meat grinder/sausage stuffer


 
M

Mike H.

TVWBB Member
looking to buy a meatgrinder/sausage stuffer. I would like to just buy one unit that does both. any recomendations without breking the bank??
Thanks
Mike
 
Hi Mike,

Not knowing how big your bank is, I'll share what I use for grinding my meat.

Cabela's Pro Grinder

Although I haven't used it for stuffing, it's a nice unit and makes quick work of a lot of meat. If you don't plan on doing large batches at a time, then this unit might be overkill.

Good luck,
Kyle
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike H.:
I would like to just buy one unit that does both. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Either of the grinders mentioned above look good. A lot of people who make sausage say that stuffing with a worm gear (the grinder unit) is not as good or easy as using a plunger-type stuffer. It seems to be easier on the ground meat and creates less heat. Northern carries a pretty good one.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/p..._200308623_200308623
 
We bought a grinder with a stuffer attachment last year. We do our own pig butchering here. The first time that we used it, we made 50 lbs of sausage, and found that it took forever (3-4hrs) to stuff it after it was ground. The next pig that we did, we used a stuffer that the neighbour has, and we had the 50 lbs stuffed in less that an hour. I will never go back to using the stuffer on the grinder again, but we do a whole pig at a time. If you are just doing a few pounds it would likely be o.k.
 
No, even doing less than 10 lbs using the grinder as stuffer is a pain. No matter how hard you try the meat smears as it warms. Get the vertical stuffer from Northern Tool and you will be very happy. I can stuff 5 lbs of sausage as quickly as I can crank the handle.
 
Although I have never used my grinder as a stuffer, I will share an observation that others have alluded to. From my experience, the meat comes out of the grinder at a pretty slow pace (probably don't want too much friction heating things up). As such, you'll most likely be sitting around waiting for the grinder to fill the casings at the same slow rate. This is also bad because as you're waiting, the meat is taking on heat which can lead to bacteria or ruin the texture of your sausage.

Additionally, for proper stuffing, the meat needs to be packed into the casing to remove most of the air to form a coherent and solid shape. This requires pressure behind the meat as it's coming out of the grinder/stuffer. I just don't see the grinder producing the necessary and adjustable pressure necessary for proper stuffing.

I recommend the stuffer Dudley posted above as it's the one I currently use.

-Kyle
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike H.:
looking to buy a meatgrinder/sausage stuffer. I would like to just buy one unit that does both. any recomendations without breking the bank??
Thanks
Mike </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


Checkout Allied Kenco in Texas. They're online and they offer a COMPLETE line of tools, spices and utensils for meat processing.
 
I recommend checking this place out:

sausagemaker

of course they're located in my backyard but they're nice to deal with and make high quality stuff here in the usa. They claim that very stuffer northern tool (and others sell) is their design but made in china with thinner metal and worse tolerances.
 
If you happen to have a Kitchenaid stand mixer and the grinder, the sausage stuffer can be had for under $10 at Amazon.com. I think it would be great for someone with the mentioned gear who would like to try out sausage making without spending too much. Really, I can waste more money going out for coffee.
 
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