The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Food & crafts => Food processing => Topic started by: Caroline1 on May 08, 2015, 01:52:22 pm
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I have read some of the topics on this, but not many mention recommendations for sausage making equipment, so would like to know what you have and if you would recommend.
I have had my pigs butchered and went on a sausage making course which has completely got me hooked. I don't mind spending a bit and would prefer electric, at least for the mincer, but want a machine which isn't going to take all day but going to do a good job. This is for personal use only. So... what would you suggest I buy?
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If you're going to do lots, I'd recommend getting a butcher to mince it for you with their commercial machine (which can cost thousands) and invest in a good stuffer.
Domestic mincers aren't as fast, heat the meat more and don't give as good results in my experience.
Google Weschenfelder and Nisbits for examples of equipment - I use a hand operated vertical sausage stuffer, it holds 5 kilos and fills the skins nice and quick :thumbsup: I bought a small electric mincer with stuffer attachments - cost around £80 from Northern Tools, it's fine if you only need to mince a couple of kilos but it's painfully slow at stuffing skins.
HTH
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I have just a very basic hand mincer which also has a plastic stuffer attachment. The first time I tried to mince some it was a thankless task, the meat heated up and the fatty bits kept getting caught in the mincer.
Second time I got some sausages made by the butcher and some mince. Definitely the best route. I used skins and ingredients from Weschenfelder and then used the plastic stuffer, no problem. The first few sausages looked a bit dodgy ;D but after that you couldn't tell the difference between mine and the butchers and they tasted good too.
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We got a £34 cheapie mincer ,stuffer, pasta former out of ALDI.
It runs 11 pounds of shoulder & some belly bacon through in about 23 min provifig you have it on the coarse screen and have cut the meat up in to 25 mm chunks .
Once you have your sausage meat made and you are going to shirr the skins on the stuffer tube put a teaspoon of olive oil down in the skin ..this will run right through the skin and keep it lubricated .
we have split the last two batches of sausage meat into three some for salami , some for natural sausages and some to have additions mixed in such as leak & apple , garlic & onion , Home dried chopped mint & celery leaf.
Filling the skins works well if youb have the mixture slightl damper than most recipes suggest.
A 10 pound batch takes me about 35 min to run through .
So far we have made 40 pounds of sausages
What takes the time is all the preparation and cleaning up which adds about an extra two hours for me.
I link the sausages and slip them in the fridgee for an hour or so covering them with a clean tea towel this allows the sausage to settle slightly firmer than when filled . I then cut the sausages into individuals and put them on a buttered tray , cover it withte same tea cloth & freeze them for two hours.
Once frozen they are packed in bags of four and then vac packed & heat sealed , marked with a quality thick permanent marker pen with date & type and then put in the freezer till needed .
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I bought an Italian mincer from Weschenfelder cost about £300. Its impressive had a cheap one before and it just made a slimy mess at it pulped it through the mincer. This mincer had different mincing holes for a smoother or rougher texture.
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[/size]Then a bought a hand winder stuffer same brand from Weschenfelder. Well worth the money.
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I can definitely recommend the machines from Weshenfelders - you really get what you pay for. We got one like this from them (Tritacarne no 12 (http://www.weschenfelder.co.uk/butchers-equipment/mincers/electric/tritacarne-no-12-electric-mincer-elegant-160-220-50-special-offer-save.html) ) a while back and it's been brilliant for both mincing and stuffing.
I can't vouch for my own skills though but I know I can't blame the machine ;D
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Thanks, definitely on my wish list. My second set of pigs will be ready about Dec/Jan so will get for then :excited:
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Bit late to this Caroline but the best piece of equipment we bought for processing the beef, pork and lamb that we grow is the Kenwood Major with mincing attachment. Well worth the money we paid as it as it has minced through a few cows, a few pigs and a lot of sheep and made yards or mtrs of sausages. You have probably been on the Sausage making forum but if not I thoroughly recommend it as a wealth of info. We also make hams and use the recipes from there.
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Thanks good to know. :thumbsup: