Sizing and choosing your grinder
Grinder size is determined by the size of the plate that the grinder uses.
The grinder size is denoted by a number, and this number corresponds to the diameter of the plate. The correlation of grinder size to plate size is shown in the following table:
| Grinder Size | 5 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 32 |
| Diameter of Plate | 2 1/8” | 2 1/2” | 2 3/4” | 3 1/4” | 3 7/8” |
Generally speaking, the larger the size of the grinder, the larger the motor, and thus the higher the cost of the grinder. If you are planning to use your grinder a few times a year to grind less than a few hundred pounds of meat, then you can definitely get by with a number 5 or 8 grinder. For a comparison, Figure 1-5 illustrates some of the different sizes of grinder plates up to number 32.
Photo by David Pluimer
FIGURE 1-5: Sausage grinder plates of different sizes.
One other determining factor when choosing a grinder is the materials from which your grinder is made. Stainless steel is the industry standard because it is durable, easy to clean, and resistant to rust. However, you can save money by going with plastic or aluminum options.
Sausage Stuffers
A sausage stuffer’s job is simple: to get ground meat into some sort of casing. There are a few types of sausage stuffer, but the most useful stuffer is called a vertical sausage stuffer (see Figure 1-6). Strictly speaking, stuffers are quite simple and are composed of the following parts:
Cylinder. The cylinder holds your meat mixture.
Piston. The piston fits perfectly into the cylinder and forces your meat mixture down through the cylinder. The piston is forced down by a hand crank.
Horn. The horn attaches to the bottom of the cylinder and is the approximate diameter of the sausage you are stuffing. Your casing fits onto the horn.
Photo by David Pluimer
FIGURE 1-6: Vertical stuffer and parts.
Vertical stuffers are ideal because their orientation gives you the greatest mechanical advantage as you crank the piston down. They are also ideal for stuffing a wet mixture like the emulsified sausages discussed in Chapter 6.
Cranking a stuffer can at times require some shoulder and arm strength. Depending on how firm your meat mixture is, you will want to make sure that the stuffer you select either comes with clamps to hold it down to your work surface, or at minimum has enough surface area on the base of the stuffer to use bench clamps like the ones pictured in Figure 1-7.
Photo by David Pluimer
FIGURE 1-7: Bench clamps for your stuffer.
Meat Slicer
The meat slicer (a.k.a. deli slicer) is a motorized device for easily and uniformly slicing meats. Meat slicers come in all shapes and sizes (like the one shown in Figure 1-8), and while they are not absolutely mission-critical for making meats, they are extremely helpful when you get to finishing up your bacon, or other meats from which you want to have slices ready to go.
Photo by David Pluimer
FIGURE 1-8: Meat slicer slicing bacon.
A seemingly endless number of meat slicers are available. The usefulness of your slicer will be largely determined by the size of the product that you plan to slice. If the sole purpose of your deli slicer will be to slice bacon, then you will want, at minimum, a 10-inch slicer — and possibly a 12-inch slicer — depending on the size of the pork belly you want to slice. Popular and reliable brands of slicers include
Berkel
Bizerba
Hobart
Globe
Several consumer brands with lower-end and lower-cost options are also available.
Smokers
A great smokehouse is a great thing! Have you ever had barbeque that made you groan with contentment? Or, how about bacon that kept you coming back for another strip? Have you ever wept when the last piece of bacon was eaten? Asking for a friend.
There are several ways to smoke, and there are several outcomes that you can have. The most important quality in a smoker is whether or not you can run it and make tasty food that is safe to eat. For the purposes of this book, I focus on hot smoking, which is smoking at temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The goal is to cook your product to a temperature that kills off any potentially harmful bacteria, while applying a smoke flavor to the meat. Following is a list of smokers you can buy.
Electric smoker: Electric smokers (see Figure 1-9) are a delightful creation because they offer automated digital temperature control. Electric smokers also smolder wood chips using an electric heating element which requires no lighting or maintaining. You can acquire an electric smoker for your home at a reasonable price, and aside from the periodic requirement to reload it with wood chips, it will be largely “set and forget.”The Sausage MakerFIGURE 1-9: Electric smoker.
Pellet smoker: Pellet smokers are fully automated electric smokers. These smokers use compressed hardwood sawdust that is held together with paraffin to generate heat and smoke. Did I mention that they are fully automated? The smoke is never as heavy as you’ll get with an electric wood chip smoker, but you do get a whole lot of convenience.
Gas-burning smoker: Gas-burning smokers (see Figure 1-10) are more like a traditional grill in that they use a propane burner to generate heat and smolder the wood in order to generate smoke. Gas burners require frequent monitoring to ensure that you are getting a steady heat output. The benefit is that you can smolder larger pieces