Sausage stuffers.

robtattoo

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No affiliation, not getting any kickbacks.

I've been wanting to post this for a while, but it's been out of stock for nearly a year.
If anyone is in the market for a sausage stuffer, you need to jump on this quickly before they're out again......


I've been using one for 4 years & probably stuff a couple hundred pounds or so a year (I kill a LOT of hogs) It's the cheapest, good quality, steel geared stuffer out there. I cannot say enough good things about this suffer. As far as restaurant or pro-butcher quality goes, it's absolutely the bottom of the heap, but for home use it's light years beyond anything else you can buy for 3 times the price.
 

Stalker69

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I bought a lem some years back, and if you don’t add enough liquid to the sausage you will bend the shit out of the stuffer trying to turn the handle. I had to add fender washers underneath to add a little strength. Could not believe how thin the metal is on them.
 
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Thanks. I was going to make my own sausage this year. Brats mostly. I have only done it with the sausage tubes on my grinder. What’s the advantage of a stiffer like this vs the grinder?


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xcutter

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Thanks. I was going to make my own sausage this year. Brats mostly. I have only done it with the sausage tubes on my grinder. What’s the advantage of a stiffer like this vs the grinder?


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It's a lot faster to use the stuffer vs the grinder in my experience. I used to use my grinder to. Easier to keep the meat cold as the grinder will add heat to the meat.
 

Felix40

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Thanks. I was going to make my own sausage this year. Brats mostly. I have only done it with the sausage tubes on my grinder. What’s the advantage of a stiffer like this vs the grinder?


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Once you try an actual stuffer you will never go back to using the grinder. It’s probably twice as fast and half the effort.

I bought a one that looks almost exactly the same off amazon. It’s a hakka brand I think. Works like a champ.
 
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robtattoo

robtattoo

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Once you try an actual stuffer you will never go back to using the grinder. It’s probably twice as fast and half the effort.

I bought a one that looks almost exactly the same off amazon. It’s a hakka brand I think. Works like a champ.

The only downside to the Hakka & similar brands is the nylon gears. The gears themselves are rarely an issue, but the brass inserts they use strip the threads pretty easily. Especially if you're doing any large quantities. That's the reason I moved away from LEM & Weston. I could kill one of their higher end machines in a year.
 
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robtattoo

robtattoo

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It's a lot faster to use the stuffer vs the grinder in my experience. I used to use my grinder to. Easier to keep the meat cold as the grinder will add heat to the meat.

So much faster! I stuffed 38lb of brats yesterday in about 15 minutes.
It honestly takes longer to set up & clean than to do a run!
 

JLane330

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Albuquerque, NM
Thanks for the heads up. I've wanted a stuffer for a while now (been using my grinder).
A couple questions:
- What size would you recommend? I usually make sausage in 25# batches, however I don't stuff all 25# usually (really depends on the flavor I'm making). I like the looks of the 11# size, but...is it hard to reload more meat and purge air, etc?
- Any issues with piston gaskets? The main reason I've stayed away from some of these is for fear of not being able to buy replacement parts. This seems to be common among stuffers :-(
- Are the gears metal? I don't seem anything in the description that says what they are.

Thank you for any/all advice!
 

Felix40

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The only downside to the Hakka & similar brands is the nylon gears. The gears themselves are rarely an issue, but the brass inserts they use strip the threads pretty easily. Especially if you're doing any large quantities. That's the reason I moved away from LEM & Weston. I could kill one of their higher end machines in a year.
The one I got has steel gears.

Edit-I think they are aluminum. Still metal either way.
 
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robtattoo

robtattoo

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Thanks for the heads up. I've wanted a stuffer for a while now (been using my grinder).
A couple questions:
- What size would you recommend? I usually make sausage in 25# batches, however I don't stuff all 25# usually (really depends on the flavor I'm making). I like the looks of the 11# size, but...is it hard to reload more meat and purge air, etc?
- Any issues with piston gaskets? The main reason I've stayed away from some of these is for fear of not being able to buy replacement parts. This seems to be common among stuffers :-(
- Are the gears metal? I don't seem anything in the description that says what they are.

