Gourmetgame wrote:I'm currently looking for a cheap but reliable electric mincer/sausage stuffer for domestic & very small scale commercial use but don't have a clue which one to go for. ...
I don't really want to spend �200 on a commercial model but if the cheaper ones are no good then so be it. ...
What have you got now?
A larger, more powerful mincer should "make mincemeat" out of tougher stuff - but is that what you want or need? "Game"? Maybe...
There seems to be general (if not universal) agreement here that piston stuffers are easier, and 'better' than screw-feed stuffers.
I gather that one specific example of 'betterness' is in salami stuffing - where one wants to maintain the texture and not 'smear' the fat pieces. Although probably for really high volume commercial 'ordinary' sausage work, doubtless a screw-feed would be chosen.
Sausagemaking have an *all* stainless 5lb *manual* piston stuffer for �70. Wind the handle and out come the sausages - almost effortlessly if lubricated. Do you need anything bigger, better, more easily refilled or cleaned than that? I doubt you'd be wanting to actually stuff sausages faster than might be achieved with that thing. (Although there are others that can take a larger batch size, and/or can be refilled faster.)
I quite fancy the 5 pounder myself ...
However for *mincing*, I've not noticed any discussion of the relative merits of using a Kenwood with a mincer attachment versus a small dedicated mincer. A Kenwood can have many other uses... even mixing sausagemeat! Just note that there is quite a difference in motor power, and ruggedness, between different Chef models, and of course the Majors give you more mixing bowl capacity (but take exactly the same mincer attachments as modern Chefs).
My suspicion is that having a dedicated manual piston stuffer, and an electric mincer of some sort (any sort?), would be better for your indicated use than *any* small electric *mincer/stuffer*.