Got an early Christmas present...#8 grinder

[SherryT]

I was given a grinder for Christmas...STX Turboforce Cadet (the one pictured doesn't include a foot pedal, but mine came with one).

The only grinder/stuffer I have experience with is the KA attachment and what little I've ground with this one, but, to me, it works great...MUCH faster than the KA and I can quit worrying about burning up my mixer (they ain't cheap!).

I made a 5lb batch of bangers this afternoon, stuffed half using the new grinder & put the rest in the freezer...like I said, the grinder itself is great, but using it as a stuffer was no easier than the KA attachment.

I am SO getting a stuffer!!! I'm hoping I can find a sale somewhere this close to Christmas...anyone know of any upcoming sales?

 

[pc farmer]

This is the one I have. A 5 lb stuffer wont hold 5 lbs. This one has all metal gears and built heavy. I really like it.

 

[Steve H]

I have the same one as PC farmer, just badged with another name. No doubt off the same line. This stuffer works really good. And you may find them a touch cheaper on E-bay. I got mine for 115.00 shipped

 

[tallbm]

I was given a grinder for Christmas...STX Turboforce Cadet (the one pictured doesn't include a foot pedal, but mine came with one).

The only grinder/stuffer I have experience with is the KA attachment and what little I've ground with this one, but, to me, it works great...MUCH faster than the KA and I can quit worrying about burning up my mixer (they ain't cheap!).

I made a 5lb batch of bangers this afternoon, stuffed half using the new grinder & put the rest in the freezer...like I said, the grinder itself is great, but using it as a stuffer was no easier than the KA attachment.

I am SO getting a stuffer!!! I'm hoping I can find a sale somewhere this close to Christmas...anyone know of any upcoming sales?

That's awesome to hear! It's nice getting a working grinder vs your old KA version that just limped by haha.

What size sausage batches to you think you will likely do? I ask because a 5 pound stuffer doesn't actually fit 5 pounds, more like 4pounds which is annoying when you do 5 pound batches.
In such a case I would find a 7 pound stuffer which would likely do 6 pounds but should definitely cover a full 5 pound batch.

If you get an 11 pound stuffer you are starting to get into bigger heavier stuff and going over that size you need to worry about size and weight and ALSO understand that you will now be trying to push 10 pounds+ of meat through a little stuffing horn so it becomes a 2 person job. One to crank because of the effort it takes, and 1 to work the castings and sausage as it comes out.

I'm glad to hear you are getting into this. I hope this info helps so you can plan accordingly :)

 

[old sarge]

Congrats on the grinder. That is quite a kit with the root slicers and bear claws. Enjoy!

 

[SherryT]

This is the one I have. A 5 lb stuffer wont hold 5 lbs. This one has all metal gears and built heavy. I really like it.

All I see on my screen is a lot of white space and the Amazon logo...

 

[SherryT]

That's awesome to hear! It's nice getting a working grinder vs your old KA version that just limped by haha.

What size sausage batches to you think you will likely do? I ask because a 5 pound stuffer doesn't actually fit 5 pounds, more like 4pounds which is annoying when you do 5 pound batches.
In such a case I would find a 7 pound stuffer which would likely do 6 pounds but should definitely cover a full 5 pound batch.

If you get an 11 pound stuffer you are starting to get into bigger heavier stuff and going over that size you need to worry about size and weight and ALSO understand that you will now be trying to push 10 pounds+ of meat through a little stuffing horn so it becomes a 2 person job. One to crank because of the effort it takes, and 1 to work the castings and sausage as it comes out.

I'm glad to hear you are getting into this. I hope this info helps so you can plan accordingly :)

It's just me and hubs and we don't entertain, so no more than 4 - 5lb batches at a time (if that). The only reason I did a 5lb batch today was that I had almost 4 lbs of pork already ground in the freezer (from my wild foray into making eggrolls from scratch back in the spring) and wanted to use it up...weighed it and ground up enough belly to make a 5lb batch.

Had a couple of the sausages for supper and I couldn't believe how fine the texture was after I ran it back through the plate with what appears to be 1/8" holes....they cooked up really nice!

