I was referred by a poster from a bread group that this was a good
place to post questions or comments about making sausage. Well I
finally made my first attempt and had some questions I hope some of
you may graciously comment on, it might get long so please bear with
me.

Bratwurst is my absolute favorite sausage so I figured it was a good
one to try as my first fresh sausage. I found the recipe in a sausage
cookbook by Jerry Predika and only modified it to include some
allspice.

Let me give some quick background to show this wasn't a fly by night
whim. Many years ago I thought it would be great to be able to make my
own dried sausage. Ever since I have been researching and thinking
about doing so. Since before then I have been home brewing, making
cheese and bread so i'm very familiar with crafting fermented foods
and cleanliness. Two weeks ago I finally splurged and picked up an
electric grinder with a coupon I had and began my foray into sausage
making. This is the only artisan type food craft I include on my
website I had yet to get into.

Having done my research and reading I was able to do my initial grind
quite easily and quickly. It was when it came time to stuff that I ran
into complications. I was ready for, and had assumed the electric
grinder would shove the ground meat mixture out quicker than I could
handle. I was wrong, I wound up pretty much using the pusher to force
the meat through the grinder and stuffing tube resulting in major
bursts of air into the casing. While I was able to adjust and cope
with this issue I am assuming this is definitely NOT how stuffing the
casing should have gone. I had frozen the cubed meat and tried to keep
the final mix cold as well but it warmed very quickly while stuffing.
This resulted in a paste like consistency and maybe amplified my
stuffing problem.

So, my question is if I had frozen the final meat mix would it have
stuffed easier maybe almost on its own?

The sausage came out ok, well except for two things. The first was I
used too much allspice and the second was it had a very fine almost
grainy texture to it. It wasn't dry at all, but i'm assuming the
stuffing problems mashed the meat so much that it gave me this fine
crumbly texture. I also had soem casing questions. I stuffed to where
i felt the sausage was the right diameter, but afterwards the links
felt sort of delicate. They weren't firm like i was expecting. Is this
because i didnt stuff tight enough? I felt if i stuffed tighter the
links would be way too fat for the style sausage i was making. Most of
the links did tighten up when i twisted, thats was a fun part!

Thanks for hearing me out and hopefully someone has some advice. I'm
making a Costco trip tomorrow and maybe I will find some meat to make
another try with.

Thanks
Jenson

On 30 Mar 2007 07:14:25 -0700, "nogoer" > wrote:

>I was referred by a poster from a bread group that this was a good
>place to post questions or comments about making sausage. Well I
>finally made my first attempt and had some questions I hope some of
>you may graciously comment on, it might get long so please bear with
>me.
>
>Bratwurst is my absolute favorite sausage so I figured it was a good
>one to try as my first fresh sausage. I found the recipe in a sausage
>cookbook by Jerry Predika and only modified it to include some
>allspice.
>
>Let me give some quick background to show this wasn't a fly by night
>whim. Many years ago I thought it would be great to be able to make my
>own dried sausage. Ever since I have been researching and thinking
>about doing so. Since before then I have been home brewing, making
>cheese and bread so i'm very familiar with crafting fermented foods
>and cleanliness. Two weeks ago I finally splurged and picked up an
>electric grinder with a coupon I had and began my foray into sausage
>making. This is the only artisan type food craft I include on my
>website I had yet to get into.
>
>Having done my research and reading I was able to do my initial grind
>quite easily and quickly. It was when it came time to stuff that I ran
>into complications. I was ready for, and had assumed the electric
>grinder would shove the ground meat mixture out quicker than I could
>handle. I was wrong, I wound up pretty much using the pusher to force
>the meat through the grinder and stuffing tube resulting in major
>bursts of air into the casing. While I was able to adjust and cope
>with this issue I am assuming this is definitely NOT how stuffing the
>casing should have gone. I had frozen the cubed meat and tried to keep
>the final mix cold as well but it warmed very quickly while stuffing.
>This resulted in a paste like consistency and maybe amplified my
>stuffing problem.
>
>So, my question is if I had frozen the final meat mix would it have
>stuffed easier maybe almost on its own?
>
>The sausage came out ok, well except for two things. The first was I
>used too much allspice and the second was it had a very fine almost
>grainy texture to it. It wasn't dry at all, but i'm assuming the
>stuffing problems mashed the meat so much that it gave me this fine
>crumbly texture. I also had soem casing questions. I stuffed to where
>i felt the sausage was the right diameter, but afterwards the links
>felt sort of delicate. They weren't firm like i was expecting. Is this
>because i didnt stuff tight enough? I felt if i stuffed tighter the
>links would be way too fat for the style sausage i was making. Most of
>the links did tighten up when i twisted, thats was a fun part!
>
>Thanks for hearing me out and hopefully someone has some advice. I'm
>making a Costco trip tomorrow and maybe I will find some meat to make
>another try with.
>
>Thanks
>Jenson

