New and Need Help with Grinder\Stuffer

[blackcows]

After years of wanting to make sausage my daughter and I finally took the time to go to a sausage making class last weekend and we are ready to give it a try, we are going to start with some fresh german sausage this week.

I have been making beer for years and it appears to me to be somewhat similar to making sausage in that you can get equipment that works, you can get equipment that makes things a bit easier, and you can get a whole lot of stuff you don't need but it's cool to have.

For the class they used a 15 pound vertical stuffer which worked well and is probably something I would purchase if we continue with the hobby. I have read a bit and know you can buy a 5lb vertical stuffer from Northern Tool for about $100. We live close to a Cabelas and they have their manual grinders on sale this month (50% off), the #10 is 17.99 and the #22 is $29.99. I have a $50 Cabelas gift certificate so basically I could get into the equipment for nothing. My daugter and I would like to do some experimenting, in other words 5 pounds batches of different recipies, no 25 pound runs. To start we would buy ground meat.

First question is; is it reasonable to think we can stuff small amounts of sausage with the Cabelas grinder? Would this be a good way to start in the hobby without a large expense?

Also, can a grinder be too big? Any reason not to go with the #22 if we are going to make smaller (5 pound) batches?

Thanks for the help.....excited to get involved in the hobby.

[vagreys]

...I have been making beer for years and it appears to me to be somewhat similar to making sausage in that you can get equipment that works, you can get equipment that makes things a bit easier, and you can get a whole lot of stuff you don't need but it's cool to have.

Very true. You can also start with beginner's gear, just as in brewing, and turnaround and want to replace it all after you learn a little bit more than you did when you started. Better to spend once, IMO. I'm a homebrewer, too.

...I have read a bit and know you can buy a 5lb vertical stuffer from Northern Tool for about $100.

You can get one from Grizzly.com for $79.95, too. Or you may find a deal on Ebay, like the one being sold for parts for $19 because it is missing the retainer ring for the horns and the gear is broken. You can replace the gears and get a retainer ring for less than a new one.

First question is; is it reasonable to think we can stuff small amounts of sausage with the Cabelas grinder? Would this be a good way to start in the hobby without a large expense?

Yes and no. Yes you can stuff sausage with a grinder. Yes, it is a way to get into the hobby without much expense. Yes, you will be pleased with the bulk sausage you make (like bulk breakfast sausage). No, you are unlikely to be pleased with the stuffing process and cased sausage you get by using the grinder as a stuffer. People do it. If you browse this site you will find that many are very disappointed with the linked sausages they produce using the grinder as a stuffer. A few are satisfied, though.

...Also, can a grinder be too big? Any reason not to go with the #22 if we are going to make smaller (5 pound) batches?

Yes, it is possible to have a grinder that is overkill for the amount of meat you want to produce, but not by going with a #22. A #10/12 manual grinder has a typical throughput of about 2-3 lbs/min. A #22 manual grinder has a typical throughput of about 3-4 lbs/min. The grinder plates and knives cost a little bit more than for a #10/12 grinder, but not much. No reason not to pick up a good #22 grinder at a great price.

As a homebrewer who went from kits to all-grain, and from plastic to glass to stainless, my opinion is that there are two critical pieces of equipment you need to do cased sausages:
- a good grinder, manual or electric
- a good stuffer, vertical or horizontal.

Pushing ground sausage meat through the grinder to stuff it into casing warms the meat and fat, causing smear, and produces inferior sausage. The smaller the casing, the more back-pressure, and the more the meat and fat turn to mush. EVERYONE on this site who switches from using the grinder as a stuffer to using a dedicated stuffer, never looks back, and only regrets that they didn't do it sooner. Read for yourself.

If you want to try a few test batches, to see if you want to stick with it, my recommendation would be to start with the grinder, make bulk sausage, and see what you think. You can always roll bulk sausage into sausage-shaped fingers, roll them in flour and pan fry them if you want something shaped like a link.

If you decide you want to stick with it and stuff your own cased sausages, then do yourself a favor and invest in a decent vertical or horizontal stuffer. A 5-lb hobby stuffer is a great way to start, and may be all you ever need.

You can try stuffing with your manual grinder, but please don't let the results put you off sausage making, entirely.

[blackcows]

Thanks so much for the detailed reply, it was very helpful.

Do most people grind their own meat? If I just wanted to make bulk sausage couldn't I just buy ground meat and mix by hand and stuff the packages by hand?

Based on your reply it might be a better idea to use the $50 Cabelas gift card to buy supplies and just purchase the grizzly 5 pound stuffer at some point in the future. If I am content with purchasing ground meat than maybe there will be no need for the grinder?

Mike

[salumi512]

If I am content with purchasing ground meat than maybe there will be no need for the grinder?

