Help with Snack Sticks - Should cranking the stuffer be so hard?

[Jamieson22]

So just finished my second batch of snack sticks. Both batches used were made with pre-ground 80/20 beef chubs (25lb first batch and 24lb second batch). Both made with Walton/Excalibur seasonings and hi-temp cheese. I have a Hakka 15lb stuffer and a 12mm stuffer tube. Meat was hand mixed. When stuffing I only use the low/slow gear vs the gear meant to pull plunger back up quickly.

First batch was Jalapeno w/ 2.5lb cheddar and sure gel, mixed with 1 quart water in 19mm mahogany collagen casings. Stuffer was ridiculously hard to crank. Had to have my wife help and she had issues turning it. If you let go, the handle would kick back strongly a full spin.

Second batch was Willie’s with 2.5lb hot pepper cheese with 2 quart water in 21mm mahogany collagen casings. I skipped any binders this time. Definitely took some muscle to crank, but I did it myself. If I let go it would kick back just a quarter turn or so.

To stabilize I have been using 3 trigger clamps and have honestly been concerned if I could crack my granite counter tops. The Hakka has a air-release screw and I’ve tried loosening that up to point I get some meat pushing up through. Also added some white oil to the o-ring and verified it is oriented correctly. Fresh sausages using large stuffer tube are super easy to push through.

Is this just the physics of a large 15lb cylinder and a small 12mm tube and is perfectly normal? Any advice? Are my counters at risk?

Stuffer setup:

Today’s batch:

[processhead]

Chunky additives like cheese will increase cranking resistance.
Some of it is just the physics of pushing the meat through a small diameter tube.

[twilliams]

Jamieson22 for a 25lb batch use a minimum of 1.5 quarts of cold distilled water. The colder the meat the better. I use nothing less than 2 quarts cold water for 25lbs. As processhead said, adding cheese does add some resistance in cranking. Depending on what seasoning you use may be more difficult than others. For example, willies has about a pound of seasoning where sweet flavors like honey bbq and habanero bbq are around 5 lbs of seasoning. But yes, with using that small of a horn will make extreme pressures and resistance, forcing it can damage the gears. Using 2 quarts of water will help ease it.

[Jamieson22]

processhead Yeah I was going to try to this batch without cheese to see if it was easier to push but have 10lb in fridge so added some anyway.

Was hoping 2 quart of water would help and it did a bit. Would more water make it easier or is hard to crank the norm? Just trying to baseline issue vs par.

[twilliams]

Jamieson22 also stuff immediately after mixing, do not refrigerate after mixing then stuff later. The meat stiffens up after adding and mixing ingredients and will create havoc on your equipment.

[glen]

Jamieson22 I totally agree with twilliams
I think you kind of answered your own question since the second batch was easier with more water
I vegetable spray all interior metal before stuffing and go directly to the stuffer after adding binder

1/4 backlash is normal, 1 crank backlash is not and can be dangerous

[Jamieson22]

twilliams This Willie’s batch was 2 quart water vs 1 quart my previous batch. Was hoping that was the miracle but was still a tough crank but not as bad. Maybe next time I do a Walton order I’ll add the 13mm tube and see if it helps at all since 21mm collagen casing didn’t fit on the 16mm tube.

[twilliams]

Jamieson22 19mm casings wont fit on a 13mm tube.

[Jamieson22]

twilliams Meant 21mm on 13mm tube, not 19mm. Am okay switching to that if it helps.

[Jamieson22]

glen Would you go with more than 2 quarts for 25lb or is this the norm? Again it was crankable but certainly seemed to be putting some stress on the stuffer.

Also, twilliams this batch was stuffed as soon after mixing as possible with no extra fridge rest.

Thinking next batch I’ll try without cheese to get a better feel for “normal”. Appreciate the help!

[glen]

Jamieson22 Less cheese chunks and finer grind will help.
A quarter turn backlash with my 12 lb. stuffer is what I get for my jerky attachment and for snack sticks with 12 mm tube into 19 mm casings
Careful about more than 2 quarts per 25 lbs., you may get too much shrinkage

[JoeB]

Jamieson22 Great looking sticks. FDA states commercially processed meats can have up to 50% water in their batch. That being said, they use everything from soy to sawdust to keep it suspended in the meat, A little more water may make it easer for you, and a finer or 2nd grind as Glen said. Also mix and stuff immediately. Don’t let the batch setup. This may be stated in you mixer/stuffer how-to guide. Been there, done that, and got the torn tee-shirt for being last…

[bobbetty2]

I use the tube that just fits the casing…I even run the casing on by hand like we did with the old hog casings… it’s not set in stone you have to slide the whole slinky of collagon on the tube…your going to cut them any way I would think to store them…so it don’t have to be a 25 lb stick in one piece!

[no_eyes_processor]

Why not use the gear on the stuffer not for raising and lowering the plunger quickly. Also, the smaller the casing the harder it will be to fill.

[Jamieson22]

bobbetty2 said in Help with Snack Sticks - Should cranking the stuffer be so hard?:

I use the tube that just fits the casing…I even run the casing on by hand like we did with the old hog casings…

Will see if they fit on any larger tubes I have next time. Though it sure is nice just dumping an entire coil on the tube

no_eyes_processor said in Help with Snack Sticks - Should cranking the stuffer be so hard?:

Why not use the gear on the stuffer not for raising and lowering the plunger quickly.

Sorry, probably wasn’t clear. I am using the gear meant for stuffing. The other one would be even harder to turn.

[Jamieson22]

So just finished smoking them. Took two batches and 2.5 hours at 180F to hit 154F internal. Came out great!

[bobbetty2]

bobbetty2 I run my very sticky sausage thru mine with no problem when I do my 19mm breakfast links…my stuffer is a LEM Tho … Only one gear.

[bocephus]

Stuffers with smaller diameter plates are easier to stuff snack sticks with. That being said more water should help with the stuffing process but the cooking time would probably increase to dry them out.

[JoeB]

Jamieson22 great job… Man they look good. That’s something to brag about.

[YooperDog]

Jamieson22 all that hard work paid dividends. Looks like you got it figured out.