Jenson;
I am by all means not a sausge making expert. But we do make
sausage a few times a year. When we do our first grind, we use the
largest grinding disk, ours has one with 9 diamond shaped openings.
Grind it into a bowl without the stuffer tube. Chill it then change
to the smaller grinding disk. The burst of air could be from the
membrane backing up on your grinding disk, and the you forced it past
it. When you put on the stuffing tube, it will take more force to get
it through.

HTH

Ken

On Mar 30, 11:53 am, Ken Slimmer > wrote:
> On 30 Mar 2007 07:14:25 -0700, "nogoer" > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> >I was referred by a poster from a bread group that this was a good
> >place to post questions or comments about making sausage. Well I
> >finally made my first attempt and had some questions I hope some of
> >you may graciously comment on, it might get long so please bear with
> >me.
>
> >Bratwurst is my absolute favorite sausage so I figured it was a good
> >one to try as my first fresh sausage. I found the recipe in a sausage
> >cookbook by Jerry Predika and only modified it to include some
> >allspice.
>
> >Let me give some quick background to show this wasn't a fly by night
> >whim. Many years ago I thought it would be great to be able to make my
> >own dried sausage. Ever since I have been researching and thinking
> >about doing so. Since before then I have been home brewing, making
> >cheese and bread so i'm very familiar with crafting fermented foods
> >and cleanliness. Two weeks ago I finally splurged and picked up an
> >electric grinder with a coupon I had and began my foray into sausage
> >making. This is the only artisan type food craft I include on my
> >website I had yet to get into.
>
> >Having done my research and reading I was able to do my initial grind
> >quite easily and quickly. It was when it came time to stuff that I ran
> >into complications. I was ready for, and had assumed the electric
> >grinder would shove the ground meat mixture out quicker than I could
> >handle. I was wrong, I wound up pretty much using the pusher to force
> >the meat through the grinder and stuffing tube resulting in major
> >bursts of air into the casing. While I was able to adjust and cope
> >with this issue I am assuming this is definitely NOT how stuffing the
> >casing should have gone. I had frozen the cubed meat and tried to keep
> >the final mix cold as well but it warmed very quickly while stuffing.
> >This resulted in a paste like consistency and maybe amplified my
> >stuffing problem.
>
> >So, my question is if I had frozen the final meat mix would it have
> >stuffed easier maybe almost on its own?
>
> >The sausage came out ok, well except for two things. The first was I
> >used too much allspice and the second was it had a very fine almost
> >grainy texture to it. It wasn't dry at all, but i'm assuming the
> >stuffing problems mashed the meat so much that it gave me this fine
> >crumbly texture. I also had soem casing questions. I stuffed to where
> >i felt the sausage was the right diameter, but afterwards the links
> >felt sort of delicate. They weren't firm like i was expecting. Is this
> >because i didnt stuff tight enough? I felt if i stuffed tighter the
> >links would be way too fat for the style sausage i was making. Most of
> >the links did tighten up when i twisted, thats was a fun part!
>
> >Thanks for hearing me out and hopefully someone has some advice. I'm
> >making a Costco trip tomorrow and maybe I will find some meat to make
> >another try with.
>
> >Thanks
> >Jenson
>
> Jenson;
> I am by all means not a sausge making expert. But we do make
> sausage a few times a year. When we do our first grind, we use the
> largest grinding disk, ours has one with 9 diamond shaped openings.
> Grind it into a bowl without the stuffer tube. Chill it then change
> to the smaller grinding disk. The burst of air could be from the
> membrane backing up on your grinding disk, and the you forced it past
> it. When you put on the stuffing tube, it will take more force to get
> it through.
>
> HTH
>
> Ken- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Thanks Ken, that was a quick response!

