I haven't seen many if any posts that discuss using a grinder as a stuffer also. (I believe I seen one negative post)
I'm curious what the thoughts of doing so?
Thanks
Briggsy
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It should work fine. I think the biggest negative is speed. The grinder will be much slower when it comes to stuffing casings. This shouldn't be a problem unless you are making a lot of sausage.
Bullseye Bill
Bullseye Bill
You can use the grinder to stuff, I would run it through as few a times as I could. The downside is that it is slow, it tends to over grind the meat, and it tends to over warm the meat. If can, get a stuffer as it overcomes the down side of using the grinder. Obviously the downside of a stuffer is cost. Good luck, I love to make my own sausage.
I used a 1hp #22 cabela grinder for years to do both grinding and stuffing. Sometimes you have to use what you got. The only down side I had were that you couldn't grind and stuff at the same time and at times the sausage would smear. I think it was because it would get warmer pushing it through the auger and kidney plate again. I now have a separate stuffer and grinder with a 50lb mixer.
I did my first few batches of link sausage and snack sticks thru a grinder with a stuffing tube. It was slow. As was stated earlier, If the meat does not go thru the grinder/tube fast enough, it can get warm. Temp is everything in sausage, you must keep it cold or the fat will 'break' and soften to a point where it becomes grainy. LEM has/had a my stuffer (5LB stainless steel) on sale. Don't know if it is still on sale or not, but if you do any stuffing at all, it is so much easier.
Some tricks while grinding/stuffing is to put the metal parts of the grinder in the freezer and also partially freeze the meat. I use grey buss tubs (sold at sams, two for about seven dollars or so) I use two at a time. In one, I fill the bottom with ice, put the second one on top of it and put the meat in it after grinding and before stuffing. It really keeps the meat colder. Also, if your recipe calls for water added to the meat mix, add ice water with a lot of ice in it.
Some tricks while grinding/stuffing is to put the metal parts of the grinder in the freezer and also partially freeze the meat. I use grey buss tubs (sold at sams, two for about seven dollars or so) I use two at a time. In one, I fill the bottom with ice, put the second one on top of it and put the meat in it after grinding and before stuffing. It really keeps the meat colder. Also, if your recipe calls for water added to the meat mix, add ice water with a lot of ice in it.
I use my Kitchen aid to grind and at first to stuff as well. I had the smearing/ warming problem because of how long it took. I still grind with it, but stuff with an LEM 5lb stuffer I purchased on Amazon (best price I found). I keep all my parts frozen (incl. stuffer can) like Chaplain says. Also, I use two inexpensive large metal bowls from Restaurant Depot with ice in the bottom one. The metal keeps nice and cold and keeps the meat cold. It really makes a difference.