Using meat grinder as sausage stuffer

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I was hoping some if you guys have experience with using a grinder to stuff sausage casings.

I borrowed an electric grinder and this is my first attempt at it. I'm trying to make trail bologna and I'm having a hard time getting the casing stuffed correctly. I think my biggest problems is that I'm getting air in the casing somehow.

Any advice will be appreciated.
 
I mostly make one heck of a mess while trying to stuff sausage casings. Seriously, it just takes practice…and patience. And in my case, a wife who is willing to help. But there’s a lot of instructional videos on the internet about it. Just do a search on “how to stuff sausage casings.”:)
 
I'm only guessing since I didn't see your product but a bologna is supposed to be very pasty, not chunky. You may not have enough water in it or the grind is too coarse. I'd grind my mixture 3x before stuffing it. Add ice to the meat to keep it as cold as possible to reduce smearing. Also, make sure the blades don't have crap wrapped around them. I'd so much as say that you should remove the blade when you are stuffing the casing. It would make for a more even flow.
 
Any time I used my grinder for sausage stuffing, I put a disc in the front of the blade that I drilled large holes in it. It allows the meat to go through much easier.

But, MUCH better, I just bought a sausage stuffer and cured the problem entirely!

DM
 
I have a commercial grinder and have used it to stuff a lot of sausage. There is a long learning curve and it requires two people. Sausage suffers work much better. A local locker will rent one that works off water pressure. Just connect a hose to it an control it with a foot pedal, I have not used it but will if I ever make a big batch again.
 
I use natural casings and found that soaking them twice as long as they recommend helps.
Two people is a must. One person keeps the meat flowing at a steady rate. The other uses one hand wrapped around the tube to control the feed rate of the casing. The other hand supports the sausage and feeds it into the bowl or plate.
 
Getting ready to make sausage next week if all goes well. I typically grind it once, then season it and run it through the grinder again to stuff it into casings. Having two people is a big help. If I have to do it alone I plan to use a foot switch on the grinder so I can start/stop it whenever I need to do so.
 
If you have everything right it works ok. I can even do it by myself if I have to but it goes better with a helper. I have a foot pedal and stuffing tubes for the grinder.
If you have the right consistancy and you keep the grinder full you shouldn't have air pockets.
 
Remember warm fat slows production,add crushed ice to sausage mix and stuff right away it will speed up process and make fine sausage.

I like to put my first ground and seasoned meat in the freezer, letting it get to be semi-froze, before grinding the second time and stuffing the cases off the grinder. If it is to be course ground only, I cube the meat, season it, freeze it till firm and then grind and stuff. I do the same when just grinding burger. Frozen/semi-frozen meat grinds much cleaner than warm meat.
 
I bought a sausage stuffing plate (replaces the grinding plates with 3 large ports). I put no blade in place with this port. I put the proper diameter tube on it, push ground meat through to displace the air and THEN put a casing on and tie the end. Any air that gets in isn't much and a lot of times it works its way out the sides.
 
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