KonaRich
Meat Mopper
I've done way more researching than making in the new (to me) world of sausage, but I think I've made a good decision on that tiny tube that came with my Hakka stuffer set.
I've read stories of its use on a vertical stuffer going from very hard to destructive, including advice to make sausage meat finely ground and overly moist. That killer ratio of piston diameter to tube diameter is virtually insurmountable.
Therefore, I found my old caulk gun sausage/jerky maker bought and used once over a decade ago to stuff Italian sausage in hog casings. It worked but was ridiculously difficult to do with a normal size Italian sausage.
However, my brand new 10mm metal tube fits perfectly on it (pure luck!). I've learned that 16mm collagen casings (Walton sells them) will fit on this tube, and 1 lb of sausage meat will produce 7.4 ft of Slim Jim equivalent sticks. The piston to tube diameter ratios in a caulk gun stuffer are very workable, too.
I can see making a 2-3 lb batch of "slim jims", enough to last a long time! Or, three 1-lb batches of different flavors. Tons of fun, and a new life for that old caulk gun.
I currently have 19mm casings which will fit on my 16mm tube. A pound of sausage through that setup will yield 5.3 ft of sausage slightly smaller in diameter than a nickel. I'm thinking of a 3 lb batch of pepperoni sticks using the Hakka stuffer.
Last thought: Acquire 16mm collagen casings. Thaw out my first butt. grind it and mix with cure #1. Then, divide it into 3 portions of 1 lb each and 1 portion of the rest, then into the fridge. Mix up 4 spice flavor batches, different ones for the 3 slim jim portions and 1 for the larger pepperoni portion. Stuff them all up and process to final sausages.
The excitement mounts...
I've read stories of its use on a vertical stuffer going from very hard to destructive, including advice to make sausage meat finely ground and overly moist. That killer ratio of piston diameter to tube diameter is virtually insurmountable.
Therefore, I found my old caulk gun sausage/jerky maker bought and used once over a decade ago to stuff Italian sausage in hog casings. It worked but was ridiculously difficult to do with a normal size Italian sausage.
However, my brand new 10mm metal tube fits perfectly on it (pure luck!). I've learned that 16mm collagen casings (Walton sells them) will fit on this tube, and 1 lb of sausage meat will produce 7.4 ft of Slim Jim equivalent sticks. The piston to tube diameter ratios in a caulk gun stuffer are very workable, too.
I can see making a 2-3 lb batch of "slim jims", enough to last a long time! Or, three 1-lb batches of different flavors. Tons of fun, and a new life for that old caulk gun.
I currently have 19mm casings which will fit on my 16mm tube. A pound of sausage through that setup will yield 5.3 ft of sausage slightly smaller in diameter than a nickel. I'm thinking of a 3 lb batch of pepperoni sticks using the Hakka stuffer.
Last thought: Acquire 16mm collagen casings. Thaw out my first butt. grind it and mix with cure #1. Then, divide it into 3 portions of 1 lb each and 1 portion of the rest, then into the fridge. Mix up 4 spice flavor batches, different ones for the 3 slim jim portions and 1 for the larger pepperoni portion. Stuff them all up and process to final sausages.
The excitement mounts...
