Homemade Sausage Making

How does the piston retract?

I now have an electric pump hooked up but the small drill pump works just fine. Thats the round thing in the center of the picture

Yikes Devo! Whatever works for you!
But... what will you do when your cold winter weather prevents you from going outside with the water thing?

Your seven-year-old looks 10! He's no doubt... "smarter than a fifth-grader!" Tell him to use a "lazy Susan" to wrap sausage in a coil - (NorCal Kid Style)! Sheesh! He's pretty neat lookin'! What is his name? Is he going to be a sausage-makin' legend? Hmmm, Dad... what does his report card look like? He looks intelligent to me! I'll bet he knocks down straight "A's" eh?

Why didn't we ol' timers think of the Lazy Susan to coil our rope? Shucks pal, on the ranch I'd just whisper the glue recipe into my horse "Patch's" ear while I was sittin' in the saddle. Shucks, (she was a mare... and would turn circles all day long if I held the end of the sausage) ~
PS... Life is too short not to fool around! Tease someone today!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

what will you do when your cold winter weather prevents you from going outside with the water thing?

No need to go outside, run this thing in the kitchen.

Here are some links from the fellow who builds these things. He also built a mixer. Every thing he builds is top notch and will do large loads.

My freind Kirby from Missoula Montana
60 pounds of summer sausage and 60 pounds of German Frankfurters.
The spices mixed for 30 pound batch of summer sausage with stuffer filling tool.


Here is a link to the mixing process. Here he used his 30 pound hydraulic sausage stuffer shown below.
http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad27 ... POUNDS.jpg


Here is the link to using the stuffer to stuff the summer sausage. The snapping sound you hear is his glove sticking to the sausage casing.
Here is 60 pounds of franks.


Now to the smoker. [summer sausage first.]


after 2 hours of heavy smoke they are ready for the bath.



Heading for the hot water bath.


smoker link Now for the hot water bath. Here is a new rack for the hot water tank. The rack allows water to flow around the sausages.




Now after 155 degrees, into the cooldown cooler.


On to the counter to bloom. He need's to come with up some sort of rack for this part of the process but for now it is the counter.



At the same time the German Frankfurters are in the smoker.


A little smoker video Franks in the smoker.


franks in the bath


Now on the counter to bloom x 2 batches of what you see here.


And the money shot

Hi Sven,
The only reason I am getting one of these stuffers in the new year is that I can do it all by myself. My wife just hates sausagemaking and take a lot of convincing to even wind the handle on the vertical stuffer.
Regards,
Jan.

A small motor and a foot switch would solve some of the problem.

Devo,

Could you please contact the maker of this stuffer for me? I am interested in purchasing one of his stuffers.

The best way to reach me a is at badbonesBBQ "AT" Gmail.com

thank you

Just a note to say that a company called HalfordHide sells what is called a DAKOTAH WATER SAUSAGE STUFFER. Using water pressure, no leaks no mess, one man operation. I don't know how they compare to other stuffers, since this is the only one I have ever used. Being new to the sausage makin I went with this from the start, and like the clean up, so easy to flush clean ..https://www.halfordsmailorder.com/eSour ... spx?store=

Maybe this isn't my favorite stuffer, but maybe it deserves mention along with the others. I bought a "Uniworld UST-05" five pound horn-shaped stuffer from Sears over the holidays. ...cheap. It's cast iron, tin plate. ...weighs a ton. The throat measures 3-1/4 inches and the plunger only 3-1/8 inches. Fill the horn, stuff a few sausages, and unfortunately, most of the meat squishes past the plunger. You have to pull the plunger back, clear the meat, put it back into the horn, and go again. ...and again. ...and again.

My solution: a gasket. I needed one which is more flexible than teflon but tougher than rubber. ...tall order. While I'm still looking, I'm using "Wonder Liner" shelf lining material from my friendly local hardware store. It's a rubber-like material, 3/32 inch thick, from which I cut a 4 inch circle. This allows the gasket to fold around the plunger, yet seal the 1/8 inch gap. It's good for four or five plunges before it starts to tear up, but that's fifteen or twenty pounds of sausage. ...cheap solution for a cheap stuffer.

Is it washable? I don't know. A recent batch of chorizo stained it with paprika and chiles. It's cheap enough to discard. One roll ($4 at hardware stores) ought to make a couple of years' worth of gaskets.

Got a better idea? I'd love to hear it.

Hi el Ducko,

A silicone gasket may work a lot better (I'm thinking maybe 1/8" thick, 1/4" max since your gap between plunger and throat is only 1/16 each side, the gasket should not be able to "fold"), silicone can be washed and reused. The material is something like a red-orange color.
Just make sure there are no thin edges of gasket that could break off and enter the sausage stuffing.
One drawback is the cost of silicone, but it is better for hygiene while stuffing.

Hey hey Duckster,
The ol' timers use a nylon patch larger than the plunger face. Folks have used their old, discarded nylon windbreakers to do the trick. A wife who sews can even sew an elastic, circular "gathered edge" to slip over the plunger. If it is still loose, use a little bad language then slip in a few "shims" of tinfoil behind the nylon for bulk. The nylon wears quite well.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Just pull a sock or two over the piston and then a plastic bag.

Thanks, guys. Great ideas. Anyone know where I could buy silicone gaskets? (...me neither, but I'll look.) The nylon windbreaker idea sounds easy to do, too, which is always good. ...much appreciated.

But the most intriguing is using socks. Imagine the spiciness and the hint of clay grit that dirty socks could contribute to the sausage mix after a slide into home base for the winning run. Think of the tang of salt air from sweaty socks, the lushness of feet after a day spent crushing grapes, the heady garlic-like aroma of... Oh. Wait. Yeah- - there's the plastic bag.

As Gilda Radner used to say, "Never mind." ...but ya know what? I sure do like the thought of it. ...and yes, I'll give it a try. (What would we ever do without plastic bags?)

Next "opportunity:" I have this old pickup out in the yard on cinder blocks, and several old leather belts and pulleys and flywheels...

Did someone say stuffer?

It seems like theres alot of opinions on stuffers and lots of advice.Iam also in the market for a decent stuffer and have seen alot of posts and opinions on ease of cleaning and meat left in the bottom of their stuffers.Plus its hard to find a good one for a decent price here in canada and most stores who stock stuffers wont ship to Canada.If anyone knows where I can buy a good stuffer please let me know.