Ref; Thinking of doing hot dogs and hot links..

[TomKnollRFV]

So I saw that 73-23 ground beef for 1.69 on sale soon. My family is going to be gone for a while next week so I'll be thoroughly bored and that means I'll be wanting to do some thing different.

Beyond hoping to find some good price on pork loin <I wanna try my hand at curing back bacon> I am thinking I'll try to do some hot dogs and hot links from Disco's blog. Or at least hot links. I know I can get 32mm Collagen casings no problem at the local fleet farm, but I am using a 1 pound jerky gun and I have yet to get the sausage stuffing attachments Robert from Texas mailed me. <To be fair I am just not very mechnically inclined and making any thing has thoroughly alluded my limited attempts involving cutting holes in various solid lids to try and jury rig>.

So I am curious about how many feet per pound of an edible collagen casing? 3? 4? I am hoping I can either fit the whole thing on, or at least do more then one hot dog at a time. Unless I suddenly find an old sausage stuffer or some one goes through their stuff in RL and finds one to donate to me <I have friends who have found weirder things, but tossed them as they had no idea I collect kitchen toys> this is all I got. I've used the LEM Non Edible 12 x 1 1/2 casings just fine for summer sausage. So I guess if I have to, I can do two hot dogs at a time.

Maybe I should post in the ad section about looking for a second hand sausage stuffer!

PS: Likely only doing a few pounds of each, more of an experiment, since I plan to get maybe 8 pounds total ground beef and just sort of try a few things. Thinking hot dogs. Hot Links, maybe some andouille.

Oh and has any one ever used non edible casings to smoke andouille? I was thinking of a few pounds in my stock of non edible simply to have it on hand to add to some easy rice and sausage style meals at some point when I'm incredibly lazy.

Also- these combo grinders and stuffers I see out there for like 50-60 bucks, would they work for some one who maybe makes 5-6 pounds of sausage a month? I doubt I'll really end up ever doing more then that on average.

 

[tallbm]

I think you are about to be severely frustrated if you attempt to stuff more than 1-2 pounds with your setup.

I don't have any answers for your collagen casing questions but I can tell you that if you stuff in the meat in summer sausage type casings you will get something more like bologna rather than hot dog, etc.

Here is a $30, 5lbs stuffer on Amazon that has a 4 star review. It is nothing flashy but I believe it will be a 10X upgrade for making sausages like hot dogs, hot links, andouille, etc. with 8 pounds of meat vs using a jerky gun.

If you stick with the jerky gun approach, and since this is also mostly an experiment, I would suggest you simply mix up 1 pound of each type of sausage you want to make and have enough collagen casing to handle at least 3 pounds of meat. Pop the casing on and go through 1 pound of sausage and cut the casing off. Load up and start the next batch.

Again I can't speak to collagen casings but if you were using natural hog casings you could spend easily 4+ hours of frustration stuffing alone:

• mixing multiple batches of sausage
• fighting with the casing + jerky gun setup
• refilling the jerky gun about 10 times (because 1 pound capacity really doesn't do 1 whole pound)
• keeping the working environment clean and sanitary over such a long period of working time
• making sure meat is refrigerated and not sitting out too long as you swap, fill, clean, etc.
• twisting links (probably not difficult but may take some time)
• vac sealing or storing for usage later
• cleaning up all areas and tools afterwards

If you plan to smoke or cook them that day you need to take these tasks on:

• prepping the smoker/cooking equipment (smoker/oven/water bath/etc.)
• loading meat
• cooking meat (tending to fire, smoke, cook temp step ups if smoking)
• water bathing sausage
• blooming sausage
• storing sausage
• cleaning up again

There is a lot to consider and deal with so being as efficient and strategic as possible will really help avoid a bad experience. This is why I mention only doing simple manageable small 1 pound batches with your current tools and setup since your gun can only handle maybe 1 pound at a time.

Since 2011 I've been doing sausage at least once a year usually over 80 pounds and some additional small batches afterwards in 5-10 pound sizes. Every year I still find a better approach to reducing the headaches I encounter with my sausage making so I'm hoping this info helps you avoid some of my pain lol.

