings offer a clean "snap" followed by a tender, almost invisible chew that enhances the overall eating experience.

Ask anyone what makes a memorable sausage, and chances are, they’ll mention the bite. That satisfying snap when you sink your teeth into a perfect link is no accident. When they’re sized correctly, natural sheep casings play an integral role in creating that ideal texture. 

The right caliber allows your stuffing to fill out the casing evenly without stretching too thin or creating gaps. The result is a tender, consistent mouthfeel that meets consumer expectations for premium sausage. 

On the flip side, the wrong casing size can cause toughness, uneven textures, and breakage during handling or cooking.

Find the Right Sheep Casing Size with Oversea Casing

Choosing the right sheep casing size is a key factor in product quality, production efficiency, and customer satisfaction. Whether you’re producing delicate breakfast links or heartier specialty sausages, the right caliber ensures each product looks and cooks the way it should.

At Oversea Casing, we understand the importance of precision and consistency at scale. That’s why we offer a wide range of natural sheep casings that are all carefully selected and processed to meet the needs of industrial sausage makers. 

Our calibers are always consistent and accurate to help you maintain yield control, meet equipment requirements, and deliver a consistent eating experience that reinforces your brand’s quality. No matter your operation size or product goals, we’re here to supply the natural casings you need to produce link after link of irresistible sausage. 

Sources: 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Sausage Casings. https://www.fao.org/4/x6556e/X6556E03.htm 

Iscleecam. Easy Chinese Sausage Recipe (Sticky Rice & Fried Rice). https://iscleecam.edu.vn/chinese-sausage-recipe/.