Sausage Makers

1. Many users will choose to get a sausage stuffer attachment on their meat grinder. The process involves grinding and then mixing your sausage, followed by a second run through the grinder without a blade so it passes directly into the casings.

2. The right size tube for your sausage stuffer is important. If the tube is much smaller than the casings you will likely end up with lots of air pockets that can result in breaking your casings and inconsistent cooking.

3. Typical pork casings make a sausage about the size of a traditional polish sausage. These casings are ideal, as they brown nicely in a pan, are surprisingly flexible, and are very long - meaning you don't have to keep refitting the casing on the sausage stuffer.

4. Sausage stuffers need not be simple attachments on your meat grinder. Stand alone units are available that can make sausages of all sizes, from thin breakfast links to salami and mortadella. However, these styles are mainly for people who make sausage regularly, such as hunting clubs or food industry professionals.

5. These sausage stuffers are categorized according to how much meat they can process, with most entry level models falling into the 3 to 15 pound category. Typically they are hand cranked devices that simply press the meat through a pipe with a large piston.

6. A quality stand alone sausage stuffer should have an air valve and come equipped with several tubes for making different sizes of sausages. Kitchener, Weston and LEM are all reliable names that produce quality sausage stuffers.

7. Smaller stand alone sausage stuffers come in either vertical or horizontal designs. While both varieties often have air release valves, you don't see a wide variety of tube sizes until you get into the larger, industrial sausage stuffers. If you're a home cook and doing it as a hobby, you might have to make do with a single tube (or design your own).

8. Automated, electric sausage stuffers do exist, but they get quite expensive. However, if you regularly make a lot of sausage or enjoy catering large parties from time to time, it may be worth the money. They can save a lot of time in production and clean up.

9. The majority of sausage stuffers, for both industrial and home use, are made of stainless steel. This, combined with the required precise machine parts, can result in a pretty expensive device. However, if you have a business making sausages or are an avid hunter, they can quickly pay for themselves in saved time and effort.