Advice Needed for Reber 3kg/5kg Filler

[Gilly]

My thanks go to a friend in the UK who put me onto this truly great site. I've been lurking in the background for a couple of weeks building up courage to try my hand at sausage making. I tend to stay away from commercial sausages as I find them sickeningly rich with their fat content and hear that the worst meat goes into them. I do my own corning so thought I'd have a bash at sausage making. Married to a German, I thought I'd kick off with trying a bratwurst (sadly with premixed seasoning) so a couple of days ago, with the help of my Kenwood Chef mincer and an adapted Porket nozzle for the filling, away I went. What a tediously slow process it was with the Kenwood, but the bratwurst was yummy und meiner Deutscher was very impressed!

I've now come to the conclusion that if I'm to continue with making my own sausages, I need a far more efficient filler than the Kenwood/Porket combination and am considering a Reber. Can I get your opinions on the

(1) 3kg and 5kg Reber Fillers please? I'm informed by a Reber Agent that the 5kg 2-speed is the way to go - less effort. I'd be quite content with the 3kg for size but am concerned that I may struggle with a single speed machine Vs a 2-speed one - true? We're only the two of us in our family and while I can freeze the excess sausages or share with friends, I'm estimating that 5kg will make something close to 40 sausages(?).

(2) Can I fill the 5kg machine with less filling or do these machines need to be filled to capacity?

(3) Are they easy to clean?

All help would be very much appreciated.

[tristar]

Welcome to the forum Gilly,

I have to say that I don't use the Reber Stuffer, rather I use the Vertical Stuffer available from this site.

In any of the stuffers you can put in a smaller load, you just need to pump the piston further down before stuffing, With regard to the two speed mechanism, I don't believe it makes it easier to stuff, rather it makes it quicker to retrieve the piston after stuffing and with the quantities most of us hobbyists produce that is probably overkill. Cleaning with the vertical stuffer is simplicity itself, it dismantles simply and there are no nooks and crannys or hidden spaces to worry about!

I have never regretted the purchase of my stuffer and was astounded at the difference it made to the texture and bite of my sausages compared to the Kenwood stuffing nozzle attached to the grinder!

Regards,
Richard

[hmmm sausages]

Hi Gilly,

I started my sausage making life using an electric mincer, to mince and then putting a filler nozzle on it to stuff. this was very inconsistent when using natural casings, so I, like tristar bought a hobby stuffer from this site. i havent looked back since. its only one speed but its consistent, reliable, easy to clean and makes batches up to 2kgish, its great!

I would highly recomend you get yourself a dedicated stuffer be it a reber, or one of the vertical hobby stuffers available here

hope thats helpful and happy sausage making

Rob

[Paul Kribs]

Gilly

Some time back I looked at a site selling Rebers in Australia. I can't remember the site, but it does mean that they sell them there rather than incur heavy postal costs importing one. They appear to be more expensive in Oz than the UK.
I use a stainless 5 kg one and can recommend it. The 2 speeds make it very controllable. they are easy to clean. You will need and 5mm Allen key to break down the piston head for cleaning.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Gilly]

Richard, Rob and Paul - Sorry I didn't notice the 'Post Reply' at the bottom of the page and have sent you individual posts. Again, thank you for your input - much appreciated.
Gilly

[Paul Kribs]

Don't worry about it Gilly,

I have sent you a personal mail reply to your PM.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[welsh wizard]

Hi and welcome Gilly

I use the Reeber 5k and think it is brilliant. It is very easy to clean and no you dont have to fill it up to use it. I like you thought the 3k would be OK but as I have got more and more into the old sausage thing I am glad I went for the bigger option.

Cheers WW

[Gilly]

Hi WW

Thanks for the welcome and comments on the 5kg Reber. As the response for a 5kg and a vertical filler is 50/50, I'm still swaying but will need to finalise soon. The feedback on both types has been positive which makes it all the more difficult. I guess it's a matter of flipping a coin now!

This is a great forum and offers a wealth of expertise and assistance. I'm plodding through the various cross section of posts.

Gill

[hmmm sausages]

vertical stuffer is loads cheaper, that might tip the balance gilly!!

[Gilly]

hmmm Sausages - thanks for the response which has helped in tipping the scales! We're a 2-person family and I don't think I'll be making copious amounts of sausages. Ideally, the machine needs to be easy to clean without being cumbersome.
Gilly