I did my first grind through the medium plate, but i was dumb and
grined the veal and pork together rather than varying the courseness
of each for its roloe in the final mix.

The burst(s) of air were definately from the pusher going too far down
and shoving air into the auger area. The meat would just squish to the
side and force back up the feed tube. Kind of like sticking your fist
into a big bucket of crisco. The crisco just pushes out of the way of
your fist. I know it shouldn't take that kind of force to get the meat
to flow into the casing either. My thinking is that the meat was so
warm the auger just made pockets while it spun and couldnt force the
meat out on its own.

Whats the normally accepted procedure for stuffing when you have a
ground meat mix? Should the mix be almost frozen so the auger has
something solid to push against? Or is an electric grinder as a
stuffer just not a very good way to do it? Even with the ground meat
good and cold the machine just wouldnt "suck" the meat and push it
out. It just sat there spinning until i pushed enough mix down and
gave it pressure.

Thanks,
Jenson

nogoer wrote:
> I was referred by a poster from a bread group that this was a good
> place to post questions or comments about making sausage. Well I
> finally made my first attempt and had some questions I hope some of
> you may graciously comment on, it might get long so please bear with
> me.
>
> Bratwurst is my absolute favorite sausage so I figured it was a good
> one to try as my first fresh sausage. I found the recipe in a sausage
> cookbook by Jerry Predika and only modified it to include some
> allspice.
>
> Let me give some quick background to show this wasn't a fly by night
> whim. Many years ago I thought it would be great to be able to make my
> own dried sausage. Ever since I have been researching and thinking
> about doing so. Since before then I have been home brewing, making
> cheese and bread so i'm very familiar with crafting fermented foods
> and cleanliness. Two weeks ago I finally splurged and picked up an
> electric grinder with a coupon I had and began my foray into sausage
> making. This is the only artisan type food craft I include on my
> website I had yet to get into.
>
> Having done my research and reading I was able to do my initial grind
> quite easily and quickly. It was when it came time to stuff that I ran
> into complications. I was ready for, and had assumed the electric
> grinder would shove the ground meat mixture out quicker than I could
> handle. I was wrong, I wound up pretty much using the pusher to force
> the meat through the grinder and stuffing tube resulting in major
> bursts of air into the casing. While I was able to adjust and cope
> with this issue I am assuming this is definitely NOT how stuffing the
> casing should have gone. I had frozen the cubed meat and tried to keep
> the final mix cold as well but it warmed very quickly while stuffing.
> This resulted in a paste like consistency and maybe amplified my
> stuffing problem.
>
> So, my question is if I had frozen the final meat mix would it have
> stuffed easier maybe almost on its own?
>
> The sausage came out ok, well except for two things. The first was I
> used too much allspice and the second was it had a very fine almost
> grainy texture to it. It wasn't dry at all, but i'm assuming the
> stuffing problems mashed the meat so much that it gave me this fine
> crumbly texture. I also had soem casing questions. I stuffed to where
> i felt the sausage was the right diameter, but afterwards the links
> felt sort of delicate. They weren't firm like i was expecting. Is this
> because i didnt stuff tight enough? I felt if i stuffed tighter the
> links would be way too fat for the style sausage i was making. Most of
> the links did tighten up when i twisted, thats was a fun part!
>
> Thanks for hearing me out and hopefully someone has some advice. I'm
> making a Costco trip tomorrow and maybe I will find some meat to make
> another try with.
>
> Thanks
> Jenson
>
I know that this was the first time for you. But...
If you are going to do this more often, you can't beat a real sausage
stuffer for the job.


Most of your troubles would be solved by that alone.

as for air bubbles; most newbies stuff their sausage too dry. Add some
ice chips to the grind. It shouldn't be nearly as thick as peanut butter.

