Stuffer ???

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joshs

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Aug 4, 2008
77
11
My grinder has the little things for the end for stuffing sausage. Will it work? I see you guys have a sausage stuffer. Do the grinders not do a good enough job?
 
You can do small batches, for sure, I have done 30lbs with my grinder it was a bit much. The big thing is to keep your ground meat really cold, like almost frozen. Otherwise it can emulsify and get mushy. The stuffer is really the way to go, but if you are just starting it will work okay. Try some small 10lb batches, and no snack sticks. Kielbasa or something would be a good place to start. Good luck!
 
What Junkie said.

I started with the grinder, but even with keeping the meat cold it was somewhat emulsified. I'm glad I upgraded to a stuffer. Easier and better consistency.
 
I have a commercial Grinder with #12 plates great for grinding, not for stuffing fresh sausage. I have tried a few things, near frozen, different horns, etc. and I am going to by a 5lb Lem, it has steel gears and is big enough for what I do. There is one available from www.grizzley.com that someone here on the forum referred me to. It is less than $100 shipped but has nylon gears. They have a revised gear available that may hold up better than earlier versions that chipped/stripped.

I will probably keep using the grinder for summer sausage/bag filling once i get the stuffer.

Not as fast but the texture will be closer to what you would get at a butcher shop.
 
I would have to agree with everyone else, using the stuffer on your grinder works but does tend to turn your meat into mush! Even if I freeze my meat and stuff it that way it still comes out mushier than I would like especially if you have any cheese in it, the chunks of cheese will most likely be ground and mushed up. I would suggest using an LEM vertical stuffer or the Grizzly brand that is under $100. Both are 5lb stuffers that are the cheapest, I would suggest looking into one of those stuffers if you want a good looking sausage. just my 2-cents! Good luck! Let us know how it all works out!
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Most of us find a stuffer easier and more to our liking but there are people who would rather use the grinder. I know of one member who does lots of sausage and doesn't like the stuffer and uses the grinder.
 
I haven't made that jump until the fat guy in the red suit comes. I just finished 12 lbs of venison sausage brats so I learned a couple of thing from some of the people here and it wasn't as bad as it was the first time I made sausage. Nut the more I try the easier it is getting. But then again I'm only doing small batches too. Alot of the folks here make a really large batches 50-60 lbs at a time. So hang in there and it will get easier but if not go buy you a stuffer their only a hundred bucks.
 
Ok I guess I would be considered a newbie at sausage. I have made maybe 10 batches of 5 and 10 lb links of various types. This is my perspective. I stuff with a grinder that I run with a foot switch to keep both hands free. Ya need both hands for sure either way but especially if stuffing with a grinder. It can be a pain feeding almost frozen grind down the grinders throat and plunging air into casings is a problem from time to time. After 10lbs of this dance my elbow is mush but if ya keep the grind very course ya can get decent but not great consistancy.

A 15lb stuffer is in my future for sure. The vertical style seems to be the way to go and I am looking at the Gander and the Northern Tool units. The LEM is a great machine I think but pricey.

Remember when choosing a size of stuffer a 5lb stuffer doesn't hold 5 lbs on one load if my research is accurate it holds only 4 lbs so a reload even on a small batch is needed if linking all of it. The same seems to be the case as you go up in stuffer size. Each size apparently holds about 1lb less than advertized volume. Hmmm. If this info is not accurate guys let me know.
 
The total capacity of the container will hold the specified amount, but it's right up to the top and no room for the piston. So, you have to remove about a lb. of product to be able to get the piston down into the stuffer past the O-ring seal (so you don't get blowback). So I guess you could say that a 15lb. stuffer has a working capacity of 14 lbs.
 
i have hand cranked #8 grinder that can also stuff--
and 5 lb horn style hand powered stuffer....
either way i stuff---
doing 10 lbs of sausage a day [grind and stuff] wears out my old arm...

i have tuned my recipes to use the 1/4 " plate...
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this is because--smaller plates and small stuffing tubes ---
use a lot more "hand power" ........
smearing also shows its head.....
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BUT-
they both do a decent job --as i probably only do 30/40 lbs a year...
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too much work to give away sausage--
40 lbs a year--
more than takes care of me and the commandant...
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