So far my lessons learned have been:

• Use a stuffer that works for what you do. I upgraded from a 5lb (really 4lb) stuffer to a 22lb (really 20lb) stuffer
• I went from hand mixing sausage to a sausage mixer to a bucket with a drill and sheet rock paddle for mixing. The sausage mixer contraption was a mess to clean and didn't do enough sausage for what I needed. I now hand mix 5 pound batches and bucket + drill + paddle mix 10lb+ batches. Clean up is a breeze.
• I use meat lugs/totes that can handle the weight and volume of the meat I work with rather than relying on flimsy tupperware
• I do NO MORE than 2 types of sausage at any one time because it takes too much time to clean up equipment between various types of meat and batches of sausage. Also separating and storing too many varieties of sausage is just not feasible with the cooler/fridge space I or most normal people have. The time and headache is too great
• I use pre-tubed casings that I buy in hanks. HUGE time saving here since they aren't problematic on the stuffing tube. I can load a casing on the tube in 10 seconds and it slides off the tube very easily while stuffing. Soaking time is reduced to 30 minutes as well. Storing is a breeze since I just vac seal the left over tubed casings.
• I buy pre-cut vac seal bags since I store in 1lb which is 4-5 hog casing links. HUGE time saving here not making bags.
• I use a fold out table, washable table clothes, and 2 large HDPE cutting boards that fit my dish washer for my working surface(s). HUGE time saving in setup and cleaning.
• I use 2 C-clamps to hold down my stuffer to the fold out table so the stuffer doesn't move. This makes for a very portable and easily setup/tear down working surface and space saver for storage.

I can go on but I think you get the picture of all of the pain and improvement that has occurred in my sausage making experience, and I still have a number of time, ease of effort, and efficiency changes to make :)

Well I think this is enough rambling about it for me at the moment, it's a slow day at work hahaha. Take what you want from all of this and let us know what you end up doing or if you have any questions generated by my giant response hahaha :)

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I was actually looking at Amazon last night, noticed that very model Tall- just wasn't sure on the sunction cup idea. I was only gonna do collagen as they are locally found, where as pretty much any thing else I have to order online. But I hear ya on the amounts, I figured I'd basically at this point do 1 or 2 pounds per type.. <Sort of depends on what the ground beef comes in. I haven't been to the store yet, for all I know it is in 3 pound tubes>. Then shoot them and smoke them day after day.

I don't really mind the idea of using a jerky gun for this..if I can get the collagen casings on. I just suspect I'll need to run some out and cut it to find them on. <My hand my disagree with me saying it's fine after I do this of course>.

I guess I'm hoping I turn out some good product, and convince the family we need new kitchen toys again. <The smoker has paid for it self with ease...so has the bread maker I got for free they didn't want me to bring home lol>

 

[tallbm]

I was actually looking at Amazon last night, noticed that very model Tall- just wasn't sure on the sunction cup idea. I was only gonna do collagen as they are locally found, where as pretty much any thing else I have to order online. But I hear ya on the amounts, I figured I'd basically at this point do 1 or 2 pounds per type.. <Sort of depends on what the ground beef comes in. I haven't been to the store yet, for all I know it is in 3 pound tubes>. Then shoot them and smoke them day after day.

I don't really mind the idea of using a jerky gun for this..if I can get the collagen casings on. I just suspect I'll need to run some out and cut it to find them on. <My hand my disagree with me saying it's fine after I do this of course>.

