Sausage Making Machines and Equipment
Here is an overview of what you need to know about sausage making machines followed by a collection of the most popular machines on the market. As with any purchase, do your research before investing in a sausage making machine and learn what others are saying. Your decision will make or break your sausage making experience.
Things to Consider:
1. All metal grinder parts must be cleaned, thoroughly dried, and oiled after use or they WILL rust. This is true for a $25 grinder or a $250 one. For extra insurance, consider drying the parts in a 200 degree oven.
2. Grinders by their very nature are tricky to clean here are some suggestions to make it much easier:
• Running a piece or bread or some saltine crackers through the grinder after use .
• Use a bottle brush to clean the feed screw, barrel, and sausage tube.
• Use pipe cleaners to scrub inside the holes of the grinder plate and around the blade.
3. Be sure to wash your new grinder thoroughly before use. Run bread or crackers through before using for the first time also. This is crucial to make sure that grease and other byproducts of the manufacturing process don’t end up in your food.
4. Measure your countertop thickness before investing in a table mounted grinder. If it is too thick, either find a grinder with a wider allowance for mounting or be prepared to sand down the underside of part of your counter by a ¼ to 1/3 of an inch (like I had to).
5. Make sure your machine is set up properly. The locking ring should be on tight, and the FLAT part of the knife should be AGAINST the grinder plate.
6. Remove as much sinew and fat as possible to avoid jams, and make sure meat is chilled (partially frozen is best) to avoid mushiness.
Popular Machines and Attachments:
Waring Pro MG-800 Professional Meat Grinder, Brushed Stainless Steel
Price: $86-100
Pros: Has reverse feature to help avoid jams
Comes with 3 plates and 2 sausage stuffers
Cons: Above grade but not professional as claimed
Loud
Has a plastic gear inside that could create major problems if it comes in contact with bone.
VillaWare V5266 Elite ProGrinder Electric Meat Grinder
Price: $140-$150
Pros: Feed screw shaft has rubber seal that blocks liquid backup into motor drive.
One year warranty.
Extra powerful 550 watt motor
Cons: Expensive
KitchenAid Sausage Stuffer Kit Attachment
Price: $40-$65
Pros: Plastic parts are dishwasher safe and rust resistant.
Easy to use.
Cons: Have been known to crack.
Prone to clogs.
Have been known to burn out motor of stand mixer.
Universal Food Grinder and Meat Chopper
Price: $25
Pros: Inexpensive
Grinds through bone
Fast (2.5 to 3 pounds of meat per minute)
Self-sharpening blades sharpen each time the grinder is used
Cons: Limited counter thickness
Northern Industrial Tools Meat Grinder with Sausage Stuffer (Bright Plated, Clamps to Table Edge)
Price: $25
Pros: Inexpensive
3 different Sausage stuffers included
Cons: Slow (1.65 pounds per minute)
When learning to make sausage, choosing from scores of different types of casings, meats, spices and fats can be a little intimidating. Identifying and gathering the necessary equipment however, shouldn’t be. There’s only a handful of hardware items essential to successful sausage preparation. As always, be sure to shop around and educate yourself about different brands, makes, and models before making a purchase.
Grinder
There are basically two types of grinders that should be of interest to the home sausage maker-manual and electric.
Manual grinders are usually cast iron or stainless steel and can grind up to three pounds per minute. They are perfect someone looking to make small batches of sausage (10 lbs. or less) without spending a fortune (hand grinders cost from $25 to $60).
Electric grinders are louder, larger, and pricier but come equipped with slick features like reverse functioning (to clear clogs), extra-large hopper, and additional cutting plates. Anyone who plans to grind and/or stuff over 10 pounds of sausage and is willing to spend between $100 and $300 would be well advised to go electric.
All types of grinders have the same basic parts: hopper, feed screw, and cutting plate. Meat if fed directly into the hopper, is ground up by the feed screw, and extruded through the cutting plate. Different cutting plates allow you to grind meat to various degrees of coarseness.
Grinders, by nature of their design can be difficult to keep clean, but a few tips can make the process easier:
1.) Run a few slices of bread through the machine before using it for the first time and again each time you finish using it. The bread picks up bits of meat that would be extremely difficult to remover otherwise.
2.) Soak components in a sink full of water laced with ½ tsp. of bleach to sanitize.
3.) Use a bottle brush to clean the feed screw and the barrel that houses it.
4.) DRY ALL COMPONENTS THOROUGHLY. They will rust otherwise. To store, place small components in a plastic baggie filled with rice to wick away excess moisture.
Stuffer
A sausage stuffer is simply a hollow plastic or metal tube upon which sleeves of casings are draped to receive the sausage mixture that flows out of the tube. They attach to the grinder in place of the cutting plate and come in different diameters to accommodate a variety of sausage sizes. Follow the above guidelines for cleaning.
Pusher
A pusher is a hand-held plastic tube used to push down on the meat in the hopper to make it easier for the feed screw to catch. Follow the above guidelines for cleaning.
Bowl
Metal bowls are best for receiving the ground meat as they can be chilled which helps keep the fat in the freshly ground meat cold. Follow the above guidelines for cleaning.
Smoker (Optional)
When smoke sausage is desired, a simple smoker can easily be built using household items or you may use the smoker inside your grill if it has one. A small charcoal smoker can also be had for around $50. Below are some links with instructions on how to build your own.
The Alton Brown Flower Pot Smoker
http://www.naffziger.net/blog/2008/07/05/the-alton-brown-flower-pot-smoker/
Cardboard Box Smoker
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Cardboard-Smoker/
Drum Smoker
http://stealthsurvival.blogspot.com/2009/04/ugly-drum-smoker.html
The Smokin’ Barrel (PDF file)
http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_31/487000/487988/1/preview/SB-Build-10-26-lulu-preview.pdf
Oil Drum Smoker (Video)
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2905008/oil_drum_converted_homemade_smoker/
Scale (Optional)
When trying to achieve a specific yield or minimize casing waste, a kitchen scale to measure exact quantities is helpful.