One more trick Ray! Toss your plastic stuffing tubes and get some stainless steel
without the taper.
I'm really glad you finally ditched the old S-L-O-W method of stuffing from the grinder. I can't imagine the patience it took to make sausage that way. I would have gone nuts trying to stuff meat into casing that way. Shucks, I'd have finally jumped up on the kitchen table, cursed a blue streak, drawn both hoglegs and fired a dozen rounds through the ceiling. The sausage police would have had to take me away in a straightjacket, dragging my stinky ol' carcass across the floor, out the door, and into the back of their truck!
Ray, remember as you use a motorized grinder that if the blades of your grinder are adjusted correctly, there will be just the slighted "load" on the motor. The knives edges must contact the platen to make a clean cut. If it does not have slight pressure pressed against it, you can get a mushy cut of meat. My point? ...if there is pressure against the platen, there is friction. If there is friction, there is heat. If there is heat, there is smearing. If there is smearing, there is bad language and inappropriate behavior! So, don't allow the grinder to operate without having 'cold' meat lubricating the cutting edges. If you're not using the grinder, turn the danged thing off. Use some soft ice chips in cold water to cool things down occasionally, but never grind hard-frozen ice cubes.
When you cut inch chunks to put into the grinder, cut across the grain as much as possible. In other words don't put longs 'strands' of meat through the hopper. Collagen and sinew will begin to wrap around the auger just behind the blade. It will slow down the operation and won't allow the knives to make a "clean" cut.
Lastly, it just makes good sense to put the platen, grinder cutting knife, and auger, into the freezer for 15 minutes just before you start grinding. And for goodness sakes, don't miss a chance to refrigerate the meat at every opportunity during the sausage making process. Never let is sit out on the counter, even if it's going to be "just for a minute".
Okay Ray, eat your broccoli, grit yer' teeth, and ignore the arthritis - make sausage and enjoy it! How about a photo of you wrestlin' with that new machine? Hang in there pal.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
