stuffing with Northern Industrial Electric Meat Grinder

[OliverB]

I'm most likely going to get the Northern Industrial Electric Meat Grinder for $129.99 in the next couple of weeks. It comes with stuffing tubes but I seem to remember reading somewhere that they only work if you leave a grinding plate in there. Is that an issue? I'd use the largest one of course, but I'm wondering if one could not get a spare one and simply cut out larger openings in a plate and thus eliminating (most of) the extra grinding.

I'll probably get a dedicated stuffer down the road, but I first want to see how much I'm actually going to use this thing and how much fun I'm having, before I spend an other $150 or so on a stuffer.

I'd be curious to hear from some that have this grinder and have stuffed with the attachments.

I know myself, if I end up with some disaster with this process I'll put the grinder in a dark corner and never use it again. In that case I'd rater order the stuffer right away to avoid such frustrations :)

I searched around here but could not find the answer I'm looking for.

thanks!

Oliver

[Smokin Soon]

There is another thread here on that subject, but it was unanimous that stuffing with a grinder is not the way to go. Look around and you could find a decent stainless stuffer for 60 bucks or so. I had less then desireable results.

[smokeitall]

grizzly.com and search for meat stuffer.  I used a grinder one time to stuff.....never again.

[Habanero Smoker]

You need to get a spacer plate and use that instead of the regular grinder plate. Since it comes with stuffing tubes, it may already come with a spacer plate. If you know were you can get the accessories for your grinder or know the size number you can readily order one.

[drano]

+1 on getting a stuffer if that fits your budget. 

However, Bass Pro sells the LEM brand spacer plates, at least I saw them in the store last weekend.  I believe they had #8 and bigger.  If BP doesn't have them at your store, I'd guess you can buy it straight from LEM.

Making sausage does take some time, but it sure tastes good!  I made a 10 pound batch last weekend.  Cutting the meat, grinding/mixing, stuffing and washing everything up took 4 hours.  I bet I could have made a 20 lb batch in about the same time.  Setup, teardown, washing takes the most time. 
Read/ask here, and buy the book Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas--lots of great info. 
good luck
drano

[Piker]

I have the same grinder and I found that it never stuffed very good. I usually do small batches therefore the small equioment I have. It is easier to clean the small stuff compared to the time you spend on sausage making. Like I could never justify large equipment for what I do. Thks Dave

[Father Tom]

Welcome OliverB to the forum.  You will note that most of those stuffing sausage will get a verticle stainless stuffer.  Works a hell of a lot better than grinder attachments.  There are ones out there for $60 clams upward.  A 5 pounder would probably be a perfect size.   "Drano" was correct in getting the Sausage Maker book but there are a couple of others that you can add after his.  They are "ChaRcuteRie" by Ruhlman & Polcyn (expensieve but worth it (Hard Cover)) and "Sausage" by A.D. Livingston  (Less Expensieve (Soft Cover)).  Then there are many, many web sites which you can fine on this forum.

When you get up and running let us know.

Tom

[OliverB]

Thanks all, that's about what I expected to hear. I might try the attachment for my first batch and therewith also spread the investment a bit. I also want to first see how much I'll actually enjoy making sausages. The grinder is handy for simply grinding things, so it's useful for burgers, meatballs, all those things.

I have the Ruhlman book which I love, I'm waiting for my first shipment of pink salt from butcher-packer to cure some pork belly I (finally!!) found at an Asian supermarket. (where they also have trotters, years, cheeck, and a whole lot of other things you can't find at Safeway!)

Thanks again, I'll sure let you know how things turn out!

I'll be ordering the grinder and the smoker most likely this week :-)

Oliver