What type meat grinder/sausage maker?


 
That grinder will likely be sufficient to start with, especially for loose sausages/patties/homeground hamburgers, but you will probably end up getting yourself a dedicated stuffer.

Using a hand-spun grinder like that to stuff casings will be slow going and will almost surely smear fat into your forcemeat and potentially ruin the texture of your sausage.

I'm not sure that you will be able to find one machine that does both tasks, the mechanics behind good sausage stuffing are just too different from those that force meat through grinder plates.

The good news is that you can get a pretty good sausage stuffer for $100 or less. Search the internet for the grizzly/northern tools 5 lb stuffer, they work great.
 
I too am interested in a basic grinder. I was eating at a burger place called Staters 50/50 in Anaheim Hills and their signature patty is 50% ground beef and 50% ground bacon, it was to die for. Want to start making my own.
 
Here's the two units I own:

meat grinder
sausage stuffer

I do not suggest ordering them from the sausage maker as their prices tend to be pretty high. I only got them there because they give a nice discount when buying from them direct (showroom is in Buffalo).

I do suggest buying items similar, as the combo is sufficient to produce very professional sausage with a little practice.

Temp is a big killer, and the only solutions are to either try hard to keep things cold, or speed up the process. The units I listed are both extremely fast, which not only makes the process more enjoyable, but the final product with come out better.
 
I do suggest buying items similar, as the combo is sufficient to produce very professional sausage with a little practice.
Temp is a big killer, and the only solutions are to either try hard to keep things cold, or speed up the process. The units I listed are both extremely fast, which not only makes the process more enjoyable, but the final product with come out better.
Click to expand...
Agree One Hundred percent!
While if you do have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, you might get away with the grinder attachment (if your patient & don't even think about trying to use it as a stuffer!), the fifty dollar difference in price is so well worth it.
The two I have: Grinder & Stuffer
 
Gary,

What's your budget for this grinder? I recently made about 20 lbs. of summer sausage, 20 lbs of fresh Italian and 10 lbs of bratwurst using this grinder from Cabellas. It did a great job; grinding and stuffing - no complaints. Now that grinder was borrowed. I'll probably purchase this one from Northern Tool for myself. The Cabellas is just too much for my needs.
A great link on sausage can be found here. They have great recipes and very helpful tips and conversion tools. I'm really digging the sausage making right now!

Paul
 
What's your budget for this grinder?
Click to expand...
Very cheap!
icon_wink.gif
This one looks about right. Paul. Have you used it to make sausages? I see it has the attachment. Frankly, I'll probably use it 2-3 times a year, maybe more if it's really fun, so I don't mind a very simple sausage stuffer.
btw, Thanks to all for your input. Much appreciated. Will let you know if and when I make the purchase.
 
Have you used it to make sausages?
Click to expand...

No, but I've read many reviews and most are quite good. There's quite a few grinders in $100 - $150 range; and Northern Tool gets consistently high marks.

Paul
 
Gary I use the Northern Tool grinder to make sausages and it works OK, but it smears fat if you use it to stuff and you're not very very diligent about temperature. Some of my projects came out fine but it only took me one ruined 5 lb batch of sausages that I tried to stuff with the grinder before I purchased a dedicated stuffer. Your mileage may vary.

One option some people suggest for using a grinder to stuff sausages is to skip the mixing step and stuff your sausage directly into casings as it is ground, having mixed the seasoning with your chopped meat before grinding. I can't speak to that stuffing method from personal experience. It might work decently but your sausages won't be as firm as those mixed before stuffing.
 
+1 on the dedicated stuffer path. Being able to stop while you are stuffing is really really important for an amateur.
 
I have this one - works like a charm.
http://www.grizzly.com/product...uffer-Vertical/H6252

Making Kielbasa here with it...
Kielbasa4web.jpg

Probably the same as several others noted above - all from the same factory in China, but with different branding and packaging.
icon_wink.gif


For grinding I just use a manual "Spong" #5 (classic model "made in England") that's fine for small batches (5-20 lbs).

I agree with Paul that the Wedliny Domowe website is a treasure trove of info.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top