Sausage stuffers - what to look for?

[Prawncrackers]

So is everyone still happy with their NT/Grizzly 5lb vertical stuffers? Seems like it was a bit of a love in while ago! My all in one mincer and stuffer packed in recently and I think i'm going to pull the trigger on one from Northern Tools UK here

But then i've noticed this horizontol beauty from Germany for the same price on Ebay UK. It looks very well made, 5 nozzles, clamps and creamy mass too!

Anyone have any experience on these horizontal types, can't decide whether to do it standing up or lying down.

Edited January 8, 2010 by Prawncrackers (log)

[ojisan]

So is everyone still happy with their NT/Grizzly 5lb vertical stuffers? Seems like it was a bit of a love in while ago! My all in one mincer and stuffer packed in recently and I think i'm going to pull the trigger on one from Northern Tools UK here

But then i've noticed this horizontol beauty from Germany for the same price on Ebay UK. It looks very well made, 5 nozzles, clamps and creamy mass too!

Anyone have any experience on these horizontal types, can't decide whether to do it standing up or lying down.

I have the 5 lb. Grizzly and like it a lot. One feature it has (that most horizontal plunger-types don't) is an air valve, which prevents farting (for lack of a better description) if there are air pockets in the cylinder, which would result in air pockets in your sausage casings. I lube the piston o-ring with a bit of fat.

[brokenscale]

I am in the market for a sausage stuffer, i already have a grinder and a smoker so it only makes sense since i love to bbq and grill. Any recomendations on brand and electric vs manual would be a great help

[scotty2]

Electric will cost you an arm and a leg. I have a Grizzly 5lb, pretty affordable. I've used it quite a bit and it's been very reliable.

[LoriZig]

I know that KitchenAid has an somewhat inexpensive attachment that several friends have used with a lot of success.

[dougal]

Electric will cost you an arm and a leg. I have a Grizzly 5lb, pretty affordable. I've used it quite a bit and it's been very reliable.

I know that KitchenAid has an somewhat inexpensive attachment that several friends have used with a lot of success.

There you have a good summary! (Albeit needing more clarity.)

The design choice is between piston- and screw- feed of your meat mix ("forcemeat").

A cheap attachment for your screw-feed grinder is likely your cheapest option.

But it will (to a greater or lesser degree) mess up the 'definition' of your textured sausages.

And also, I personally run out of hands with the motorised screw-feed stuffer, using the attachment to the mincer/grinder attachment for my mixer. Sausage stuffing necessarily becomes a team effort.

A piston stuffer solves the definition problem.

Cheap/basic ones drive the piston by a lever - they are very hard work, requiring a lot of force.

A gear-driven piston stuffer, is easy and controllable. It makes stuffing fun. The "5 lb Grizzly" is a benchmark standard product, using a vertical piston. The same thing is available with many different manufacturers' labels. Mine is actually labelled "Northern Tool" but was supplied by a specialist for less than NT were currently advertising. There are similar-looking, but more expensive, 5 lb variants made with more stainless steel parts (distinguish them by the frame being shaped differently). Stainless (rather than plastic) stuffing nozzles makes a good upgrade. The parts interchangeability with these products suggests that spare part availability should never be a problem. However they aren't the cheapest of kitchen gadgets - and they take up a chunk of storage space too! (Tip - find some washable clamps for fixing it to the kitchen worktop while stuffing - they make it even easier!)

You'll pay much more for larger capacity versions, and massively more for motorised, geared, piston-feed stuffers.

There are other options - I've even heard of one that uses water pressure (from the tap) to move the piston.

For a business, features like fast reloading would matter. But I'm happy to crank the piston back up, rather than pay out for such features.

Owners of the "5 lb Grizzly" and its twins tend to be very enthusiastic about them. People that suffer with attachments to their mixer attachments generally don't know what they are missing!

Edited February 16, 2010 by dougal (log)

[docdix]

Unless you're thinking of making it into small business, the grizzly stuffer works really well and it's fairly easy to clean. get a pair of bench clamps so you can clamp the stuffer onto a table while stuffing and you're good to go.

[brokenscale]

ok im going to go with a vertical grizzley, but all the ones i find have plastic feeds, where can i find the stainless feeds?

[dougal]

ok im going to go with a vertical grizzley, but all the ones i find have plastic feeds, where can i find the stainless feeds?

One North American source for accessory tubes is http://www.sausagemaker.com/stufferaccessories.aspx?page=2 (note that the 5 lb takes different 'stuffing tubes' than the bigger models). Just store the supplied plastic ones away somewhere safe and out of the way!

Since this has been added to the older thread, you could read through the whole thing and perhaps confirm my observation that owners of the 5 lb are pretty enthusiastic!

Edited February 16, 2010 by dougal (log)

[vice]

Another vote for the Grizzly here. Regarding the material of the stuffer tubes, I've been satisfied thus far with the standard plastic offerings, but haven't used any stainless ones. My advice is to give it a go with the plastic first, get the hang of things, then pick up stainless later if you're dissatisfied. At the outset, $60 is probably money better spent on a few batches of sausage.

[jmolinari]

So, anyone have to replace the gears on their stuffer yet? Mine just broke yesterday. Don't know why, i don't force the thing. One of the teeth just broke....

any ideas for replacements?

I have the northern industrial one.

[jmolinari]

Update. I called Northern Tool and they have the gears as spares. $8.