Sausage stuffing question

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garyc

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Apr 22, 2010
92
13
Illinois
I am doing some polish sausage with my new grinder from Harbor Freight. I am using hog casings and the large stuffer tube.

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I am having a problem with air getting into the casings. I am stuffing along just fine and then I hear a pop and I am suddenly playing with an intestine balloon. The only way that I could get the air out was to pop it like a balloon. The problem with that is I sometimes get a tear in the casing and I must cut it short there. My meat is kind of sticky so I added some water. That helped with the stuffing but I still get the air.

Any suggestions on how to minimize the problem?
 
Prick small holes in the casing
I did that when I got a balloon but then I started having the problem of tears where I popped it. Is there a way to avoid the air in the first place?
 
Go with the middle size stuffing tube. Using the large tube will not allow the air to escape out of the sausage. When using a smaller tube if you get an air pocket the air will blow back into the outer part of the tube and not into the sausage and try to keep the meat packed into the auger not allowing a void of air into the auger....... you can also put the meat into the freezer to stiffin it up then stuff..........

Good luck and dont forget the qveiw
 
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I have the same air pockets. Stuffing by ones self it is difficult to keep the filling tube full of meat, pushing it with the plunger, control the casing while it is filling and coiling up the filled casing, all at one time.

I have come to realize, just get the meat in the casing. Squeeze the casing in places to get the meat packed into link lengths you want. Twist the links to seal the casing, tying if necessary. Prick the casing with some sort of needle gizmo to remove the air. Resqueeze to pack the meat again.  Put in refer to age.

Last sausage run I made about 20 feet of sausage and had to discard about 18" of casing that would have been air pockets. I'm pretty inexperienced at this stuffing job but can get by. 2 people would be easier,"maybe". With more practice, I think we will both get better and be darn proud of our sausage.
 
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I use a dedicated stuffer, so I don't have near the problems that you are having. When I do get an air bubble, I just pop it with a tooth pick. If poking a small hole is causing a blow-out, sounds like you may be stuffing it too tightly.
 
I am with those that say to poke it. Also , the dedicated stuffer allows you to pack it in and force a lot of the air out before it gets to the tube.I leave the casing off until the meat is at the end of the stuffing tube. When the meat hits the end of the tube you just reverse the handle enough to stop the meat.Then put casing on. I have the casing in a bowl of cold water so that there is always lubrication on the inside and out side of casing.That way there is enough " give "  to the casing on the tube that it will allow air to escape.Also some one mentioned tube size compared to casing size.If the casing is tight on the stuffing tube the air can not escape.I do not not have much bursting problems now.In the beginning , i did.Inspect yor casings before stuffing also.I fit mine over the tap and close off the end ( after flushing several times ) so i can see any leaks or weak spots. I have honestly never had a problem with any poke holes  I put in the casing.   Years ago i borrowed a horizontal stuffer that held at 20 pounds. It had 2 gears . One was very low to allow you to pack the meat chamber tightly and expel air. The faster gear was to pack the casings. It was fantastic. I do not know if one like that is even made anymore.. Happy Sausage making and smoking. Weisswurst
 
I use a dedicated stuffer, so I don't have near the problems that you are having. When I do get an air bubble, I just pop it with a tooth pick. If poking a small hole is causing a blow-out, sounds like you may be stuffing it too tightly.


I do exactly same thing.   Dedicated stuffer just makes things so much easier.  I've learned to stuff with just my two hands.  I go as fast or as slow as I wanna crank and keep a toothpick or safety pin handy for air bubs.    That being said, I've still had a few "blowouts" and man does that suck!
 
I am with those that say to poke it. Also , the dedicated stuffer allows you to pack it in and force a lot of the air out before it gets to the tube.I leave the casing off until the meat is at the end of the stuffing tube. When the meat hits the end of the tube you just reverse the handle enough to stop the meat.Then put casing on. I have the casing in a bowl of cold water so that there is always lubrication on the inside and out side of casing.That way there is enough " give "  to the casing on the tube that it will allow air to escape.Also some one mentioned tube size compared to casing size.If the casing is tight on the stuffing tube the air can not escape.I do not not have much bursting problems now.In the beginning , i did.Inspect yor casings before stuffing also.I fit mine over the tap and close off the end ( after flushing several times ) so i can see any leaks or weak spots. I have honestly never had a problem with any poke holes  I put in the casing.   Years ago i borrowed a horizontal stuffer that held at 20 pounds. It had 2 gears . One was very low to allow you to pack the meat chamber tightly and expel air. The faster gear was to pack the casings. It was fantastic. I do not know if one like that is even made anymore.. Happy Sausage making and smoking. Weisswurst
Yes they still make the horizontal stuffer with a 2 gear operation its Central States Wholesaler out of Perryville MO
 
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