Tricks for removing sausage casing? I often find myself making a sauce or a garnish for pasta using sausage meat that I am really just using more as a cured/seasoned ground meat - I remove the casing, then break up the sausage in a skillet until it returns to the formless chuck from whence it came.

Lately however, I've had huge amounts of trouble with the de-casing - it shreds, sticks to the meat, and just is a pain in general to remove.

I realize that this technique is easier with uncooked sausage than with pre-cooked, but does anybody have any overall tricks or tips for an easy way to de-case the sausages without broiling or cooking them first?
I usually just slice down the whole length with the tip of a sharp knife, and peel the casing back in one piece.