kitchenaid grinder/stuffer

[preston897]

im trying to decide which grinder/stuffer to buy for my kitchenaid. id like to see who has experience with either of these. im looking at the kitchenaid brand and the chef's choice brand. the kitchenaid is plastic and the chef's choice is stainless. im curious if the chef's choice is worth the extra money. does anyone have experience with either of these?

 

[daveomak]

Preston, afternoon..... Do yourself a BIG favor that will last a lifetime.... Buy a 5# stuffer... Look at LEM, Grizzly or any other retailer.... good prices are available right now.... check amazon, cabelas also..... you might be able to find the stuffer for about $90.....
The stuffer available with the KA products are a PITA and you will not like them.... I used mine ONCE and quit making sausage until I joined this forum and learned about 5# stuffers..... Best purchase I have made......

Dave

There you go....... $85......


http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200449319_200449319

 

[preston897]

great! ill look into those some more. im not to familiar with them. this will be my first time making sausage. it is a new venture for me. how does the kitchenaid grinder work? good enough? ive read if doing over 10lbs to get a dedicated grinder but less tends to be ok with it. 

 

[bkleinsmid]

Preston.......I have to agree with Dave.......get a stuffer. Making sausage became ssooo much easier when I got my 5# LEM.

I still use my K/A grinder and for little batches it is fine......good enough......  But Santa heard me bitch the last time I did a 50 LB batch and a new grinder is under the tree. My little K/A has served me for the last two years but making sausage is way too much fun (and good eating) and batches over 10 LB is the norm now........in fact I think 25 LB is a small batch now.......

Brad

 

[preston897]

Im sure ill get there. Last time i ate store bought brats i just found myself disappointed. Ill start with the kitchenaid grinder and vertical stuffer then go from there.

 

[chef willie]

Im sure ill get there. Last time i ate store bought brats i just found myself disappointed. Ill start with the kitchenaid grinder and vertical stuffer then go from there.

Yep, I use the KA grinder...started with 5# batches, graduated up to 10# batches and it does well enough. I had it for about 20 years before using so I already had it to start with. I think they are about 50 bucks now, many available on Ebay or Amazon for less. I used the stuffer and agree with Dave......got a Lem with metal gears (important) and never looked back.....Willie

 

[preston897]

Do the plastic gears work well enough? Or is metal a necessity!

 

[chef willie]

Do the plastic gears work well enough? Or is metal a necessity!

better to 'buy once, cry once' and get the metal gears. You strip a gear in the middle of a stuff & you'll be very unhappy. Well worth the extra money up front, IMO. Amazon has Lem as low as 138....but look around for other brands

 

[preston897]

you are very right. i will search around and see what i can come up with. i cannot wait! im super excited to get this a shot. 

 

[daveomak]

My grinder has the "plastic" gears..... I understand they are a "high density" nylon.... With lubrication of the o-ring and cylinder with something like Crisco, there is little friction.... Moisture added to the meat mix makes extruding the sausage easy...... I haven't heard of a set of gears breaking since I joined the forum 3 years ago.... I'm beginning to think the early stuffers had a problem with the type of plastic they were using....
I would not hesitate to purchase another stuffer with the "plastic" gears.... I think some of the problems associated with them was "operator error" in the fact they may have bottomed out the piston...
Has anyone broken a set of gears in the last 2 years.....

Dave