On Mar 31, 10:51 am, shawn > wrote:
> nogoer wrote:
> > I was referred by a poster from a bread group that this was a good
> > place to post questions or comments about making sausage. Well I
> > finally made my first attempt and had some questions I hope some of
> > you may graciously comment on, it might get long so please bear with
> > me.
>
> > Bratwurst is my absolute favorite sausage so I figured it was a good
> > one to try as my first fresh sausage. I found the recipe in a sausage
> > cookbook by Jerry Predika and only modified it to include some
> > allspice.
>
> > Let me give some quick background to show this wasn't a fly by night
> > whim. Many years ago I thought it would be great to be able to make my
> > own dried sausage. Ever since I have been researching and thinking
> > about doing so. Since before then I have been home brewing, making
> > cheese and bread so i'm very familiar with crafting fermented foods
> > and cleanliness. Two weeks ago I finally splurged and picked up an
> > electric grinder with a coupon I had and began my foray into sausage
> > making. This is the only artisan type food craft I include on my
> > website I had yet to get into.
>
> > Having done my research and reading I was able to do my initial grind
> > quite easily and quickly. It was when it came time to stuff that I ran
> > into complications. I was ready for, and had assumed the electric
> > grinder would shove the ground meat mixture out quicker than I could
> > handle. I was wrong, I wound up pretty much using the pusher to force
> > the meat through the grinder and stuffing tube resulting in major
> > bursts of air into the casing. While I was able to adjust and cope
> > with this issue I am assuming this is definitely NOT how stuffing the
> > casing should have gone. I had frozen the cubed meat and tried to keep
> > the final mix cold as well but it warmed very quickly while stuffing.
> > This resulted in a paste like consistency and maybe amplified my
> > stuffing problem.
>
> > So, my question is if I had frozen the final meat mix would it have
> > stuffed easier maybe almost on its own?
>
> > The sausage came out ok, well except for two things. The first was I
> > used too much allspice and the second was it had a very fine almost
> > grainy texture to it. It wasn't dry at all, but i'm assuming the
> > stuffing problems mashed the meat so much that it gave me this fine
> > crumbly texture. I also had soem casing questions. I stuffed to where
> > i felt the sausage was the right diameter, but afterwards the links
> > felt sort of delicate. They weren't firm like i was expecting. Is this
> > because i didnt stuff tight enough? I felt if i stuffed tighter the
> > links would be way too fat for the style sausage i was making. Most of
> > the links did tighten up when i twisted, thats was a fun part!
>
> > Thanks for hearing me out and hopefully someone has some advice. I'm
> > making a Costco trip tomorrow and maybe I will find some meat to make
> > another try with.
>
> > Thanks
> > Jenson
>
> I know that this was the first time for you. But...
> If you are going to do this more often, you can't beat a real sausage
> stuffer for the job.
>
> Most of your troubles would be solved by that alone.
>
> as for air bubbles; most newbies stuff their sausage too dry. Add some
> ice chips to the grind. It shouldn't be nearly as thick as peanut butter.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Thanks Shawn,

The minute i was done stuffing i was online looking around at
stuffers. I also like the idea of them because they dont "grind" the
meat again just to stuff the casing. Do you think i would be better
off using recipes with only one meat, then grinding and stuffing all
at once? Then once i get a stuffer i can do multi-meat sausages.

Talking about ice chips, whats the effect of too much liquid in the
sausage? I don't think mine were dry at all, but I worry too much
liquid can have a negative effect.

Thanks again guys
Jenson

nogoer wrote:
> On Mar 31, 10:51 am, shawn > wrote:
>
>
>

snip

>>as for air bubbles; most newbies stuff their sausage too dry. Add some
>>ice chips to the grind. It shouldn't be nearly as thick as peanut butter.- Hide quoted text -
>>
>>- Show quoted text -
>
>
> Thanks Shawn,
>
> The minute i was done stuffing i was online looking around at
> stuffers. I also like the idea of them because they dont "grind" the
> meat again just to stuff the casing. Do you think i would be better
> off using recipes with only one meat, then grinding and stuffing all
> at once? Then once i get a stuffer i can do multi-meat sausages.
>
> Talking about ice chips, whats the effect of too much liquid in the
> sausage? I don't think mine were dry at all, but I worry too much
> liquid can have a negative effect.
>
> Thanks again guys
> Jenson
>

Having the sausage a bit wet, and on the loose side aids in stuffing.
Grinding ice chips with the meat helps keep it cold as well as adding
moisture. (Most recipes call for some amount of liquid to the grind.,
just substitute that amount of ice.)

