Sausage making issues... could use some ideas...

[Huntindad]

This is my second year of making sausage. I am having a heck of a time with the second grind.

I have a Cabelas 1 HP grinder # 22. It chews right thru the first grind, frozen or not without any effort at all.

After I grind the pork and venison. I add the spices, water & cheese. I mix it all up real good. Here is where it is difficult.

I put the mixed up meat up on the grinder tray and use the push dowel to push the meat into the gear drive chute. It is a bear to force the meat down the chute... What am I doing wrong??? Seems like it should not be that hard.

A friend suggested rolling up the meat and placing down the tube so the gear drive catches it. Anyone have any other ideas... I am all ears. I have 2 more tubs of meat to stuff tonight.

[BETTERLUCKYTHANGOOD]

Don't put the cheese through the grinder. That stuff will stop up a valcano.

[Smart]

Spice and mix before first grind. Grind with a # 8 or # 10 (3/16") plate ONCE and stuff... No need to grind twice. Sausage is much better IMO with a heavier texture.

[Hawkins]

I only grind once, couldn't tell you what size plate I use though

[bows08]

Spice and mix before first grind. Grind with a # 8 or # 10 (3/16") plate ONCE and stuff... No need to grind twice. Sausage is much better IMO with a heavier texture.

This. But it's personal preference I guess, but I also just grind once. We've tried twice grind and it's just to mushy for my liking.

[DJM]

Try chilling the meat in the freezer for a couple hours.Not enough tho freeze it but to firm it up.

DJ

[Huntindad]

Well hells bells... I thought you were supposed to grind twice. hmmm... there is a 3 blade looking spacer(I think it is a spacer). I am wondering if that could be used in lieu of the plate for the second grind... to allow the cheese to get thru.

[ColinR]

Yep thats the "suffing star" It goes in place of the knife. And yes you are right no plate. Are you using the stuffing tubes provided? I have the same grinder and I too have trouble stuffing on my second grind. I've tried all the tricks, that I know anyway to no avail. Now I just stuff on first grind or use a verticle stuffer.

[yazoomike]

No cheese and water down the meat some.

[Huntindad]

Yep thats the "suffing star" It goes in place of the knife. And yes you are right no plate. Are you using the stuffing tubes provided? I have the same grinder and I too have trouble stuffing on my second grind. I've tried all the tricks, that I know anyway to no avail. Now I just stuff on first grind or use a verticle stuffer.

I bought a bell shaped sausage stuffer. lets more meat get past the grinding plate.

I have the stuffing star in place of the plate and knife blade. We'll see how it works.

Yazoomike... no cheese is no option

[KZ]

SEASON MEAT THEN GRIND IT INTO YOUR CASING,IF YOU USE CHEESE PUT IT IN YOUR ALREADY GROUND MEAT,THEN USE A HAND STUFFER DON'T GRIND CHEESE.We USE A HIGH HEAT CHEESE THATS ALREADY DICED IN SQUARES.

[yazoomike]

Huntindad, I meant no cheese through the grinder. Gotta have that cheese. Other option, get a grinder that has a number 42 inlet and plate.
Helps out a lot.

[Huntindad]

O.k. folks... I think I got it figured out. CollinR was a big help.

I pulled the plate and the blade and put in the stuffing star(3 pronged spacer).

Took the meat and grabbed about a half pound or so and rolled it up into a tube. Just placed it down the tube and with a little pressure... worked like a charm.

Next year the process will go lots better... No more cheese thru the grinder plate...

thanx folks.

[BuckySWT]

we double grind.

season the meat before any grinding takes place.

on 2nd grind (fine grind), we keep the meat wet and make a "snake" and feed it into the grinder. works like a champ.

never used cheese...like my stuff the way it is plain. been makin it this way with my F.I.L for the last 10 years and he's been doing it this way (this recipe) since he was a little kid...and so on, and so on.

Smoke it good once (overnight) for fresh, and another for dried. leave thr dry sausage in the smokehouse until it's done, then vacuum seal.

Best part about making sausage is making sausage burgers that evening with some of the left over fresh that we keep behind for pan sausage.

[Kdub]

I only gring once too, and I use a hand crank stuffer. I used cheese one time and it went through the grinder with no problems, but we nearly killed ourselves trying to run it through the stuffer. It was the high temp cheese, and it was in about 1/2" squares. We can stuff about 100 lbs. and hour and that batch took us 9 hours to stuff 300 lbs.