anybody using a 3 lb sausage stuffer?

They work just fine depending on what you are stuffing. I would not want to stuff a hundred pounds of small breakfast sausage with one. For an individual making 10-25# of sausage in 32mm. hog casing it's perfect.

I was thinking of 5-10# per batch of beef sticks in small collagen casing. I've had pretty good luck using my KitchenAid mixer grinder attachment to stuff small amounts of hog casing and larger sizes, but it seems to have trouble with overgrinding when stuffing smaller casings.

I guess another relatively inexpensive solution would be to use a Jerky Shooter with sausage stuffing attachment - might have to rig something up for a small enough tube.

You can do the small casings with that type of stuffer. You are probably burning your meat trying to stuff meat into small casings. When you stuff smaller caings it takes a lot more force to push the meat thru a small stuffing tube. You mave have to bolt your stuffer down when you do the small casings. Try 10#s that what I can fit in my cs 55.

Thanks for the advice, Joe. I could probably get one of those half-sheet size plastic cutting boards and bolt a stuffer to that. Or maybe something heavier.

FYI. I've had good results stuffing small cases on a kitchenaid by making two passes with it. On the first pass, just grind the meat and catch it in a bowl. Then remove the grinder plate and put on the stuffing tube. This way you're not grinding and stuffing at the same time. It's more controllable.

Ed: I agree on doing 2 separate steps. I first used a tube from another grinder with the KitchenAid grinder plate and knife. Even stuffing big casings, it worked mighty hard to do both at once.

The KA brand tubes now include a spacer so the plate and knife don't have to be attached when stuffing. But even with the spacer installed, using small casings it seemed like it turned the meat into more of a paste by the end of the batch.

tjr, you're right, it does mash the meat a little too much.

I finally wound up getting the 5lb stuffer from The SausageMaker and haven't used the Kitchenaid since. This baby will stuff anything.

I bought a three pounder from northern tool and dont care much for it. It is a cheap import that leaks more meat around the piston than comes out of the stuffing horn.Even tried foil layers to make up the difference. My next purchase will be a chop-right or sausage maker crank model. Should have saved my money!!

Has anyone tried the Lem products jerky cannon to stuff snack sticks and sausage? I would like to try smoking some in my 55, but I don't want to spend a great deal of money as I doubt I would use it very often.

ScooterJ, I use an American Harvest to shoot my jerky. Gun came from Meijer a large department/food store here in Ohio. Much cheaper than the jerky cannon and made of fairly thick plastic. On the other hand I believe that anything LEM puts on the market has to be top quality. Down the road I would like to acquire one. Maybe Santa next year. Try their summer sausage mix. I am hooked. Took me 6 yrs to find a recipe that good!! I may be a little partial since LEM is located in Hamilton, Ohio. Buckeyes cannot all be bad!!

Trust all had a merry, smokey Christmas! My beef stix went over fairly well even though they were a bit overground. On the other hand, the summer sausage was a real hit - will make more this week.

Harbor Freight has their 3# stuffers for $15. Probably the same one as Northern Hardware's. It's made in China, pretty rough, and marked "5 LB" on the casting but is the same size as the 3# ones sold elsewhere.

For the price I think I might try it - may have to modify the piston to make a tighter fit and maybe to leave less meat in the stuffer.