Too wet? No problem. Just hang at room temperature until the casings
are slightly tacky to the touch, before hanging in the smokehouse. They
will dry out nicely, and since you used cure; (You DID use cure, didn't
you?) No worries about spoilage.

"shawn" >
>>
>> The minute i was done stuffing i was online looking around at
>> stuffers. I also like the idea of them because they dont "grind" the
>> meat again just to stuff the casing. Do you think i would be better
>> off using recipes with only one meat, then grinding and stuffing all
>> at once? Then once i get a stuffer i can do multi-meat sausages.
>>

In the first place if you are going to grind and then stuff, they make a
spacer plate just for that. You put it in your grinder in place of the
grinding plate and take out the knife. Then do your stuffing. Look at one
here.
http://www.sausagemaker.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=373
If I were doing it I would cut the meat for the grinder, season and mix
well Then grind and stuff in one operation.. I made 100';s of pounds of
sausage that way.
If you gotta have a stuffer, www.notherntool,com has one for $79.95.
I have one but never used it yet.
When ya get the sausage stuffed, put a couple marks on your table for
however long you want your sausage, then using them as a guide twist your
links. Take a sharp knife or a pair of scissors and cut each link off as you
make it.
45 minutes in a 325° pit will cook them about right.
James A. "Big Jim" Whitten

www.lazyq.com

Big Jim wrote:
> "shawn" >
>
>>>The minute i was done stuffing i was online looking around at
>>>stuffers. I also like the idea of them because they dont "grind" the
>>>meat again just to stuff the casing. Do you think i would be better
>>>off using recipes with only one meat, then grinding and stuffing all
>>>at once? Then once i get a stuffer i can do multi-meat sausages.
>>>
>
>
> In the first place if you are going to grind and then stuff, they make a
> spacer plate just for that. You put it in your grinder in place of the
> grinding plate and take out the knife. Then do your stuffing. Look at one
> here.
> http://www.sausagemaker.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=373
> If I were doing it I would cut the meat for the grinder, season and mix
> well Then grind and stuff in one operation.. I made 100';s of pounds of
> sausage that way.
> If you gotta have a stuffer, www.notherntool,com has one for $79.95.
> I have one but never used it yet.
> When ya get the sausage stuffed, put a couple marks on your table for
> however long you want your sausage, then using them as a guide twist your
> links. Take a sharp knife or a pair of scissors and cut each link off as you
> make it.
> 45 minutes in a 325° pit will cook them about right.
> James A. "Big Jim" Whitten
>
> www.lazyq.com
>
>
Grizzly tools has a similar stuffer for $66.00

http://www.grizzly.com/products/h6252

"shawn" > wrote in message
...
> Big Jim wrote:
>> "shawn" >
>>
>>>>The minute i was done stuffing i was online looking around at
>>>>stuffers. I also like the idea of them because they dont "grind" the
>>>>meat again just to stuff the casing. Do you think i would be better
>>>>off using recipes with only one meat, then grinding and stuffing all
>>>>at once? Then once i get a stuffer i can do multi-meat sausages.
>>>>
>>
>>
>> In the first place if you are going to grind and then stuff, they make a
>> spacer plate just for that. You put it in your grinder in place of the
>> grinding plate and take out the knife. Then do your stuffing. Look at one
>> here.
>> http://www.sausagemaker.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=373
>> If I were doing it I would cut the meat for the grinder, season and mix
>> well Then grind and stuff in one operation.. I made 100';s of pounds of
>> sausage that way.
>> If you gotta have a stuffer, www.notherntool,com has one for $79.95.
>> I have one but never used it yet.
>> When ya get the sausage stuffed, put a couple marks on your table for
>> however long you want your sausage, then using them as a guide twist your
>> links. Take a sharp knife or a pair of scissors and cut each link off as
>> you make it.
>> 45 minutes in a 325° pit will cook them about right.
>> James A. "Big Jim" Whitten
>>
>> www.lazyq.com
> Grizzly tools has a similar stuffer for $66.00
>
> http://www.grizzly.com/products/h6252

