www.sausagemaking.org

Hi
I posted on here about my first experience of making boerewors with a stand alone Kenwood MG450 mincer/stuffer and it was a relatively easy experience.
Yesterday I tried my hand at making sausages using an almost identical method and it was a real pain in the neck trying to stuff the casing this time round.

I used pork shoulder with about a 75-25 percent ratio.
I made sure the meat was really cold, then cut it up and did a grind with a coarse plate, mixed in my water and spices, then re-ground the meat with a medium plate.
The mincing was easy.

Stuffing the casing was a different story though.
Trying to get the meat through the feeder tube at the top was a long an arduous process.

The meat was really sticky and the plunger/meat pusher kept getting stuck in the feeding hole, and it took forever to get all the meat through.
When I made the boerewors my wife found the process of filling the feeder with the mince relatively easy, yet my strapping 25 year old son really battled to feed the sausage mix.

The only thing I could think of was perhaps i should have put the meat in the freezer for a while after my second grind, before stuffing?
Also the water and spice mix was a different ratio to when I did the boerewors.

Or must I just break down and fork out for a good hand stuffer?

The end result was still pleasing though, but the process was a bit off-putting, to be honest.

The end result looks great, but you've just come across one of the disadvantages of stuffing using a mincer/grinder. Sometimes, dropping the meat down the tube in golf-ball sized pieces helps, but the ultimate solution is a stand alone stuffer.

HTH

Phil

More expense for you Shaun, but Phil is 100% correct. The best solution is a dedicated stuffer. I have a 5 litre stainless upright stuffer and fill 10 kg of mix in no time at all, all by myself as well.
Your snags looks great and you know what's in them.
Good luck,
Jan.

When I first started making sausages I used the grinder as a stuffer several times. Each time it was a frustrating battle, taking hours longer to finish ... I would be cursing and grumbling the whole way through but the results always made it worth while. When I finally sucked it up and bought a 5lb vertical LEM stuffer, the first time I used it I was amazed and kicked myself for not buying one after my first frustrating stuffing attempt!

Take the advise here ... buy a dedicated stuffer ... do it now, don't wait until several nearly unbareable stuffing experiences to do so! You will be amazed at how much easier it is and how much more you enjoy the sausage making process.

I bought my close friend a grinder for last Christmas as he was raving about my sausage and wanted to do his own. After the second or third try stuffing with the grinder he gave up and no longer attempts to make his own sausage. I told him to splurge on a stuffer but the whole process has soured him and I can see he never will. I'm not saying that happens to everyone but I'm sure a large percentage of would-be-sausage-makers have given up much like he did.

Buy the dedicated stuffer, trust me, I can't stress enough about how much better it is with one.

Thanks guys.
I get the message. A dedicated hand cranked stuffer it is.
There are some stainless steel ones here for around R2 500 that I'm looking at..
Anyone in South Africa that can point me in the right direction? Or advice?
Much appreciated.

wheels wrote:The end result looks great, but you've just come across one of the disadvantages of stuffing using a mincer/grinder. Sometimes, dropping the meat down the tube in golf-ball sized pieces helps, but the ultimate solution is a stand alone stuffer.

HTH

Phil

Thanks Phil.
Was hoping to save some money, but alas, I won't go through that experience again in a hurry.
A dedicated stuffer it has to be.

ComradeQ wrote:When I first started making sausages I used the grinder as a stuffer several times. Each time it was a frustrating battle, taking hours longer to finish ... I would be cursing and grumbling the whole way through but the results always made it worth while. When I finally sucked it up and bought a 5lb vertical LEM stuffer, the first time I used it I was amazed and kicked myself for not buying one after my first frustrating stuffing attempt!

Take the advise here ... buy a dedicated stuffer ... do it now, don't wait until several nearly unbareable stuffing experiences to do so! You will be amazed at how much easier it is and how much more you enjoy the sausage making process.

I bought my close friend a grinder for last Christmas as he was raving about my sausage and wanted to do his own. After the second or third try stuffing with the grinder he gave up and no longer attempts to make his own sausage. I told him to splurge on a stuffer but the whole process has soured him and I can see he never will. I'm not saying that happens to everyone but I'm sure a large percentage of would-be-sausage-makers have given up much like he did.

Buy the dedicated stuffer, trust me, I can't stress enough about how much better it is with one.

Thanks for the advice mate.
I definitely get your point.
I'm looking at options right now.

crustyo44 wrote:More expense for you Shaun, but Phil is 100% correct. The best solution is a dedicated stuffer. I have a 5 litre stainless upright stuffer and fill 10 kg of mix in no time at all, all by myself as well.
Your snags looks great and you know what's in them.
Good luck,
Jan.

Hi Jan
Thanks again for the emails mate.
Going to try the recipes soon.
Ja, I hear you. Dedicated stuffer it has to be.

Your links look great, and welcome to the forums!

Thanks Dan.