Sausage stuffer and grinder reccs.

[Rjsand70]

I’m wanting to process a few does a year and start feeding my family at least some wild game in form of things we can’t buy raw snack sticks hotdogs etc.

Not a commercial operation, not gonna go nuts with it just could be nice to have especially when I get to go kill an elk.

I’m looking for a reasonable and useful meat grinder and sausage stuffer I don’t want junk just something good enough that it won’t make me hate doing it

 

[Blind Squirrel]

I’m wanting to process a few does a year and start feeding my family at least some wild game in form of things we can’t buy raw snack sticks hotdogs etc.

Not a commercial operation, not gonna go nuts with it just could be nice to have especially when I get to go kill an elk.

I’m looking for a reasonable and useful meat grinder and sausage stuffer I don’t want junk just something good enough that it won’t make me hate doing it

Following, came here looking for this same info.

 

[rem.ostrem]

For meat grinders, I would go with MEAT! grinders. I have the 1 HP grinder and it eats deer meat like crazy. Extremely well built and good warranty.
I have a LEM 5# sausage stuffer that works well for me. I'd like to upgrade to a slightly bigger stuffer someday but this works, you just have to take breaks to refill the hopper.
You could stuff right out of the grinder but I have a dedicated stuffer due to the fact that I almost never grind meat and make stuff at the same time. I also like to add things to summer sausage like cheese or peppers and a grinder wouldn't be the best for that.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

MEAT grinder works well...dont waste your time with a 5lb stuffer, it works but sucks to have to keep reloading it...get a 10lb...a summer sausage is almost 3lbs..so you get the picture.

 

[Pickettpuncher]

I have a 15 pound Hakka bros stuffer that works great. I also have an LEM #8 grinder. I should have went up a size.

 

[keller]

Sign up for lem email they have been having 20% off sales every month

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I highly recommend a LEM double grind grinder, #8 is ok for just a couple of deer a year, if you will be doing a bunch of deer or an elk, at least a #12. MEAT is often on sale cheaper, but to my knowledge does not give you a double grind option.

i've been home butchering for a long time and just got into sausage making this fall. the 5# LEM stuffer works. refilling it takes a little bit of time. All of the cabelas sausage seasoning kits are based on 25# batches, so definitely get something that works with 25# increments, whether that's a 5# or a 25# stuffer. the intermediate sizes are going to leave you pushing out a bunch of air at some point.

Many of the sausages/snack stick kits also require a smoker, only a few are for raw sausages (breakfast sausage, italian, bratwurst).

 

[BBob]

I have a 15 pound Hakka bros stuffer that works great. I also have an LEM #8 grinder. I should have went up a size.

Will that 15lb stuffer do meat sticks? Most 15lb stuffers won’t do it. I use a LEM 10lb for that reason. Too large of a piston gets too hard to try to stuff small diameter casings.

In a grinder I’d look at a LEM dual grind in size 12 minimum. I have an 8 for small jobs and it’s great but I’d jump up to a 12 if doing it again. I have a 22 dual grind as well and it’s fantastic for larger jobs. Really fast and the dual grind is a time saver in any size machine.

I’ll second the idea of signing up for LEM sales. Occasionally they’ll have refurbished sales that can save you a lot of you are patient. All of my LEM machines are refurbs, essentially new. All I found was the packaging looks like it made several trips after a return with the machines looking unused.

 

[Rjsand70]

So the sounds like I’m looking for a double grind 10lb plus grinder

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Grinders are sized by number, sausage stuffers by pounds

 

[MOwhitetail]

I’d look at the biggest size grinder you can afford and then go one size bigger. They are a lifetime investment after all. I had a #8 Lem for awhile and it was ok for the first grind if I got the meat really cold but the second grind took forever. I upgraded to a #32 Meat! (That was back when their only options were #32 and either an 8 or 12) and I haven’t regretted going that big a single time. It makes processing deer pretty quick and still big enough that elk isn’t too much of a chore. As for a stuffer, bigger is obviously more efficient if you’re making a big batch of a single kind of something, but I like to experiment with different recipes of sausage, brats, snack sticks, etc so a smaller size is actually a little easier for me to use that way.

