Stuffer question

[knifemaker3]

OK First time poster but been lurking for awhile on this board now.

I have a question.

I have a cheap horizontal stuffer. This thing kills my neck and back when stuffing. I have had spinal fusion surgery in my neck and my back has lots of issues and well as legs and knees. Nothing new for most of us.

Would a vertical stuffer be better for my situation? I do own a good grinder and could stuff with it just never have tried stuffing with a grinder.

An electric stuffer would be great but out of budget and necessity at this time. I have tried letting the meat warm slightly which helps but then I get slight fat smearing. I’ve tried adding water and was also told to try apple cider vinegar. I do oil the plunger on my stuffer which helps some.

Thoughts? Would go ahead and purchase a vertical but not sure it will really help me any.

Thanks

[Joe Hell]

@knifemaker3 I would imagine that the action of the vertical stuffer would be about the same as the horizontal. If your cranking of the handle was closer to shoulder height verses your waist would that relieve or aggravate your condition? I wouldn’t recommend warming of the meat due to food born illness concerns. One option may be to recruit someone for the cranking duties. I can always find a willing participant that will gladly work for product.

[Jonathon]

@knifemaker3 First, don’t let the fat get warm, that is actually part of your problem for sure! Cold cold cold meat stuffs MUCH better than warm meat. This is because of the fat not being as sticky, I know it sounds somewhat counterintuitive as we tend to think of things being stiff when cold and mushier when warm but trust me, we have done A LOT of experimenting here and ice-cold meat stuffs (and certainly grins) much better than warmer meat.

As far as adding apple cider vinegar I’d warn against that for sure as it has a pH of about 2 or 3. This is going to start denaturing your proteins right away and will destroy your proteins bond. If you are making a chorizo or other crumbly product that is totally fine.

Now, as far as a vertical being less difficult than a horizontal I don’t know as I haven’t used a horizontal in the past. I will say this though, the height of your stuffer might be part of the problem, I sometimes find that standing on something 3-4 inches tall makes stuffing much easier on my shoulder.

Also, clamp your stuffer down to the table, makes it easier.

Hope that helps!

[knifemaker3]

Thanks for the replies. I’ll try my grinder next time I stuff to see if it helps. Don’t think I will like it, but we shall see.

[Joe Hell]

@knifemaker3 Stuffing with a grinder can be a frustrating process but it may be a little easier on you physically.

[Jonathon]

@Joe-Hell It’s slow and he might have to deal with some air pockets but from an effort standpoint I agree, it might be easier, certainly on his shoulders.

[Parksider]

@knifemaker3 I can tell you that if you get a vertical get the tall slender one. The short fat ones have more surface area and I think are harder to crank.
I do stuff off the grinder when we are making experimental runs in 5# or 10# batches and I have the Weston 22 with the auger and it works well. I’m not sure if you can buy it as an accessory or not, never looked but it’s surely a good solution to small batches without ever cranking.

[RON PARRISH]

@knifemaker3 I was going through the very same problem for the same reasons. I just bought a vertical and made a 25 pound batch of brats on the weekend and it was a world of difference . no problem at all . I just set it up on a lower table to keep crank in line with my shoulder.Worked perfect.

[Jonathon]

@knifemaker3 what @Parksider says is good advice, I use the 11 lb stuffer almost exclusively when working by myself because it is so much easier to crank than the 26 or 33 lb models. The increase in capacity just isn’t worth the extra effort it takes to crank the handle when working alone.

@RON-PARRISH should I be embarrassed that it never occurred to me to use a lower table and instead stood on something? No, I needed to be at that level for the videos…yes, we will go with that excuse!

[RON PARRISH]

@Jonathon I did the same thing for a long time but now it is not easy climbing up and down off of a platform .Brats turned out wonderful by the way! Thanks to you and everyone else on this site for the advice and ideas and your wonderful products.

[Joe Hell]

@Jonathon I use my 11 lb stuffer at the butcher shop exclusively. It’s not that difficult or time consuming to load and reload as necessary.

[knifemaker3]

@RON-PARRISH
Thanks! I figured someone would be having the same issues and made the switch and would give me good feedback. Time to start squirreling back the pennys to buy an 11# Walton stuffer!
Meanwhile…I’m still going to try the grinder to see if it helps until I can afford the upgrade. Been helping the wife save money for new sewing machine. Time for papa to get some new toys! Ha!

[PapaSop]

@knifemaker3
Totally agree. You’re turn.

[Jonathon]

@knifemaker3 Don’t forget to go to waltonsinc.com/win as we are giving away an 11 lb sausage stuffer this month!

[knifemaker3]

@Jonathon Thanks! I tried for last months too. Hopefully I’ll win this time!

[Joe Hell]

@knifemaker3 I assume you make knives based on your username…got anything to show off?

[knifemaker3]

@Joe-Hell Honestly I haven’t made a knife since 2006. Now I build rifles. Just still use the old name. I want to get back to making knives again, just can’t find the time with all the gunsmithing projects I have going all the time for customers.

[Jonathon]

@knifemaker3 That’s an awesome gig you go!

[Joe Hell]

@knifemaker3 you sound like a man of many talents! Welcome to meatville!