Sausage Stuffing device....help and tips needed.

A couple of weeks ago we made another batch of Boerewors this time I used Brents recipe that he made for Burning Woods 2013 sorry cannot link to it because i got the paper version he had.

This time i got the right meat (beaf shoulder pork shoulder) and ground it correctly too for my likeing (only once course ground).

There is one thing i wanted to see some advice on because i cannot believe we are doing it correct.

It has to do with stuffing the sausage. We purchased one of these given our small quantity needs, (boy am i sorry i did).

To be able to use it I had to bolt this thing down and i mean securely and then get a piece of steel tubing to extent the handle about 4 feet so Linda could hang on the handle while i held the sausage.

Initially i only screwed it down to a piece of ply but that was not going to hold this baby down.

Anyone use one of these cast iron types. There is no way the handle is long enough or we have something horribly wrong in our set up.

Had i purchased it from Lee Valley I would be taking it back given their customer service approach. But its been too long for the corporate bass pro.

Its so bad it makes a fun job a misery so i thought i best check with you guys see if anyone has any ideas to improve things.

This is definitely not something one can mount on the kitchen table and expect to work without being substantially secured to a solid piece of wood with bolts.

I did oil the insides before using so dont know what else to do and we were not even using the small nozzle.

I've never used that kind before.

I did try and stuff sausage using my kitchenaid grinder. That was a nightmare.

I ended up getting one like this and it made it into a one person job.

Yeah i wished i had sprung for that unit right upfront. Looks like i got to get kitted out again. Oh well live and learn.

From other forums, it looks like those horn stuffers are a pain to use, I wouldn't have thought so though. Might check out the last post on this thread, may explain some of the issue.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/63740/need-advice-new-lem-stuffer-is-difficult

"Here's a little insight into what is going on. When you grind your meat, you expose the intracellular contents of the meat to the outside world. The proteins, fats, etc., become available to anything that comes along. Probably not all cells are damaged, but most will be.

When the cure, salt, and binder are added and mixed well, they combine chemically with the meat. This combination acts more than a little like glue. Sausage is characteristically mixed well to produce this "bind" because it promotes proper texture in the finished product and ensures a good mix. It is usually something desirable. One of the reasons to add water is to facilitate this combining of materials and another is to loosen the mix. The longer this mixture sits, the harder it gets; it's a little like concrete setting up. You have been letting this sit too long for a simple horn type stuffer.

Try mixing and stuffing all in one session, if you can. Well, if you can and still keep the meat cold, etc. That will give you a looser mix and the water will be more available to smooth things out before it sets up. The sausage can then be left in the frig over night to develop the flavors and the bind."

Oh boy thanks Daren....lol i did not even think to search for the solution....Its like i wrote that first post myself. Good to see I aint alone in this.

the only times i had seen any kind of sausage being made, was at my dad's store, by the butchers. they added the attachment to the grinder, and put the casing on the horn, and instead of hamburger coming out, it filled the casing at a pretty good rate.

Rob Keeble said:

To be able to use it I had to bolt this thing down and i mean securely and then get a piece of steel tubing to extent the handle about 4 feet so Linda could hang on the handle while i held the sausage.

Click to expand...

Sure hope Linda didn't get yelled at like I did with the Kitchenaid

We use the attachment on our Bosch mixer (like the kitchen aid but different design and a bit more umph), it works but more than 15 or so lbs is an all day chore, most we've done was 40lbs in one day which was to much. It also doesn't handle small sausage casings very well, for breakfast sausage we've gone to just doing patties. A stuffer like Brent's is eventually in the cards.

A few thing have found that helped: larger sausage is easier to stuff, colder sausage is definitely easier to stuff (near frozen is ideal) and coarser sausage is easier.

I've used the Kitchen Aid for years to grind and stuff casings...it takes practice & a steady flow of mix. On a break from school I want to make some smoked turkey sausage with the big spinner. Hope I haven't lost my touch!

Jim now there is an idea i had not thought of. :thumbup::thumbup:

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