I guess I'm hoping I turn out some good product, and convince the family we need new kitchen toys again. <The smoker has paid for it self with ease...so has the bread maker I got for free they didn't want me to bring home lol>

That was the first time I've ever seen that stuffer but it seemed to have decent reviews.
I think that as long as you go small and figure out what does/doesn't work you will come out ok.
If you don't season all the meat up front and you have a bunch of beef left over, I think it would become smoked meatloaf and beef fattie time so I imagine you will be perfectly OK with all that meat :D

 

[TomKnollRFV]

That was the first time I've ever seen that stuffer but it seemed to have decent reviews.
I think that as long as you go small and figure out what does/doesn't work you will come out ok.
If you don't season all the meat up front and you have a bunch of beef left over, I think it would become smoked meatloaf and beef fattie time so I imagine you will be perfectly OK with all that meat :D

I actually saw some one here reviewed one of their vertical ones, like a picture post, bigger model then I'd order, but I'm thinking since some one used it successfully it's the way to go..and yep. I have yet to do a fattie.. LOL

 

[tallbm]

I actually saw some one here reviewed one of their vertical ones, like a picture post, bigger model then I'd order, but I'm thinking since some one used it successfully it's the way to go..and yep. I have yet to do a fattie.. LOL

I've used vertical models and feel they are the way to go as well though I wouldn't be opposed to a horizontal model built just like the vertical models (it's just on the side).

I've used a 5lb LEM stuffer and had no complaints other than it really only holds like 4 pounds not 5 pounds, but that is the norm for this meat working equipment. Subtract 1-2 pounds from it's listed capacity and you get the reality.

I currently use a 10Liter (about 22 pounds) Arksen vertical stuffer I bought on ebay for a good price compared to similar units. It holds 20 pounds for sure.
The only issues I had were that it came filthy but cleaned up with an sos pad and water house out in the yard. Also it had some rough machining where edges were a little sharp or some areas were less than smooth. I ironed all that out with my dremel tool and the sand paper drum/tip. Oh also it is a little heavy being so big.

Some people will think that a large stuffer is hard to crank when full and think it is the stuffer's fault but that is not really the case. It simply takes a little manly strength and effort to push 20 pounds of meat through a 1 inch tube hahaha. I try to use the largest tube possible for the job and that helps. I notice a considerable difference in pressure needed when I use the very large tube to stuff/load my pure ground venison 1lb bags. It is much easier with a 3 inch tube vs the smaller tubes for doing natural hog and sheep casings.

Either way with a 10Liter stuffer it's a 2 man job because the stuffer is just big enough that you can't easily work it alone or you can't apply sufficient force when stuffing sausages alone while working the sausage casing from the tube.

I can work my 5 pound vertical stuffer myself but even so it is much much faster to have someone crank while the other person manages the casing and the sausage coming out of the tube. Doing things as a 1 man shop I would think a horizontal 5lb stuffer would be great for small batches (1-8 pounds). I'm curious if the horizontal 10 pound stuffers can be worked by 1 person easily. I personally would be hesitant on a 10 pound stuffer I would want one listed for 11 or 12 pounds so I knew it fit 10 pounds, though I don't think I've ever seen one listed that way lol.

I hope this info helps you with your decision making :)

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I've used vertical models and feel they are the way to go as well though I wouldn't be opposed to a horizontal model built just like the vertical models (it's just on the side).

I've used a 5lb LEM stuffer and had no complaints other than it really only holds like 4 pounds not 5 pounds, but that is the norm for this meat working equipment. Subtract 1-2 pounds from it's listed capacity and you get the reality.

I currently use a 10Liter (about 22 pounds) Arksen vertical stuffer I bought on ebay for a good price compared to similar units. It holds 20 pounds for sure.
The only issues I had were that it came filthy but cleaned up with an sos pad and water house out in the yard. Also it had some rough machining where edges were a little sharp or some areas were less than smooth. I ironed all that out with my dremel tool and the sand paper drum/tip. Oh also it is a little heavy being so big.

Some people will think that a large stuffer is hard to crank when full and think it is the stuffer's fault but that is not really the case. It simply takes a little manly strength and effort to push 20 pounds of meat through a 1 inch tube hahaha. I try to use the largest tube possible for the job and that helps. I notice a considerable difference in pressure needed when I use the very large tube to stuff/load my pure ground venison 1lb bags. It is much easier with a 3 inch tube vs the smaller tubes for doing natural hog and sheep casings.

