Best sausage stuffer

[Bcoonce117]

I’m in the market for a sausage stuffer. Want mostly for bratwurst, breakfast sausage, and snack sticks. Looked at the meat your maker 15lb stuffer but their customer service seems hit or miss. So now I’m considering the 10lb big bite dual gear from LEM. Wanted the 15lb mighty bite but it’s not capable of doing snack sticks. If I’m going to spend the money, I want all the benefits of a stuffer. Would be way faster than using my jerky cannon for snack sticks.

 

[jmez]

What's your budget? Small stuffers are a bit of a PITA.

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[Bcoonce117]

Trying to keep it in the 400 dollar range. But that 10lb big bite is a little more than that

 

[BBob]

So now I’m considering the 10lb big bite dual gear from LEM.

I have that one. So far it’s been a good compromise. I’d love to have a powered unit but this one does fine and we do a fair amount of snack sticks which is why I stayed with the 10lb. Pretty sure I got it as a refurb that saved a fair bit. If you watch and wait they always have sales and refurb units come up now and then. It was missing the air valve in the piston but they shipped the replacement parts right away.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I'd go 15lb.

 

[Bcoonce117]

Do you feel you have to reload too much when doing larger sausages? I feel like thats the compromise though being able to do both snack sticks and bratwurst and whatnot

 

[Bcoonce117]

I could also just get the 15lb single gear then get the 5lb for snack sticks. Just seems like an extra unit for no reason. Jerky cannon makes snack
Sticks but it’s a lot of pumping and I’m sure the stuffer is more uniform

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I have an old Enterprise that held about 8 lbs and that was annoying having to refill it. And it always seems like I'm making 12-15 lbs at a time. The new SS 15 lb solved that.

 

[svivian]

15lb stuffer would be the minimum size i would go. Ideally find a 25lb stuffer

 

[BBob]

Do you feel you have to reload too much when doing larger sausages? I feel like thats the compromise though being able to do both snack sticks and bratwurst and whatnot

I’ve used the 10lb to bag chubs and it’s not that big of a deal to reload the hopper. Put it in fast gear to retract, tilt the hopper out and reload. Takes two minutes mby less. No big deal at all when two people are working. For large sausage it’s easier with two people when you’re mid casing and you need to reload but I’ve managed by myself. Yeah a 15 would save time but not much. I did not want to have two stuffers so the compromise for snack sticks has been fine. Ultimately if I had the room I’d have the 10 for snack sticks and a 25 for chubs and sausage.

 

[Legend]

I’m in the market for a sausage stuffer. Want mostly for bratwurst, breakfast sausage, and snack sticks. Looked at the meat your maker 15lb stuffer but their customer service seems hit or miss. So now I’m considering the 10lb big bite dual gear from LEM. Wanted the 15lb mighty bite but it’s not capable of doing snack sticks. If I’m going to spend the money, I want all the benefits of a stuffer. Would be way faster than using my jerky cannon for snack sticks.

I used a 15lb one from cabelas. Works ok for big stuff like packaging hamburger. But last time I used it for snack sticks. And I almost went full office space on that piece of chit!!

When pushing through the small diameter of a snack stick the pressure is quite high. Most places recomend using small volume, like 5lb, stuffers. This is because the bigger everything is the more likely it can bend or twist. And the sausage squeezes around the plunger.

If you make 20lbs of snacks sticks you will have a bunch. So I'm buying a 5lb stuffer and filling it a few times.

 

[butcherboy]

I would go for the biggest stuffer you can afford. If you only make 5lbs or 10lbs it should work just fine in a 15lb or 20lb stuffer. Use the right size stuffing horn. If it won’t go through then you can add more ice cold water to the meat and it will go through easier.

I put 10lbs in mine all the time and it’s a 60lb stuffer but it’s also hydraulic. Still have problems with snack sticks sometimes and adding water usually does the trick.

 

[Azone]

I have a 33 pounder from Waltons that I have put thousands of pounds through over the last 8ish years.
I’ve never wished it was smaller. Buy once, cry once.

 

[Bcoonce117]

Anyone ever try the double 1/2 stuffing horn from the sausage maker? Was thinking this might work on the 15lb lem stuffer without building too much pressure. I figure the extra tube would relieve some more pressure

 

[TX_Diver]

If I'm just interested in making snack sticks I'm assuming relatively small is better?

For you guys using a jerky cannon how much of a pain is it to do 10 lbs of snack sticks?

 

[HiMtnHntr]

I have a 15 lb Hakka I’ve been pleased with. Wish I would got the 20. We put a few hundred lbs through it every year.

I have a jerky shooter. It’s the big one, can’t remember what it’s called. Shooting 10 lb is not a big deal.

 

[Dave_S]

I have a dual gear unit from Weston. 11 or 15 pounds, I don't recall which. Halfway through a batch of sausage, I started noticing shiny flecks on some of the casing. I panicked, thinking my batch was going to be shot. Turns out that even though most of the parts are all stainless, the crank handle was cheaply chrome plated, and the coating was coming off all over my work surface. I was able to pick the bits off of what was done and "bandage" up the handle to finish. When I complained to weston, they sent me a new handle...also chrome plated. I wire-wheeled off all of the finish so I don't need to worry about it. It's my only experience with a stuffer, and maybe some other brands are shipping with higher quality accessories. That being said, just something to look out for.

 

[Jeremyc_1999]

I have a 20 lb motorized LEM. It allows me to do brats and links by myself. I haven’t made snack sticks yet but I plan on it.

 

[Bcoonce117]

I decided on the 10lb dual gear stuffer. I like that i can do all the different sausage sizes. Don’t feel like 5lbs will make or break it for me. Plan on involving the kids to have them start learning. Just waiting on a 25% code. I waited too long to order in October and let that code expire.

 

[TX_Diver]

As an update I made 5 lbs of snack sticks with a jerky cannon and it wasn't too bad. Took a few reloads and required my wife to operate the gun while I dealt with the casings, but it worked well.

Going to buy a stuffing horn that fits my 1HP meat grinder and try that. If that fails then I'll probably get a dedicated stuffer from waltons.

Before smoking

After smoking (and sampling)