--Probably the same machine
James A "Big Jim" Whitten

www.lazyq.com

On 1-Apr-2007, "nogoer" > wrote:

> On Mar 31, 10:51 am, shawn
> > wrote:
> > nogoer wrote:
> > > I was referred by a poster from a bread
> > > group that this was a good
> > > place to post questions or comments about
> > > making sausage.

<snip>

>
> Thanks Shawn,
>
> The minute i was done stuffing i was online
> looking around at
> stuffers. I also like the idea of them because
> they dont "grind" the
> meat again just to stuff the casing. Do you
> think i would be better
> off using recipes with only one meat, then
> grinding and stuffing all
> at once? Then once i get a stuffer i can do
> multi-meat sausages.
>
> Talking about ice chips, whats the effect of too
> much liquid in the
> sausage? I don't think mine were dry at all, but
> I worry too much
> liquid can have a negative effect.
>
> Thanks again guys
> Jenson

I have the 3# cast iron stuffer shown on this
page. However
I only paid something like $12.95 for mine. That
was about
3 or 4 years ago. They seem to have become much
more
popular since then for the price to be so high
now.

Oh yeh, I actually used mine without bolting it
down, but it
would be a heck of a lot easier with it bolted or
clamped
down. It works well and it's quick. Cleanup is a
snap.

http://www.sausage-stuffer.com/sausage_stuffer.htm

--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)

Brick wrote:
> On 1-Apr-2007, "nogoer" > wrote:
>
>
>>On Mar 31, 10:51 am, shawn
> wrote:
>>
>>>nogoer wrote:
>>>
>>>>I was referred by a poster from a bread
>>>>group that this was a good
>>>>place to post questions or comments about
>>>>making sausage.
>
>
> <snip>
>
>>Thanks Shawn,
>>
>>The minute i was done stuffing i was online
>>looking around at
>>stuffers. I also like the idea of them because
>>they dont "grind" the
>>meat again just to stuff the casing. Do you
>>think i would be better
>>off using recipes with only one meat, then
>>grinding and stuffing all
>>at once? Then once i get a stuffer i can do
>>multi-meat sausages.
>>
>>Talking about ice chips, whats the effect of too
>>much liquid in the
>>sausage? I don't think mine were dry at all, but
>>I worry too much
>>liquid can have a negative effect.
>>
>>Thanks again guys
>>Jenson
>
>
> I have the 3# cast iron stuffer shown on this
> page. However
> I only paid something like $12.95 for mine. That
> was about
> 3 or 4 years ago. They seem to have become much
> more
> popular since then for the price to be so high
> now.
>
> Oh yeh, I actually used mine without bolting it
> down, but it
> would be a heck of a lot easier with it bolted or
> clamped
> down. It works well and it's quick. Cleanup is a
> snap.
>
> http://www.sausage-stuffer.com/sausage_stuffer.htm
>
Brick, how do you keep meat from leaking around the plunger? Mine leaks
so bad it's useless

On Apr 1, 8:33 am, shawn > wrote:
> nogoer wrote:
> > On Mar 31, 10:51 am, shawn > wrote:
>
> snip
>
>
>
>
>
> >>as for air bubbles; most newbies stuff their sausage too dry. Add some
> >>ice chips to the grind. It shouldn't be nearly as thick as peanut butter.- Hide quoted text -
>
> >>- Show quoted text -
>
> > Thanks Shawn,
>
> > The minute i was done stuffing i was online looking around at
> > stuffers. I also like the idea of them because they dont "grind" the
> > meat again just to stuff the casing. Do you think i would be better
> > off using recipes with only one meat, then grinding and stuffing all
> > at once? Then once i get a stuffer i can do multi-meat sausages.
>
> > Talking about ice chips, whats the effect of too much liquid in the
> > sausage? I don't think mine were dry at all, but I worry too much
> > liquid can have a negative effect.
>
> > Thanks again guys
> > Jenson
>
> Having the sausage a bit wet, and on the loose side aids in stuffing.
> Grinding ice chips with the meat helps keep it cold as well as adding
> moisture. (Most recipes call for some amount of liquid to the grind.,
> just substitute that amount of ice.)
>
> Too wet? No problem. Just hang at room temperature until the casings
> are slightly tacky to the touch, before hanging in the smokehouse. They
> will dry out nicely, and since you used cure; (You DID use cure, didn't
> you?) No worries about spoilage.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

