Grinding & Stuffing

[kawika]

So I got my beautiful Bradley 6 rack digital yesterday from Amazon.  I also received my Auber 1200CPH PID.  Holy crap, it looks like I gotta be a rocket scientist to program this thing!  Already installed the sensor and seasoned the smoker.  I did notice that when I had set the Bradley temp to 150 it went up as high as 178!  That's not real encouraging.  Glad I got the PID!  Now if I can just figure out how to program the PID.  I already prepared 10 pounds of Polish sausage meat (Ryteks recipe), stuffed 'em and they are in the fridge till tomorrow morning.  I used a hand cranked sausage grinder/stuffer.  I am thinking about buying a grinder now that makes my sausage making less of a chore.  I was looking at the models at Cabela's.  The serious 1 1/2 hp commercial unit.  I was wondering if this unit will serve double purpose, also as a stuffer.  I only have two hands and find it to be a real pain-in-the-you-know-what grinding and stuffing manually.  What are your thoughts on this?  Am I making sense here?  Grinder/stuffer combo?  Any help would be appreciated.
Mahalo,  Kawika 

[3rensho]

A lot of people seem to use the Cabella's grinders and are happy with them.  Not having a Cabellas in Switzerland I use an Italian model and am quite happy with it.  Concerning the stuffing.  I used a grinder/stuffer combination for a while but was not impressed - you're right with only two hands it's a chore.  I now use a separate stuffer (also Italian) and am very happy now using a separate stuffer.  There is/are several thread(s) on the forum dealing with this topic.

[manxman]

Not having a Cabellas in Switzerland I use an Italian model and am quite happy with it.

Ditto here in Britain, I use a Trespade (Italian) grinder with a 1.5 HP motor and separate stuffer and have been very happy with them to date. :)

you're right with only two hands it's a chore. 

Couldn't agree more, need about four hands!  :D

[pfowl01]

Kawika,

Hello from the mainland ;D ( I'm in Minnesota ) I have the smallest Cabela's grinder and the smallest stuffer. I love them both....the grinder with grind as fast as you can feed it, very smooth and quite. The stuffer works very well....I usually have my wife help me when stuffing, but some here can pull it off by themselves. The only negative thing I can say is the stuffer leaves about a pound of meat at the bottom of the tube...the plunger will only go down so far. For that I would dig it out and put it into a jerky cannon and finish stuffing it that way.

[NePaSmoKer]

I worked at Cabelas and thats why i didnt buy the stuffer. It only went down so far. I bought a 5lb stuffer from a diff company and the plunger goes down to the bottom. I only have enough meat at the bottom to make a small patty.

nepas

[fuzzy3955]

I just bought a stuffer kit from fleet farm it makes stuffing so much easier then with the grinder. Very little left in bottom of tub when done.

Fuzzy

[drano]

kawika
Yep, cabelas sells pretty good stuff.  But buy a grinder and a stuffer.  You'll only stuff w/ a grinder once.

I've had their 11 lb stuffer for several years (and bought the motor for it this week but haven't used it yet :().  Last fall I got their 1/2 hp commercial grinder, and really like it. 

My stuffer was made when the plunger plate was solid plastic (like cutting boards are made of) so it is tougher than current models.  And my ram has teeth all the way to the top, so it doesn't leave much meat in the bottom.  But I'm gonna need to be careful w/ the stuffer motor so I don't bottom out the plunger and damage the stuffer. 

Suggestions: 
Cabelas 11 lb stuffer - nice size--fill twice for a 20 lb batch, but leaves meat in bottom.
Grizzly or Northern Tool 5 lb stuffer at ~ $80-100 (same as LEM for less $$$). More refills per job than larger stuffer, but lower price, and I believe it doesn't leave much meat in the bottom.

Grinder size - Cabelas commercial 1/2 hp grinds 20 lb in about 10 minutes or less.  Larger plate holes grind faster than smaller plate holes.   If you grind for every batch, the 1/2 hp is plenty.  If you want to grind a bunch of meat and freeze it, you may want a bigger grinder.  I grind for every batch, by cutting meat into 3/4 x 3/4 x ~3" strips, mix spice into cut meat, then grind.  The grinder mixes the spice into the meat as it grinds it.  Some may say it doesn't get mixed well enough, but my brats, summer sausage and beef sticks turn out great. 

Do some searches on here for grinder and stuffer for more info, and keep asking--we'll help.
good luck
drano

[Smokin Soon]

On a recommendation from a few members I bought my grinder and stuffer from Northern Tool. Both work like a champ! I only do 5 or 10 pound batches at a time.

[lumpy]

I started with a cabelas ginder and used it also as a stuffer. The grind portion worked great but the stuffing part >:(.
After my 1st attempt to stuff with it was a disaster, I purchased a 5LB verticle stuffer from LEM.

Best piece  (next to my DBS and PID) of equipment I've used!

It makes the stuffing process lots of fun ;D

Lumpy