 

[Tod osier]

Everyone loves a big grinder, but take into account that the size is not trivial. I have a #22 and it is really big and really heavy. I had a #8 and felt like it just didn't grind fast enough, #22 I can't feed it fast enough.

10-15# on the stuffer is a good spot for me. A 5# sucks to reload mid casing.

 

[tt_johnsclist]

I’ll second any LEM product recommendations. That being said, I am very happy with my cabelas 1/2hp carnivore grinder, #12. I have had many smaller grinders over the years and I would not go smaller now that I have this one. Same with a sausage stuffer, go 10lb or bigger, they also work great for filling burger freezer bags.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

grind straight into a burger bag, no sense handling the meat unnecessarily.

 

[Tod osier]

no sense handling the meat unnecessarily.

Very puritanical of you.

 

[Pickettpuncher]

Will that 15lb stuffer do meat sticks? Most 15lb stuffers won’t do it. I use a LEM 10lb for that reason. Too large of a piston gets too hard to try to stuff small diameter casings.

In a grinder I’d look at a LEM dual grind in size 12 minimum. I have an 8 for small jobs and it’s great but I’d jump up to a 12 if doing it again. I have a 22 dual grind as well and it’s fantastic for larger jobs. Really fast and the dual grind is a time saver in any size machine.

I’ll second the idea of signing up for LEM sales. Occasionally they’ll have refurbished sales that can save you a lot of you are patient. All of my LEM machines are refurbs, essentially new. All I found was the packaging looks like it made several trips after a return with the machines looking unused.

I haven’t tried sticks yet, but have the stuff to do it. Mine has 2 gears, a high and low. I’ve stuffed brats and kielbasa just fine.



Also, I got my grinder from LEM. During Black Friday. They ran a 25% off earlier in the week but once Black Friday rolled around they had free shipping. Saved me a ton since there’s a shipping upcharge on the grinder

 

[Boarmaster]

I been using my LEM 1 hp #22 big bite with foot peda for at least a decade. No issues. One grind and done. I use the plate with the big kidney shaped holes and the large diameter tube to stuff grind and fresh sausage into meat bags. I have a simple taper I bought from LEM to seal them.

I originally bought a 5 lb LEM stuffer for sausage in casings. It worked great as a stuffer but proved to be sort of tedious reloading it every 5 lbs. With in a year I bought a 15 lb stuffer. Mo Betta. I still use the 5 lb stuffer for some small jobs of specialty sausage I might want to do.

I would take a look at MEAT equipment if I was starting over. Not saying I would buy them over LEM but they get very good reviews and prices seem good.

I would recommend blowing your biggest part of your budget on a good quality grinder larger than you think you need. Even if that means limiting your processing a year or somas you save for more equipment. Get one that does more than just getting the job done. I never met anyone who felt they wasted money on a bigger grinder than they needed five years down the road. A great grinder is a pleasure to work with.

I bought all my equipment on very good sales. They have them a few times a year. I think
I saved 30-40% on my grinder and if I recall 20-25% on my stuffers.

 

[Buelrdr29]

The MEAT! Your Maker #22 1 HP grinder is on sale for 30% off. The #8 0.5 hp is on sale for 40% off. I just ordered the 1 HP on Tuesday. I also talked with customer service and they said they will have black friday sales that may start in a few weeks.

My logic is that I want to be able to process my deer in the freezer, have a grinder that I can use to stuff my first summer sausage to see if I want to get a dedicated stuffer, be able to process an elk when I get one, and be able to grind turkey and beef from the store for higher quality ground meats. I will do brisket burgers and chuck burgers, so I figure I will be doing 20 lbs at a time and grinding twice. The 1 HP seemed to be a good size for that based on the reviews I saw. Also the 1 HP is said to be stronger for feeding casings, so it should work a bit better for trying my hand at sausage.

Good luck, and make something tasty!