Homemade Sausage Making

As I am getting ready to get into meat curing I have read that one should get good basic equipment. No place have I found suggestions for the good equipment. IE: Universal with the v belt pulley on its manual crank handle. This looks like a good place to start to me.
Your impute is very much wanted.

Dick

That won't work. Just send it to me and I will dispose of it for you.

I have been doing some looking for a new meat grinder also. I am looking a a Weston #8 that Chuckwagon suggested

http://www.sausagemaker.com/643568white ... inder.aspx

That one is $120

I also am looking a Cabellas meat grinder #8

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas- ... l+Products

$350

Also a Lem at Bass Pro #8

http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-E ... 0794/64412

$279 on sale

If you want a good hand grinder, I like mine, which is a choprite.

There are a lot of good grinders out there it just boils down to how much you will use it and how much money you want to spend. Hope this helps

I had a Tre-Spade #22 that I sold. Thank Christ!!!! I kept the 12 different sized plates for it, and bought a 1 hp from Mr. Cabela. The best investment I made, as I made money on it. A stainless unit with reverse for a tin plated unit, and I kept the plates. For the difference in price, I bought the stainless meat mixer. Net difference $25.00 in my favour, or more simply 24 Kokanee beer and I now have a stainless grinder & a meat mixer for the sausage!!!

I am going to have to keep track of the date and quantity of my sausage making efforts but I doubt that I average more than 2 or 3 pounds per week. It is awfully hard to justify very much investment in equipment for that.
When you think about all of the ways to cook, roast or bring any animal into food sausage just become one way among many.
Tonight I had chicken curry sausage stuffed peppers for supper but Thursday i had pork tenderloin medallion's

Here is the setup that I have been using for years.It is a #32 grinder $ 59.95. Pulleys and belts approximately $17.00. Clamps $4.00. Motor 1 hp. ( free sausage ) Wood and screws were recycled items. I have been using this one for over four years. Bad thing is I have not gotten around to building guards for it so I am the only one that is allowed to feed it.With the one hp. motor it really kicks butt being a #32.This unit has processed over 700 lbs. with absolutely no problems . It will be used for making at least 150 lbs. of beer sticks and summer sausage next month.

John

speechless

JerBear wrote:speechless

Ditto! I love that belt driven setup!

DiggingDogFarm wrote:A friend had the Weston, but didn't like it. Aluminum would rub off of the chamber/housing and get in the meat.
I'd avoid any grinder with an aluminum chamber/housing.
DLFL, If you want to go the way of the manual grinder, I'd only consider a Stainless Steel model.

My grinder is a Weston # 8, I'll agree with you that the aluminum possibly could rub off, but mine has not had that problem so far, I check it on a regular basis.
I think if the plastic gear at the end of the auger starts to wear, it would cause slop and allow the auger to be too close to the outer housing.

You couldn't posibly overload that setup. With that reduction a 1/4 HP would be enough.

Partycook, that is a work of art! Beautiful - just beautiful. And clean too! Shucks, Big Guy would have a heart attack.
What is your gear reduction ratio? Also, have you ever burned a bushing in it? I had a similar setup once, (nowhere near as impressive as yours), but had to press in an inconel bushing. I quickly learned how to slow it down a bit.
Your motor looks as if it has the power to grind Volkswagon parts through the hopper!
Happy birthday this week ol' pard! Are you going to light ALL the candles on your cake ALL AT ONCE? OOOooo... the word "conflagration" comes to mind!
Nice machine partycook!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Hi CW.
Closest that I can figure it's about 172 rpm. I started out back in the 60's with hand grinders until about 1970 when I ran across a grocer that had lost his lease and bought a biro 22 meat saw and this huge # 32 meat grinder for $125.00. from him. That old grinder weighed about 80 lbs (was 1 1/2 hp. ) Worked great until one of my friends managed to get the meat pusher stuck in the auger,the drive gear in the motor snapped into small pieces.I then went back to hand grinding until I saw this #32.
John

DiggingDogFarm wrote:I could fashion a pulley guard with a aluminum half sheet pan or similar.

Whatdaya think?

~Martin

Definate lack of guards with all pulley systems I've seen. Would be a great addition to the set-up you're thinking of putting together. That's one of the reasons I purchased a stand-alone grinding unit, needed more power than my KitchenAid could provide but didn't want the danger (and size requirements) of a pulley system.

Hi fellow sausage makers, To answer the question of the pulley set up ,motor is a 1 hp. 3450 rpm. (freebee), motor pulley is 2 1/2 inch, input on the mandrel is 9 inch output is 2 1/2 inch 13 inch on the grinder. Hey Martin I also may need some help with the ratio math! Hey JerBear I know the hazards of running without guards, especially with our hunting group.Our hunting groups name is the Jagermister's (hunt-masters) we have been known to have a bit of malt while making a supply of beer sticks. EIN PROSIT
John

Thanks Martin,
John

Delrin is among the best bushing and bearing materials to be found. Plastic and quite inert.