Meat Grinder/Sausage Stuffer - What is your setup?

I use my kitchen aid grinder and I have the Dakotah stuffer. It's awesome.
http://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/dks-240.html

Well, that's a question that needs some help. How much sausage do you want to make at one setting and how often could you see yourself making sausage each year? Are you a hunter and what quantities of meat do you bring home. Is anyone going to help you?

It's a great hobby and it can be very rewarding especially if you add it to your BBQ'n.

I have a LEM and it works great.

I use the grinder attachment for a Kitchen Aid.
I think I also have a stuffer attachment, but I don't make much.
More just to grind up my trim into burger meat or ground pork.

I use an LEM grinder and stuffer. Gets the job done fast. I used to use an attachment on my Kitchenaid mixer, but that was frustratingly slow.

This thing will eat up a butt in just a couple minutes.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200451267_200451267
I use a vertical stuffer.
I am just getting started, for less than a 200$ investment I can easily make 10 lbs of sausage by myself.

ironmanerik said:

This thing will eat up a butt in just a couple minutes.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200451267_200451267
I use a vertical stuffer.
I am just getting started, for less than a 200$ investment I can easily make 10 lbs of sausage by myself.

Click to expand...

those are nice grinders for the money.

I have a LEM #5 plus a 5 lb Grizzly stuffer

Well you need to determine just how in depth you wish to get into sausage making.

If you are only making a pound or two of basic sausage at a time you can get by with a cheap grinder or grinding attachment coupled with a stuffing attachment or a horn stuffer.

While these can be difficult when making large batches they will work for occasional use for small batches without breaking the bank.

If you plan on making a lot of sausage and different types on a regular basis, I would suggest that invest buy a good heavy duty grinder (at least 1/2 hp) with a wide variety of grinding plates available for it. Weston and LEM make great entry level heavy duty / commercial grinders. The important thing to remember is that make sure the grinder itself is made of stainless steel for easy clean-up and sanitation. These not only make the task easier, but they save a lot of time and frustration.

If you are making more than a few pounds of sausage, a gear driven sausage stuffer will make your life so much easier. Again make sure you get stainless for easy clean-up and sanitation. Again these save a lot of time and make the job so much easier.

You don't need the biggest and best, but practicality in selection is a must for your level of use.

Other things needed are buss pans, Large cutting board, a good set of boning knives (semi-flexible and stiff), a good utility knife, and a cut resistant glove designed for butchering. A good book like Stanley Marianski's "Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages". This book coves not only a wide variety of sausages, but also cover curing many different meats as well. It is a combination of two different books combined into one.

Most of all make sure you read and understand about the proper use of cures in sausages/meats to avoid any illnesses from using too little or too much.

MEAT GRINDERS (links below)
Sausage Maker
LEM Products
Weston

SAUSAGE STUFFERS (links below)
Sausage Maker
LEM Products
Weston


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Yes - Like above ^^^^^

We have a LEM grinder and Weston stuffer. Went with a 3/4 HP so we could attach the mixer to it also. It works well and we dont have to wait on the grinder

This is my set up.


11lb LEM Vertical Stuffer and a LEM #22 grinder. 16lb water stuffer on the bottom rack.
The stainless table is from Sam's Club.

Like mentioned above, it all depends on how much you want to make.
I make sausage, snack sticks, salami, etc often. Usually twice a month this stuff is being used.
So I went with equipment that will last me many years.

Great advice from all above^^^ as usual...
My set up includes the 3/4hp cabelas grinder, patty maker, foot pedal switch... And a 15lb LEM vertical stuffer... Works well for what I like to do...

+1 on LEM they are affordable and make good products..

LEM #12 grinder with LEM 5 lb stainless stuffer. Works very well.

I have the Lem #8 Big Bite Grinder and a 15# vertical stuffer. Never had an issue with either of them. I have a few sausage recipes that I make the seasoning, although for the vast majority of them, I buy AC Legg seasoning and love it.

As an initial investment, if you aren't doing too much, you can get by for about $300. You definitely want a separate stuffer.

Several times a year I make sausage, including brats, kielbasa, snack sticks, and I've also made hamburgers, breakfast sausage, and chicken patties.

I have the 575 watt LEM #8 machine (around $100) with some additional grinding plates. I purchased the LEM 5lb. stuffer with metal gears and metal stuffing horns. This setup works good for up to about 10-15 pounds of sausage at a time. I would say any more than that and you would want to get a bigger stuffer (it gets to be a PITA reloading and gets messy quick). I think my grinder is absolutely fine unless you are making big batches, or you are a hunter and grinding up a whole animal.

As a hobbyist, I think this setup is ideal, and there are similar options from Cabela's and Northern Tool......

Good Luck, the bug will soon get ya'.

Ed

Here is what we use at my parents place when we butcher. The stuffer is a homemade water powered stuffer that holds 25# at a time. That sucker is FAST.



Here is the new grinder we just got. It is a 1 HP beast. We ran 120# of meat through it this past weekend and it didn't strain a bit. Grinds as fast as you can put it in! Its says it does 21#/min. I would agree with that.

http://www.waltonsinc.com/p-4279-pro-cut-22-meat-grinder-1hp-110v-1ph.aspx



EDIT: Sorry for the sideways picture. It shows it correct on photobucket when I post it. Weird. Oh well, turn your head.

Two years ago my wife got me a cheap-o grinder/stuffer off of amazon for like $60. It works ok, it's loud as hell, and jams up sometimes but I only use it a couple times a year, so it works for me. It's good little entry level counter-top machine.

I couldn't bear the thought of spending hundreds of dollars on a setup for something I use so little.

Cabelas #12, 3/4 hp grinder with the generic 15lb stainless stuffer I bought from Northern tool

I only stuff once or twice a year. I use a Kitchenaid grinder and a vertical Grizzly stuffer.

I used to use the Kitchenaid stuffer attachment. It worked but it was a PITA. Even if you are only going to do this once or twice a year, the vertical stuffer is worth the investment. I'm happy with the Grizzly.