Sausage stuffer recommendations - Kitchenaid attachment vs 5lb verticle stuffer

hkeiner · Nov 7, 2012

I want to get a sausage stuffer and would like some opinions (pros and cons) between some common choices, such as a stuffer kit that attaches to a Kitchenaid mixer, a stand-alone 5lb verticle stuffer such as a Grizzly, or a hand press. I tried using my own homemade "funnel/wooden dowl stuffer kit invention" and quickly decided it was not very practical. I don't plan to use it much so high volume/capacity is not important to me.

Any thoughts?

diggingdogfarm · Nov 7, 2012

Get the Grizzly stuffer, or if you can swing it, the the LEM stuffer (same style stuffer, but with metal gears).
The Kitchenaid and the hand stuffer (horn stuffer) are both junk!

~Martin

BGKYSmoker · Nov 7, 2012

Ditto with Martin

hogrider47 · Nov 7, 2012

Hi hkeiner I just purchased a 5lb vertical stuffer from LEM products and I really like it a lot much easier than trying do do it with a KA attachment You need 2 people to do it with the kitchen_aid setup Just my 2 cents Ed

mossymo · Nov 7, 2012

Get the 5lb vertical stuffer, much better than the other 2 choices hands down.

skull fish · Nov 7, 2012

Kitchen aid is not even worth looking at, it's to small of a stuffing chamber! It makes the meat like mush! No changeable grinder plates. Takes forever! Do it right and go big! U won't be sorry!

daveomak · Nov 8, 2012

K, morning....... I tried to used the KA grinder/stuffer for sausage in casings..... It was such a PITA.... I quit making sausage until I joined this forum..... bought a Grizzly and never looked back.... The LEM with metal gears would have been my choice if I had the extra bucks.... 5# stuffer works well.... 10#'s of sausage is all I make at one time.....

About grinders.... If your bride likes the mixer and uses it, I would recommend a stand alone grinder... I broke Brides KA mixer.... gear case came apart... I have a tutorial on how to fix it.... the parts cost almost as much as a grinder and then I had to buy a grinder as I was in deep doo-doo after breaking her mixer..... I would have saved money if I chose to get the grinder first.... and I could have bought a LEM stuffer with what I spent on the whole fiasco..... There you have it.... long term planning beats what is ever in second place.... Dave

Dutch · Nov 8, 2012

I've used the KitchenAid Stuffing attachments and if you keep the meat close to frozen it will work for small batches. My sausage stuffing really took off once I got a dedicated meat grinder and a vertical stuffer. Now Ma Dutch doesn't have to worry about me messing with her KitchenAids- 1 is mine and the other is hers but she lives by the saying What's hers is hers and what's mine is hers too with the except of the grinder, the stuffer, the grill and my 4 smokers.

exromenyer · Nov 8, 2012

DaveOmak is spot on with his reason for quitting... The kitchen aid (IMHO) because I have one works just fine for grinding the meat for the guy who doesn't do this ALL the time. As for stuffing sausage or filling casings it is a HUGE PITA because the dispenser is TOP LOADED on the machine where the other stuffers are vertical with a bottom dispenser. You REALLY need to think about that before you invest. I bought a 6lb stuffer from MidWestern Reseach (now called Walton's) out of Kansas. The machine is a BEAST... Built like a tank and all stainless steel.. SO easy to use and clean... I love it... I had a problem with my first one, the metal was flaking on the push down mechanism. I took pictures and called them along with emailing them.. They shipped a new one out the next day, no questions asked and wanted the old machine so they could do some research.... I shyed away personally from anything plastic or with plastic gears. These days, I've taken on the attitude you really get what you pay for. If you dont' get good equipment to take on a hobby like this, you will quit doing it, I promise you that. Do a search on some of my posts (exromenyer) and you will see some recent pictures of my stuffer. I also went with a smaller stuffer (6lb from Walton's) because I, like you wasn't doing this all the time. I may put together a 15 lb batch of summer sausage so I fill the canister put the rest in the fridge and pull it out when I'm done with that.. Not a big deal... Also the Stuffer has 2 gears, a high speed for bringing the pusher back up and a low gear for stuffing. To me, it was a life investment I'll pass to my son some day. If you need anything else, let me know .....

Tony (exromenyer)

fagesbp · Nov 8, 2012

I have heard many horror stories from people who bought the grizzly or a hand stuffer so I bought the LEM. I think it's well worth the money as it feels like a lifetime quality stuffer. My wife and I struggled alot stuffing through my #12 grinder so I imagine the KA would be even worse.

jgilb90414 · Nov 8, 2012

I went with a Grizzly 5# vertical and have no complaints.

bkleinsmid · Nov 8, 2012

Morn'n All.....

No one has mentioned a water powered stuffer. I have a Dakotah sausage stuffer and love it......and I can work it by myself.

Brad
[h1] [/h1]

hkeiner · Nov 8, 2012

I want to thank everyone for their good suggestions and advice. The consensus to avoid the KA attachment and the horn stuffer certainly saved me from waisting money on one of these. I probabley would have gotten one of these as they were cheaper and I saw a lot of them on eBay. I have concluded that a 5 lb vertical stuffer is the right one for me. I just need to decide if I want to pull the trigger on a more expensive LEM or settle for the more affordable Grizzly. I need to decide by Christmas.

diggingdogfarm · Nov 8, 2012

I've had the Grizzly for several years without a problem, you must just be very careful when the piston bottoms out or when stuffing small diameter casings.
If the gears do fail, you can always replace them with the metal gears from LEM.

http://www.lemproducts.com/view_reviews/1470/Vertical_Stuffer_Parts

Here's a good video review of the Grizzly stuffer, ignore what he says about the air-relief valve, it can easily be removed for cleaning.

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

~Martin

franko · Nov 9, 2012

I have been using the 5# upright model from Sausagemaker.com for several years now and have nothing bad to say at all about it. It just keeps on grinding, and grinding and grinding.

smokinhusker · Nov 9, 2012

I have the LEM 5# stuffer and I love it, but you can always do what Martin said should you decide on the Grizzly. Either way a dedicated sausage stuffer is the way to go.

Sausage stuffer recommendations - Kitchenaid attachment vs 5lb verticle stuffer

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