#10 LEM Grinder/stuffer from Bass Pro Shops - Whats the "star" for

[hilbillyinca]

Afternoon all,

I finally broke down and bought an inexpensive manual grinder/stuffer this weekend from Bass Pro.

It's a #10 LEM brand with hand crank that clamps to the table.

I went really inexpensive, because I wanted to make sure I would enjoy the process, and I'm sure I will, before dropping $$ on electric grinder and separate stuffer.

I do have a couple of questions though:

1. Does anybody out there have a similar grinder, and does the sausage stuffer do a decent job?

2. Inclueded with the sausage tubes was a "Star".  It's 3 prongs, (kind of like a blade), about 1/8" thick or less. Has a round hole in the middle of it, so it can fit on the same shaft as the disks. The blade has a more rectangular hole and slides further down the shaft.

The star was not listed in the instructions, so I'm not sure what to do with it, any thoughts.

And yes, qview will be coming from my first grind and stuff this weekend!

rus

 

[hilbillyinca]

OH.. one more question:  

Can I make the links then safely freeze them BEFORE cooking?  I want to churn out some links this week, but will not have time to smoke them until next weekend.

 

[scarbelly]

What you are describing sounds like a cuting blade for a grinder - it goes behind the plate with the holes to cut the meat before it goes thru the plate

If you post a pic we can help ya

 

[scarbelly]

OH.. one more question:  

Can I make the links then safely freeze them BEFORE cooking?  I want to churn out some links this week, but will not have time to smoke them until next weekend.

If you are going to smoke them you should add some cure to them - I have frozen many a sausage and cooked it but have never frozen then smoked - not sure what effect freezing would have on the cure

 

[hilbillyinca]

I'm at work right now, so no pics, but its not the cutting blade. The cutting blade is roughly 1/2-3/4 inches thick and clearly has a sharpened edge. 

actually, you can see what im talking about on this link:http://www.cookware.com/asp/show_detail.asp?sku=WEN1017

the description says its used to stabilize the auger. 

 

[eman]

If you look at the star it should have sharp edges.

 This is the cutting blade, It goes on the shaft behind the disc w/ the holes in it ( I think).

 i believe that it cuts the meat b4 it is forced thru the plate.

 I may be wrong and i'm sure someone will correct me if i am .

 

[eman]

scar beat me to it.

 

[corn cob]

I'm at work right now, so no pics, but its not the cutting blade. The cutting blade is roughly 1/2-3/4 inches thick and clearly has a sharpened edge. 

actually, you can see what im talking about on this link:http://www.cookware.com/asp/show_detail.asp?sku=WEN1017

the description says its used to stabilize the auger. 

You answered your own question...When switching from grinding to stuffing it is used to stabilize the auger...It is not the cutting blade..

 

[boykjo]

from my understaning When switching from grinding to stuffing the flat tri star stuffing blade is installed along with the stuffing disc accessory for easier stuffing. here is a pic of the disc accessory. I dont know why they dont come together. I dont have the disc but I do have the tri star and my unit is industrial.

 

[boykjo]

found this picture in my grinder manual. The stuffing disc assembly above is not needed for this application. you will see the flat tri blade is not a blade, but a support for the feedscrew. Notice the center of the tri star is round and will not spin on the round part of the screw shaft. When the hand crank is turned the tri star will not rotate and the meat will pass through. This will allow for easier stuffing not having to go through a grinding disc or a accessory spacer....

 

[big-guy]

Your star is just a spacer to keep the auger in place when stuffing. You can stuff with a plate and knife but you run the risk of over working your meat and the second pass through the knife and plate will make your texture much finer. The star holds the center of the auger in place and in turn it is held in place by the screwed on cap. This allows the auger to feed the meat through the forcing cone into your casings. 

 

[Dutch]

If you notice on the stuffing star, the center hole is round, this is so the auger can turn without turning the star. If the star was meant to be used as a blade the center hole would have been a square to mate onto the auger.

 

[watlow]

I think the disc that boykjo has shown is also refered to as bean / stuffer plate by some. As everyone has said is used to stuff when you dont want another grind thru knife and plate to keep certain consistancy.Have used when making Andouille for a good texture on sausage. Have fun w/your grinder / stuffer, had years of luck with mine. LOL

 

[hilbillyinca]

Thanks for all the help, I put up some qview in a different post. Really looking forward to making more this weekend.