What Are Beef Rounds?

Beef rounds comprise some of the most iconic sausages and specialty meats. You might be asking yourself, what are beef rounds, and what makes them unique?

While there is such a thing as a beef round cut of meat—which comes from the cattle’s muscular rear legs—beef rounds used for sausages and cured meats are natural beef casings made from the cattle’s digestive tract. 

In this article, we cover everything there is to know about beef rounds, beginning with their anatomical origins and followed by processing, primary applications, and preparation. You’ll be incorporating beef rounds into your manufacturing process in no time. 

Understanding Beef Rounds

Beef rounds, also known as “runners,” are harvested from the cattle’s body to envelop meat mixtures in the production process. Beef rounds come from the cattle’s small digestive tract sans the distal ileum, which differs significantly in shape from the traditional beef round. 

Beef casings are thicker than those of other livestock like hog and sheep, due to their more robust tissue structure. However, for all natural casings, the submucosa is the most vital layer in sausage and deli processing. This is thanks to its collagen fibers, which support the shape and size of sausage and other specialty meats.

Processing Beef Rounds

Before they’re used to package premium sausage, beef rounds must undergo a diligent cleaning, curing, and vetting process:󠀬,,

  1. Cleansing and sliming – Beef rounds are emptied and then flushed out with water. Later, the beef rounds are turned inside out, slimed, and trimmed, stripping away unnecessary and soluble layers.
  2. Curing – After cleansing the rounds in water, they undergo a preservation process. Through at least 30 days of drying out in salt or saturated brine, their water content reduces dramatically.
  3. Grading – Beef rounds are rinsed again thoroughly before being graded. This requires measuring their length and calibre (diameter) as well as evaluating the quality (such as checking for holes). 
  4. Packing and salting – The final product is coated in dry salt or saturated brine and delivered in an airtight package.

Once the beef rounds arrive at your facility, you’ll have to decide what sausages, deli, or specialty meats to manufacture. 

Primary Uses for Beef Rounds 

Beef round casings are best known for sausages and other large-diameter products. A few popular choices for beef rounds include: 

  • Ring bologna
  • Ring liver sausage 
  • Mettwurst

Rounds are the most palatable of natural beef casings, since they are considered edible while other types are removed before consumption.

Beef Rounds vs. Other Beef Casings 

Aside from beef rounds, natural beef casings can be manufactured from weasand, bung, middles, and bladders. However, beef rounds and beef middles share the most similarities in production and appearance. 

Beef Rounds vs. Middles 

Beef rounds have a smaller diameter and length than beef middles, which are harvested from the larger digestive tract. Sausages with beef middle casing take on a cylindrical, straight form, while beef round products are famous for their distinct wreath shape.

Knowing When to Use Each Type

While rounds are only used in producing fresh, cooked, and smoked sausages, beef middle casings can support these sausages in addition to cured meats. This is due to their higher elasticity and larger size. Beef middle casings can stretch and expand with meats such as

salamis, cervelats, summer sausage, and other dry and semi-dry sausages.

Key Benefits of Using Beef Rounds 

When it comes to beef rounds, the main benefits derive from the submucosa’s advantageous qualities:,

  • Size and strength – The high collagen content makes natural beef rounds both thick and durable. 
  • Appearance and flavor – Beef round casings’ permeability produces a tender bite with enhanced flavors and color from the animal product. 

Overall, beef rounds give customers the natural look, taste, and feel they search for while shopping for sausages and specialty meats. 

Beef Round Preparation and Storage Tips 

Before your premium products with beef round casing can make it to the shelves, it’s essential to maintain their high quality. After some rinsing, soaking, and repeating, your beef round casings will be prepped for your fine sausage emulsions:,

  1. Rinse out the salt with water
  2. Bathe your casings for at least 30 minutes
  3. Flush them out again with water 
  4. Right before filling them up, soak them with room temperature water

To store any leftover beef runners, cover them with an almost-excessive layer of salt before placing them in a sealed bag or container.Just as with the curing process, the salt will prevent any bacterial build-up. Store casings in a sealed container under refrigeration or freezing conditions until ready for the next production cycle.

Package Your Premium Sausages with Oversea Casing 

Whether you’re a family-owned butcher or a large-scale sausage manufacturer, Oversea Casing has the quality materials you need to ensure smooth production—no matter where you ship. Deliver high-quality specialty meats like ring bologna and mettwurst that meet the standards of today’s industrial buyers.

We’ve explored natural beef casings, but we also offer numerous other GFSI-certified natural and synthetic casings to package your premium products. Not to mention, our subscription service helps you avoid the hassle and reorder automatically—no minimum order count required.

Trust in us and our no-nonsense approach for all your top-quality casing needs.

Sources: 

European Natural Sausage Casings Association. COMMUNITY GUIDE to GOOD PRACTICE for Hygiene and the application of the HACCP principles in the production of natural sausage casings. https://food.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2017-09/biosafety_fh_guidance_guide_good-practice-haccp-ensca.pdf

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

For Dummies. Charcuterie: A Word about Sausage Casings. https://www.dummies.com/article/charcuterie-a-word-about-sausage-casings-271062

North Dakota State University. The Art and Practice of Sausage Making. https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/art-and-practice-sausage-making#:~:text=on%20the%20packages.-,Grinding%20and%20mixing,and%20mix%20thoroughly%20by%20hand.

Science Direct. Collagen arrangement and strength in sausage casings produced from natural intestines. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0268005X22001321


Science Direct. Sausage Casing. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/food-science/sausage-casing