No i haven't used cure, i bought some tender quick when i got the
casings but the book i have doesnt call for cures in any recipe. I do
know to use them when i cold smoke or air dry, but the brats i made
were strictly fresh sausage refridgerated promptly and cooked
thouroghly before eating. Thats why i questioned the too wet because i
need to keep them refridgerated.

Big Jim....
My grinder said to use the course plate but to use the cutter. I tried
it without the cutter plate and i had to use so much force to get the
meat out i gave up on that method. The auger just wont help in pushing
the meat once its been ground. Doing the grind and stuff in one step
seems like the better way, even if i had a stuffer. I'm just not sure
if thats the "proper" way when im using two types of meat. However
doing it like that does bring up another question, what about liquids?
My recipe calls for water and milk soaked bread crumbs, both of which
might not go so easy when using cubed meat. How do you handle the
liquids when grind/stuffing from cubed meat?

Thanks guys, your help is much appreciated! I've gotten more help in
my first post for sausage making then i have in all my posts for
making cheese.
Jenson

On Apr 1, 9:57 pm, "Brick" > wrote:
> On 1-Apr-2007, "nogoer" > wrote:
>
> > On Mar 31, 10:51 am, shawn
> > > wrote:
> > > nogoer wrote:
> > > > I was referred by a poster from a bread
> > > > group that this was a good
> > > > place to post questions or comments about
> > > > making sausage.
>
> <snip>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Thanks Shawn,
>
> > The minute i was done stuffing i was online
> > looking around at
> > stuffers. I also like the idea of them because
> > they dont "grind" the
> > meat again just to stuff the casing. Do you
> > think i would be better
> > off using recipes with only one meat, then
> > grinding and stuffing all
> > at once? Then once i get a stuffer i can do
> > multi-meat sausages.
>
> > Talking about ice chips, whats the effect of too
> > much liquid in the
> > sausage? I don't think mine were dry at all, but
> > I worry too much
> > liquid can have a negative effect.
>
> > Thanks again guys
> > Jenson
>
> I have the 3# cast iron stuffer shown on this
> page. However
> I only paid something like $12.95 for mine. That
> was about
> 3 or 4 years ago. They seem to have become much
> more
> popular since then for the price to be so high
> now.
>
> Oh yeh, I actually used mine without bolting it
> down, but it
> would be a heck of a lot easier with it bolted or
> clamped
> down. It works well and it's quick. Cleanup is a
> snap.
>
> http://www.sausage-stuffer.com/sausage_stuffer.htm
>
> --
> Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

At 20 bucks i would have ordered it a week ago, at 60 its something i
will get once i feel its a necessary tool for the level im at. Very
surprising how you got it so cheap and now its quite expensive. I will
keep finding the best way for my grinder until i start making more
than a batch here or there. That stuffer does look like it makes life
much easier though!