Thank you for any/all advice!
I have the 11lb & loading it is a breeze. I toss in small quantities & punch it down to get the air out. The only tip i'd offer is to remember to take off the handle when you tilt out the cylinder, otherwise the weight of it will drop the piston into your way.
It's all steel gears.
The gaskets are really sturdy on these. It's a thick silicone job, rather than a simple o- ring.
I lube mine with food grade silicone each time I use it & i haven't noticed the slightest amount of wear.

The only real downside I could mention is simply the height of the thing. It makes you get... creative with storage.
 

JLane330

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The one I got has steel gears.

Edit-I think they are aluminum. Still metal either way.

I have the 11lb & loading it is a breeze. I toss in small quantities & punch it down to get the air out. The only tip i'd offer is to remember to take off the handle when you tilt out the cylinder, otherwise the weight of it will drop the piston into your way.
It's all steel gears.
The gaskets are really sturdy on these. It's a thick silicone job, rather than a simple o- ring.
I lube mine with food grade silicone each time I use it & i haven't noticed the slightest amount of wear.

The only real downside I could mention is simply the height of the thing. It makes you get... creative with storage.
Thanks for the quick responses!
 

keller

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Oct 30, 2017
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Ive been wanting to get into sausage ma
No affiliation, not getting any kickbacks.

I've been wanting to post this for a while, but it's been out of stock for nearly a year.
If anyone is in the market for a sausage stuffer, you need to jump on this quickly before they're out again......


I've been using one for 4 years & probably stuff a couple hundred pounds or so a year (I kill a LOT of hogs) It's the cheapest, good quality, steel geared stuffer out there. I cannot say enough good things about this suffer. As far as restaurant or pro-butcher quality goes, it's absolutely the bottom of the heap, but for home use it's light years beyond anything else you can buy for 3 times the price.

king.Would a guy be better off buying the 15 lb vs 11 lb?
 
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robtattoo

robtattoo

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Tullahoma, TN
Ive been wanting to get into sausage ma


king.Would a guy be better off buying the 15 lb vs 11 lb?

Honestly, i don't think so. Loading the 11 one extra time, to me, seems like less of a hassle than the extra height of the 15lb model. With the plunger all the way up, it'll be about 4 feet tall!
 
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I just bought a LEM 15 lb stuffer and it has hardened steel gears. I been using a LEM 5 lb stuffer for about 6 years which also has steel gears. I have a large grinder from LEM as well. No problems with any LEM products so thats why I went with them on the new stuffer. My 5 lb stuffer works great for small speciality runs but was sort of a pain on bigger runs. The 15 will work good for me as I make 25 batches and usually stuff about 15lbs and bulk 10 Depending on what kind of sausage I am making. I would recommend getting a stuffer bigger than 5 lb. while I dont feel I wasted my money on the 5 as I will still use it I did spend more money than I needed if I would have just bought the bigger stuffer in the first place.
 
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What do you all mix with to make sure the meats and spices are mixed well?


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Joined
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What do you all mix with to make sure the meats and spices are mixed well?


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I put about a cup of water with a 25lb batch. I buy my seasoning mix from Butcher Packer and it comes in a bag for 25lbs of meat. After I spread out the seasoning on the meat I put about a cup of water in the seasoning bag and dump it on the meat.
helps it go through the stuffer as well as helps it get mixed. I hand mix but next level is a mixer that attaches to my grinder. Currently I dont make enough sausage to justify
a meat mixer. If I hit the lottery I might spring for one. i grind once but I make sure my meat is very cold and firm.
 

TSAMP

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Rob you still enjoying this thing? Considering picking one up but see some poor review on the O ring/gasket. Only has 1 review.
 
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