Either way with a 10Liter stuffer it's a 2 man job because the stuffer is just big enough that you can't easily work it alone or you can't apply sufficient force when stuffing sausages alone while working the sausage casing from the tube.

I can work my 5 pound vertical stuffer myself but even so it is much much faster to have someone crank while the other person manages the casing and the sausage coming out of the tube. Doing things as a 1 man shop I would think a horizontal 5lb stuffer would be great for small batches (1-8 pounds). I'm curious if the horizontal 10 pound stuffers can be worked by 1 person easily. I personally would be hesitant on a 10 pound stuffer I would want one listed for 11 or 12 pounds so I knew it fit 10 pounds, though I don't think I've ever seen one listed that way lol.

I hope this info helps you with your decision making :)

There's alot of caveats for me for weight issues. I'm supposed to be on a 50 pound lifting restriction for life, so when I see some of those huge 20-30 pound capacity monsters I pretty much know I can rule them out. Friend ended up snagging me a in exchange for promises of the value back in BBQ. I have zero issues with making BBQ for some one . <I think they'll be in for a surprise when I invite them over and send them home with half a brisket or some thing. Or a cooler full of snack sticks, jerky and so on>

 

[tallbm]

There's alot of caveats for me for weight issues. I'm supposed to be on a 50 pound lifting restriction for life, so when I see some of those huge 20-30 pound capacity monsters I pretty much know I can rule them out. Friend ended up snagging me a in exchange for promises of the value back in BBQ. I have zero issues with making BBQ for some one . <I think they'll be in for a surprise when I invite them over and send them home with half a brisket or some thing. Or a cooler full of snack sticks, jerky and so on>

I think that will help you out quite a bit over the gun :)

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I think that will help you out quite a bit over the gun :)

I figured since I can actually fit the casings on the nozzles and a man from these forums sent me a ton of old nozzles he had, I will never lack for sizes. At least with this I can probably make my own plates if they don't just fit. Not sure on the capacity because like you said it's never accurate...

Though my lil crappy fleet farm jerky gun truly holds one pound in it's defense. I just can't put the collagen casings on it.

 

[tallbm]

I figured since I can actually fit the casings on the nozzles and a man from these forums sent me a ton of old nozzles he had, I will never lack for sizes. At least with this I can probably make my own plates if they don't just fit. Not sure on the capacity because like you said it's never accurate...

Though my lil crappy fleet farm jerky gun truly holds one pound in it's defense. I just can't put the collagen casings on it.

Yeah you are in the thick of it now hahaha. You will continue to look into ways of improving your process and materials but it's good to be functional as you improve everything :)

My next improvement is to put foot "pedals" on my mixing bucket so that I can stand on them and keep the bucket from wanting to spin as I mix the meat with my corded drill and sheet rock mud mixing paddle.
In another post with some other members I cooked up the idea of getting a 2nd bucket that has the foot pedals bolted to it and then putting the primary bucket inside the foot pedal bucket to avoid ruining the integrity of the main mixing bucket.
One of the guys did it and said it worked like a charm! Now I just need to get an extra bucket and do the same and I think I have worked out one of the quirks in my mixing setup :D

So you see there is usually room for improvement somewhere :)

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Oh trust me I always think of ways to improve things..but it normally comes down to my wallet going 'Nope'

That or 'You know by the time you figured out how to make this work..you could have just bought some thing that'll do the job..' lol

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Alright..stuffer arrived a day early, she's small, but it looks well made. Now I still have about 9 pounds of ground beef left, and I can't decide what to do now first!

I can't do hot links yet as I actually need to go a town over..to buy beer in less then a twelve pack. I frankly don't really drink at home and if I buy a twelve pack, most of it will end up skunked before I think to drink it. So Hot links will be tommorrow or so. I was thinking I might do hot dogs...

 

[chopsaw]

to buy beer in less then a twelve pack.

:eek:

 

[TomKnollRFV]

:eek:

I can't drink much any more! Being Diabetic and I might have an ulcer or some thing. <Also I get so bored drinking at home lol>