Jenson

On 2-Apr-2007, shawn
> wrote:

> Brick wrote:
> > On 1-Apr-2007, "nogoer" >
> > wrote:
> >
> >
> >>On Mar 31, 10:51 am, shawn
> > wrote:
> >>
> >>>nogoer wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>I was referred by a poster from a bread
> >>>>group that this was a good
> >>>>place to post questions or comments about
> >>>>making sausage.
> >
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> >>Thanks Shawn,
> >>
> >>The minute i was done stuffing i was online
> >>looking around at
> >>stuffers. I also like the idea of them because
> >>they dont "grind" the
> >>meat again just to stuff the casing. Do you
> >>think i would be better
> >>off using recipes with only one meat, then
> >>grinding and stuffing all
> >>at once? Then once i get a stuffer i can do
> >>multi-meat sausages.
> >>
> >>Talking about ice chips, whats the effect of
> >>too
> >>much liquid in the
> >>sausage? I don't think mine were dry at all,
> >>but
> >>I worry too much
> >>liquid can have a negative effect.
> >>
> >>Thanks again guys
> >>Jenson
> >
> >
> > I have the 3# cast iron stuffer shown on this
> > page. However
> > I only paid something like $12.95 for mine.
> > That
> > was about
> > 3 or 4 years ago. They seem to have become
> > much
> > more
> > popular since then for the price to be so high
> > now.
> >
> > Oh yeh, I actually used mine without bolting
> > it
> > down, but it
> > would be a heck of a lot easier with it bolted
> > or
> > clamped
> > down. It works well and it's quick. Cleanup is
> > a
> > snap.
> >
> > http://www.sausage-stuffer.com/sausage_stuffer.htm
> >
> Brick, how do you keep meat from leaking around
> the plunger? Mine leaks
> so bad it's useless

I've actually used my stuffer only once and it did
leak
as you mention, but it was far from useless. I had
no
trouble with the leaking part. I did have to get a
little
creative with my leverage because I did not bolt/
clamp the thing down.

Since these machines are pretty crude iron
castings,
perhaps yours is just sloppier then mine. If
shipping
wasn't so damn expensive these days, I'd let you
try
mine out.

--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)

Brick wrote:
> On 2-Apr-2007, shawn
> > wrote:
>
>
>>Brick wrote:
>>
>>>On 1-Apr-2007, "nogoer" >
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>On Mar 31, 10:51 am, shawn
> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>nogoer wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>I was referred by a poster from a bread
>>>>>>group that this was a good
>>>>>>place to post questions or comments about
>>>>>>making sausage.
>>>
>>>
>>><snip>
>>>
>>>>Thanks Shawn,
>>>>
>>>>The minute i was done stuffing i was online
>>>>looking around at
>>>>stuffers. I also like the idea of them because
>>>>they dont "grind" the
>>>>meat again just to stuff the casing. Do you
>>>>think i would be better
>>>>off using recipes with only one meat, then
>>>>grinding and stuffing all
>>>>at once? Then once i get a stuffer i can do
>>>>multi-meat sausages.
>>>>
>>>>Talking about ice chips, whats the effect of
>>>>too
>>>>much liquid in the
>>>>sausage? I don't think mine were dry at all,
>>>>but
>>>>I worry too much
>>>>liquid can have a negative effect.
>>>>
>>>>Thanks again guys
>>>>Jenson
>>>
>>>
>>>I have the 3# cast iron stuffer shown on this
>>>page. However
>>>I only paid something like $12.95 for mine.
>>>That
>>>was about
>>>3 or 4 years ago. They seem to have become
>>>much
>>>more
>>>popular since then for the price to be so high
>>>now.
>>>
>>>Oh yeh, I actually used mine without bolting
>>>it
>>>down, but it
>>>would be a heck of a lot easier with it bolted
>>>or
>>>clamped
>>>down. It works well and it's quick. Cleanup is
>>>a
>>>snap.
>>>
>>>http://www.sausage-stuffer.com/sausage_stuffer.htm
>>>
>>
>>Brick, how do you keep meat from leaking around
>>the plunger? Mine leaks
>>so bad it's useless
>
>
> I've actually used my stuffer only once and it did
> leak
> as you mention, but it was far from useless. I had
> no
> trouble with the leaking part. I did have to get a
> little
> creative with my leverage because I did not bolt/
> clamp the thing down.
>
> Since these machines are pretty crude iron
> castings,
> perhaps yours is just sloppier then mine. If
> shipping
> wasn't so damn expensive these days, I'd let you
> try
> mine out.
>
That's probably it. I have noticed that the new ones are made out of
SS, with closer tolerances. I went ahead and ordered the vertical
stuffer from Northers Tools.