Kitchenaid stuffer attachment

So, I used this for the first time last weekend, and well, it didn't work as I would expect. The grinder worked great, handled pork shoulder and chicken breast for Boudin without problem.

But when I set-up the stuffer, it didn't feed the mixture consistently or well. Pushing with the plunger I could get a steady flow for a second, but then the mixture would just squeeze around the plunger and not go into the feed worm.

It took an hour to make 15-16 links worth of sausage. I'm thinking this should have been sub 10 minutes. Any thoughts? Happy to provide more details, but don't know what would be relevant or not. Speed was 4, as recommended in book, slower didn't help, and I didn't try faster.

Thanks in advance!

I also use the Kitchen Aid grinder, but got a stand alone stuffer. Sure glad i did.

Here's a link..

Absolutely what Stefan said. The grinder is okay but I wouldn't think of trying to stuff with it. Too much time, aggravation and sub-par results.

I have a Kitchenaid grinder and stuffer attachment. The grinder works well when you have the meat cubed in small chunks and very cold. The stuffer attachment has never been very satisfactory at all. My wife likes bulk sausage best, but if this was not the case, I would find a stand alone stuffer for that purpose. None of this is commercial quality but light home duty at best.

IMO only use the KA stuffer as a last resort. It is almost a two person job. I had my Some help me make sausage, he would stuff the meat in the stuffer and I kind of pulled on the casing a little as it filled. We got pretty good toward the end of our sasage process but it still was a PITA.

I don't make giant batches of sausage like some of you do, but I found that the trick to the KA stuffer is to keep the tube greased or both it and the casing wet so the casing slides off easily. I did have to reshape the occasional sausage due to uneven feeding, though, as some of you mentioned. Lately, for what little sausage I make, I'm leaning toward the bulk sausage.

Rita

I make sausage a few times a year with my father, and we only used the KA attachment once or twice before moving on to a dedicated grinder/stuffer. This is hard to beat at under $50 on sale.

I have the KA grinder and stuffer. The grinder I love, the stuffer, well I make a lot more bulk sausage after trying the stuffer! Will be getting a dedicated stuffer in the near future!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">it still was a PITA. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
First nickname my wife ever gave me. Told her she was a PIMA! Almost 13 years later we still call each other PITA and PIMA. This is the basis for my whole "Cactus" ultra-ego.
Haven't pulled the trigger on the KA Pro 600 yet - have found out there's a 700 and 800. Wife wants for baking and she's now leaning toward the 700 or 800, but hasn't found her "deal" yet. Told her if were getting one that might as well get the larger one, think the only real difference is bowl capacity. After reading here, think I'll also buy a stand alone grinder / stuffer for sausage making.

Larry, You might very well be happy with the grinder attachment but I wouldn't (under any circumstances) ever try the stuffing attachment again! Waaaay to much trouble for adequate results (on a (really) good day).

Not wanting to hijack your thread but not all stuffers are a PITA.

One of the reasons I bought the universal plus was for the grinder attachment (and stuffer attachment). Primarily it was for bread making--I can make 9 loaves at once!

Anyways, here's a vid (by a dealer) using the unit as a stuffer. I was really impressed as I thought the meat would come out either too fast or not fast enough. That is not the case (at least in this vid. I haven't tried the stuffer part yet, only the grinder--and it works as advertised).

Having said that, videos I've seen using the kitchenaide have had two people doing it--feeds too fast for one??. So I understand your problem. Just letting you know that not all machines cause headaches.

I don't understand why she keeps her nails so long doing these sorts of jobs though.

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I'm not an expert, but I always ask my wife to help when I stuff sausages. There are two reasons for this.
First, I want to stuff the sausages as fast as possible. If the sausage mixture is just rotated inside the stuffer, it will become warmer than needed. I want the mix to flow as fast as possible. The other reason is that it is easier to keep a constant flow of mix into the stuffer, thus reducing the amount of air that you will get into the casing dramatically.

Now, this video, which clearly demonstrates why you should not have such long fingernails when you are going to work with you hands, omits everything I have experienced with temperature and the importance of keeping things cold. I must admit, I wonder how these sausages really turned out.

This video reminds me of how I made my first sausages, before I learned a few tricks and improved the quality of my sausages many times over.

You mention about cold tools: I used to do all my grinding with a hand grinder.

I started at room temp (not the meat, it was fridge temp) but the grinding always took about an hour and a half.

The only issue I ever had was not having taken enough of the silver skin off and having to clean the blade/plate once or twice during the grind.

Never had a problem with getting things "greased up" because of it being too warm.

Sausages always turned out fantastic.

Maybe power grinders, although much faster, generate this heat? They still do it over a much shorter time so I don't know.

I have never used a hand grinder, but from what I have read, this heat- problem is related to power grinders, yes. I've measured, as I said, and the mix was ten degrees hotter after grinding than before. You should cool down the mix after grinding.