Here's my 2 cents.
1)
Grinder: Get a good one 1/2 hp or higher with all metal gears. Just understand they get larger and heavier generally as the hp goes up.
Also read reviews on how much it heats up. Mine basically does not heat up anywhere the meat touches so I am not a slave to having to freeze my grinder and my meat. Very cold non-frozen meat out of the fridge grinds perfectly fine for me. Others have grinders that will get so hot it damn near starts to cook the meat it grinds for them lol.
2)
Stuffer: This is an absolute must... if you are doing 10 pound batches get a stuffer that claimes OVER 10 pounds!!!! All of the stuffers do about 1-2 pounds less then they advertise.
I think you will want to get a 15 pound sausage stuffer in order to actually do 10 pounds in a single go. I have a 10L/22-23lb sausage stuffer so I can do 20 pound batches.
Again these things get bigger and heavier the more poundage it claims to do. Get a stuffer with all metal gears and if you are a 1 man operation that may want to do sausage sticks look into a RELIABLE electric stuffer.
The more weight/sausage you try to stuff through a smaller tube (sausage stick) the stronger the crank person must be hahahaha.
Hell to do regular sausage in my 10L/22lbs stuffer takes one averagely strong male human to crank with both hands and their weight while another human works the casings and sausage. This stuffer is strictly a 2 man operation. A little 5 pound stuffer CAN be managed by 1 person but IMO sausage stuffing is a 2 man operation if you want any efficiency and much less aggravation :)
3)
Horns: I don't really know in this area I've used both and
I guess the metal ones work better. Just make sure you have a smaller horn/tube than what your casings are because it helps when feeding the casing off the tube/horn as sausage is stuffed. You don't want to be fighting to get the causing on or off the tube itself so have a variety (5-6)of sizes rather than just like 3 generic sizes.
4.
Meat Mixer: AVOID the box meat mixers like the plague! They NEVER do the amount they claim. A 20 pound mixer will do like 17 pounds at best. Cleaning these contraptions is a MAJOR pain in the butt. There are a number of little parts and a spring, etc. that you have to take apart and assemble to use and/or clean the thing. None of the parts seem to be dishwasher washable so be ready to be out in the yard with a hose and hopefully you don't lose the little parts. Just stay away from these mixers.
A much simpler and BETTER approach is to go the big "cake mixer" route lol. Basically you buy a 10amp or greater corded drill with a 1/2 chuck.
Get a 48" sheet rock mud mixing paddle (its like a big cake batter mixing thingy).
Get a 7 gallon bucket made of HDPE 2 material.
Get a 5 gallon bucket bucket of HDPE 2 material.
Get a square piece of plywood big enough that you can put the 5 gallon bucket into the center of the plywood and step on it easily (this will make a foot).
You bolt the plywood to the 5 gallon bucket so that you can stand on the plywood easily with your feet (keeps the buckets from spinning, you'll understand soon enough).
Put the 7 gallon bucket into the 5 gallon bucket and duct tape them together.
You throw your ground sausage meat and seasoning and liquid into this bucket contraption.
Stand on the plywood so the buckets can't spin seeing as how they are now attached to the plywood.
Take the drill with the mud mixing paddle and use it to mix together the meat and seasoning until you get the desired texture and tackyness.
When emptied take the bucket to the car wash or to your yard along with the mud mixing paddle and some dish soap and clean it all off in a matter of like 2-3 minutes!
You can do 10 pound batches to 25 pound batches of meat this way as long as your drill can handle the load and mixing takes like 1 min max or longer if u want :)
This is a HUGE upgrade over the box meat mixing devices.
Another approach is to get a cooler and do the same thing
but some how rig up some sort of "foot" to step on to keep the cooler from spinning. Having a rectangle box where the meat can more easily spread out helps versus it all being stacked up vertically in a bucket. Either approach is basically the same thing :)
I hope this info helps! :)