 

[old sarge]

All I see on my screen is a lot of white space and the Amazon logo...

If you are running an ad blocker, like AdGuard, you should be able to turn it off for the page you are on and then you can see what amounts to an ad! In AG, the filter can be turned off for 30 seconds. When you leave the page, the filtering will reset automatically.

 

[Fueling Around]

Congrats.
I detest the grinder on my wife's KA, too.

I'm sorta lucky as I have father in law's cast iron sausage stuffer.
I'm not lucky as we eat very little sausage for many years due to wife's sodium restricted diet and recently me as well.

Not sure where you live, but estate sales are pretty good sources for unique items.

 

[SherryT]

If you are running an ad blocker, like AdGuard, you should be able to turn it off for the page you are on and then you can see what amounts to an ad! In AG, the filter can be turned off for 30 seconds. When you leave the page, the filtering will reset automatically.

View attachment 474660

YUP! That was it!

Thanks!

 

[old sarge]

You are welcome. You might be able to turn the filter off permanently for the forum and leave on for the other sites you visit.

 

[tallbm]

It's just me and hubs and we don't entertain, so no more than 4 - 5lb batches at a time (if that). The only reason I did a 5lb batch today was that I had almost 4 lbs of pork already ground in the freezer (from my wild foray into making eggrolls from scratch back in the spring) and wanted to use it up...weighed it and ground up enough belly to make a 5lb batch.

Had a couple of the sausages for supper and I couldn't believe how fine the texture was after I ran it back through the plate with what appears to be 1/8" holes....they cooked up really nice!

It sounds like you will be living with 4-5 pound batches which is good.
Pro Tip, if you do sausage at 80/20 ration of meat/fat then math is super simple. 4 pounds pure meat, 1 pound of fat to make sausage. So 5 pound batches come back into play in that case, plus its basically the same effort to do a full stuffer as it is to do 1/4 of a stuffer haha. You still have the same amount of setup and cleaning in the end :)

In case you want to ensure you can fit 5 pounds per stuffer load, I have put a link below to a 3 Liter stuffer. It's all metal and should be good to go. These things can be machined a little rough so having a sheet of sand paper and/or a metal file on hand can knock out any rough edges.

Here is a 3Liter one which they will claim does 7 pounds but I read it fit 6 pounds for one user and they recommended using 5 pounds. This would also prevent meat from squishing back out from the top which happens if you fill these things too much:

As for your fine grind texture, yeah I get that too. I never have to double grind which is super helpful for me since I usually do big volumes so anything to save time and make things simpler is much welcomed. I've even ground with a bigger plate and my mixing seasoning mixing still breaks it down pretty fine. It all tastes amazing so I dont care in the end hahaha.

I look forward to hearing about your next sausage adventure, I may be getting into a chicken sausage adventure myself soon... we'll see :)

 

[SherryT]

It sounds like you will be living with 4-5 pound batches which is good.
Pro Tip, if you do sausage at 80/20 ration of meat/fat then math is super simple. 4 pounds pure meat, 1 pound of fat to make sausage. So 5 pound batches come back into play in that case, plus its basically the same effort to do a full stuffer as it is to do 1/4 of a stuffer haha. You still have the same amount of setup and cleaning in the end :)

In case you want to ensure you can fit 5 pounds per stuffer load, I have put a link below to a 3 Liter stuffer. It's all metal and should be good to go. These things can be machined a little rough so having a sheet of sand paper and/or a metal file on hand can knock out any rough edges.

Here is a 3Liter one which they will claim does 7 pounds but I read it fit 6 pounds for one user and they recommended using 5 pounds. This would also prevent meat from squishing back out from the top which happens if you fill these things too much:

As for your fine grind texture, yeah I get that too. I never have to double grind which is super helpful for me since I usually do big volumes so anything to save time and make things simpler is much welcomed. I've even ground with a bigger plate and my mixing seasoning mixing still breaks it down pretty fine. It all tastes amazing so I dont care in the end hahaha.

I look forward to hearing about your next sausage adventure, I may be getting into a chicken sausage adventure myself soon... we'll see :)

Thanks!