Mike

If you are limiting your sausage making to fresh sausage from pork scraps then you can get by, but it costs more to buy ground meat.

If you want to experiment with sausages with backfat and other meats, binders, etc. that also need to be ground or just plain quality controlled through the whole process; then, grind you must.

[SausageBoy]

I agree with vagreys and salumi512.

Many beginners become discouraged attempting to stuff with a grinder.

In this area ground pork is more than twice as expensive as pork butts, that difference would pay for a grinder in short order...plus give you more versatility,

[Big Guy]

you can't go wrong with a Northern tool #12 grinder for $99 and their 5# stuffer about $80. That is a great starter kit for under $200, It will make fantastic sausage with ease.

[sstory]

Big Guy - those are the exact two items I have on my "wish list" so I can get started in this new hobby. Thank you for confirming my thoughts as to a good "beginner set".

[vagreys]

Thanks so much for the detailed reply, it was very helpful.

Do most people grind their own meat? If I just wanted to make bulk sausage couldn't I just buy ground meat and mix by hand and stuff the packages by hand?

Based on your reply it might be a better idea to use the $50 Cabelas gift card to buy supplies and just purchase the grizzly 5 pound stuffer at some point in the future. If I am content with purchasing ground meat than maybe there will be no need for the grinder?

Mike

Mike, making bulk sausage from pre-ground meat from the grocery is absolutely a way to go for folks who just want to make bulk sausage. I wasn't suggesting that you go that route as all you want to do, but I was suggesting that do that to test the waters and if you want to do linked sausages, then you really need a dedicated stuffer. A way to find out if you enjoy sausage making would be to make bulk sausage, which, except for the stuffing and linking, is the same process for bulk or linked sausage. If you enjoy it enough to want to do linked sausages, then it's worth getting a dedicated stuffer and buying casing.

I think of making sausage from pre-ground meat rather like making beer from a canned malt extract kit - you have no control over the end product except for the cleanliness of your gear, the temperature of your fermentation and your containers (and maybe hopping). Pre-ground meat is very much like kit brewing - you can make perfectly drinkable beer from a kit, and you can make perfectly edible sausage from pre-ground meat. Grinding your own, like partial- or all-grain brewing, gives you more control over the quality of the meat, the size of the grind (texture), and the fat content (flavor and texture).

You are right. IF you are content purchasing ground meat, then all you may need is a stuffer, if you don't mind all of your sausage having the same meat quality, texture, and fat content, that being what the store decides you get. Just like the brewers who are content with kit beers - absolutely nothing wrong with that, if that's what you like. My bet, though, is that you will find you like being able to control your end product and will want to grind your own - it's less expensive (often by 50% or more) and you have much more control over the quality of your end product.

I'd get the grinder and supplies from Cabela's (using your gift card) and save/spring for the 5-lb stuffer from Northern Tool or Grizzly, if it were me. I use an electric grinder for the most part, but the used #10 Porkert grinder I picked up at a yard sale is just like new and is as good today as it was 17 years ago. Though I do 20-lb batches or more, sometimes, I've never needed a stuffer larger than the 5-lb stuffer - at least not bad enough to justify spending hundreds of dollars for a 15- or 25-lb stuffer. If all you intend to do is make small batches, then a free #22 grinder and basic plates, and free casing, using your gift card, and an $80 stuffer would get you started for $100 or less. Then, all you need are ingredients.

[vagreys]

Big Guy - those are the exact two items I have on my "wish list" so I can get started in this new hobby. Thank you for confirming my thoughts as to a good "beginner set".

That's really all you need to get started making sausage. Everything else you add, equipment-wise, is for convenience or for making more specialized products (like dry-cured sausages and salami). Your 'starter set' may be all you ever need.

[NCPaul]

I'd like to add one more benefit to having a grinder - make your own hamburger. It's less expensive, of course, and the quality is markedly better. Even if you don't take to sausage making (doubtful), you'll cover the cost of a grinder with ground beef. Welcome to the forum.

[DiggingDogFarm]

I'd like to add one more benefit to having a grinder - make your own hamburger. It's less expensive, of course, and the quality is markedly better. Even if you don't take to sausage making (doubtful), you'll cover the cost of a grinder with ground beef. Welcome to the forum.

Yes, especially since 70% of ground beef allegedly contains 'pink slime'!!

[blackcows]

Thanks for all of the replies...I am going to by the #22 grinder and then will most likely by the stuffer soon.

[blackcows]

How about making Summer Sausage or meat sticks with out smoke? I have a smoker but not a very good one, certainly not one that I feel like I could keep any consistent temp.

[vagreys]

You might want to ask about Summer Sausage as a new topic, so it gets more visibility and isn't buried in this thread.