Newbie Needs Help

[flynztone]

Just ordered a new OBS from Amazon & an Auber Dual Probe PID and some other extras. I've been smoking on a Char-Broil Texas Smoker for a few years and it does well if you want to man the unit all day which I like doing if I have the time. Anyway, I want to get into sausage making real soon and I just can't figure out what to purchase for a grinder and a stuffer. I have roughly $600.00 invested in the smoker, PID and all the extras and I don't want to break the bank on a grinder & stuffer however I don't want something that isn't going to work out either.

I have done my homework here on this forum and there appears to be a lot of different ideas as to what would make a good starter setup. Some say a manual grinder and a top load manual stuffer and some say electric grinder and H2O stuffer. I will be making small quanities 5#-10# initially however I foresee myself eventually making up whatever the OBS will hold and get the job done well.

Any thoughts on good proven grinder and stuffer that will accomplish this would be highly appreciated. I really don't mind cranking a handle as long as it gets the job done and it's not too messy. The gentleman who posted the Sausage Making A-Z suggested that one would be green after using the manual model. As I said, I don't want something too cheap but I'm not looking for top of the line either

Thanks folks  8)

[Kevin A]

I have done my homework here on this forum and there appears to be a lot of different ideas as to what would make a good starter setup. Some say a manual grinder and a top load manual stuffer and some say electric grinder and H2O stuffer. I will be making small quanities 5#-10# initially however I foresee myself eventually making up whatever the OBS will hold and get the job done well.

Any thoughts on good proven grinder and stuffer that will accomplish this would be highly appreciated. I really don't mind cranking a handle as long as it gets the job done and it's not too messy. The gentleman who posted the Sausage Making A-Z suggested that one would be green after using the manual model. As I said, I don't want something too cheap but I'm not looking for top of the line either

Thanks folks  8)

Hi Flynztone
I was in the exact same situation a month ago or so that you find yourself in currently: which grinder & stuffer? I had counsel from a number of experienced sausage-makers as to which way to go (manual vs electric; vert. stuffers versus using the grinder to stuff or horizontal H20 stuffers). Two factors aided in my decision: budget and quantities to be produced.

My budget was set at $500 for BOTH grinder & stuffer. I'm feeding a family of 5 so I anticipated my quantities to be rather large (usually 10 lbs or more).

re: Manual grinders— I first checked these out. For my needs, I priced out the largest (#32) in stainless, and when I totaled up the cost of this unit, plus the additional plates ($), I was closing in on the cost of the electrics. Given the cost, plus the fact it's more laborious and requires two people if you plan to 'stuff' with it as well, I opted not to go manual. For some, the manual grinders work great. For my needs, I chose to go with the electric models.

re: electric grinders— every person I consulted with said, "Don't go too small (#8) or you'll regret it!" So I investigated the #10 & #12 models (# indicate throat size). Some decent models & manufacturers out there (LEM, Cabela, Norther Industrial, Weston) so check 'em out & see which ones best fit your budget.
I wound up with a 3/4" cabela grinder (refurbished units are a great deal!) that is powerful enough to handle large loads with ease and comes with a stuffer attachment(s) that I can use by myself.

re: stuffers— many folks use the 5lb vert stuffers & find they work just dandy. I almost picked one up but was advised to get a larger one per my anticipated output. The 10+lb stuffers start getting pricey so I began looking into alternatives. I came across the water-stuffer by Dakotah—which was priced fairly reasonably. Large capacity, but the quality of the materials in it left me a bit skeptical of both its durability and integrity in the long run. Another member recommended I contact fellow member Pikeman95 who happened to make his own version (better!) water-powered stuffer. So that's what I wound up getting. Holds 11 pounds per load, quick, and one person can stuff a boatload of sausage in no time. One of my better decisions.

I hope you find some of this blather helpful!

good luck!

Kevin

[NePaSmoKer]

Welcome

If your going to get into the sausage making you can with minimal $ output. There are many options for hand crank stuffers and grinders at low costs that will serve you well on small 5 lb batches. Like Kevin said check Cabelas, LEM Basspro and Gander Mountain.

If your leaning towards a water stuffer Kirby makes a great one. Also Karen Cutlip owns Dakotah stuffer company. I have one well made but limited to just 2 stuffer tubes and a ground meat conversion for GB jerky. Kirbys stuffer can handle many tube sizes and jerky nozzle.

Stuff On  ;D

[flynztone]

Thanks for the replies folks and I saw the vertical water stuffer that KevinA is talking about and I'm a pretty handy guy so I would be interested in putting one of these together. I would probably prefer an electric grinder if it doesn't break the bank. I would like to keep the investment between $250.00 & $300.00 as I have a spouse that will go balistic if I get too crazy with this initially.

KevinA, how do I get the plans & parts for the water stuffer?

[NePaSmoKer]

Thanks for the replies folks and I saw the vertical water stuffer that KevinA is talking about and I'm a pretty handy guy so I would be interested in putting one of these together. I would probably prefer an electric grinder if it doesn't break the bank. I would like to keep the investment between $250.00 & $300.00 as I have a spouse that will go balistic if I get too crazy with this initially.

KevinA, how do I get the plans & parts for the water stuffer?

Contact kirby...AKA pikeman_95

I have one also with both sz main tubes.

[cobra6223]

Hey Flynztone
Well just another 2 cents worth from another newbie, just got a new Gander mountain guide series #12 in February, love the grinder and customer service so far, unit came with 3 grinding plates and a stuffing plate and tubes, worked for awhile but wound up getting an additional vertical stuffer, some day I would like to try Kube so I called gander mountain and they wound up sending me a free attachment for it, It grinds meat faster than I can feed it, it was on sale for 149.00 normally 179.00, I would recommend it to anyone, as for the stuffer, if you want a water stuffer, go with pikeman, he was awesome to me and offered to do tons of extra assembly for me since I'm mechanically braindead(no laughing please!!  :D), only reason i didn't buy one yet is I was worried it was more than I could handle so I went with the Weston 11# vertical and manual crank as I figured I wanted something bigger than a 5# as I could only afford one and this will hold 10# easy and that should be plenty big enough to grow with, I paid 169.00 +S&H from Qualitymatters.com, again great customer service, the stuffing tube I use most appeared gouged on the inside and as newbie I was worried bad things might form if it didn't get clean enough, again called them and they couldn't just send 1 tube so they sent me four new ones . The last I would like say is just to keep coming here the folks on this site are TOP NOTCH, every one is friendly and the suggestions and advice are solid !!! Just a reminder like got, just be careful this stuff gets in your veins and you become a sausage stuffing JUNKIE !!! Good luck and have fun .

Tim

[beefmann]

welcome to the forum and there are a lot of  sausage makes out here that  can advise you better.