Grinder, do your stuff

Sausage is a simple food: just seasoned meat stuffed into a cleaned casing. The hard part is getting it in there.

Technically, all you really need for the job is something to chop the meat, and some device to push the chopped meat through the casing. You can even stuff casings by hand, as people did for centuries.

These days home cooks tend to use a counter-top grinder for both jobs. Typically, they grind the meat, then they remove the blade and cutting plate, fit a stuffing tube in their place and run the meat through the grinder again.

We tested four rather different grinders for their stuffing abilities, from an archaic 19th century-style hand grinder that your great-grandmother might have used to a grinding attachment that fits onto an electric mixer.

Meat grinding technology is pretty well established, and all four did an acceptable job of grinding.

The Norpro Meat Grinder-Mincer worked slowly, because of its small size, and you wouldn’t want to make more than a couple of links with it. The fastest by far was the VillaWare Power Grinder (also the largest and most expensive model).

All home grinders tend to clog up. When the holes of the grinding plate become cluttered, the meat is ground smaller than it should be, resulting in a pureed texture. This was a particular problem with the KitchenAid Grinder Attachment.

It’s more irritating when clogging brings the whole mechanism to a halt. Then you have to disassemble it and clean it out. The VillaWare grinder has a convenient reverse button that can often save you that trouble.

Any equipment that handles raw meat has to be scrupulously clean. The two electric grinders were easier to wash because their feed-grinder heads are removable. With the manual models, the whole machine has to be immersed in the dishwater.

The VillaWare is the best all-around grinder and stuffer, and you can find it on the Internet for as low as $99.95.

If you already have a KitchenAid mixer and don’t plan to make sausage in large quantity, the KitchenAid stuffing attachment may be a better idea.

The Norpro’s attraction is that it worked decently, considering its very low price (and it’s cute).

But forget the old-fashioned IOMC Meat Mincer. It’s strictly for nostalgia -- or maybe for weight training. This monster is even heavier than it looks.

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The accessory

What’s the difference: The KitchenAid Grinder Attachment attaches to the end of a KitchenAid mixer motor housing (with a screw; be careful not to lose the tiny faceplate you have to take off first), so it’s fairly clumsy and unbalanced. Comes with medium and coarse cutting plates.

What we thought: OK. Narrow feeding neck; you may have to cut meat (and especially tough ingredients such as pigskin) smaller than for some other models before grinding. Medium plate holes seemed to clog faster than other models’. Reasonably priced -- if you already have a KitchenAid mixer.

How much: $49.95 at Sur la Table.

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The unclogginator

What’s the difference: The VillaWare Power Grinder has a powerful motor for its weight and three cutting plates: fine, medium and quite coarse (chili meat grind). You have to mount the stuffing tube over the chili meat plate. The on-off button is closer to the working end than is the KitchenAid’s, and there’s a reverse button, helpful for unclogging.

What we thought: The overall best. Only problems: There’s just one speed, perhaps a bit on the brisk side. And unless you plan to do lots of grinding and sausage-making, your question is going to be, “Do I have room for a gadget this size?”

How much: $134.50 at Surfas.

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Mr. Gadget

What’s the difference: Everything on the Norpro Meat Grinder-Mincer except the cutting mechanism is plastic, so you can see the meat move through the worm gear -- cool, and sometimes useful. Sits on a work surface with a suction attachment (won’t work on tile and some wood surfaces). Has medium and coarse cutting plates and a rather narrow stuffing tube, which sits better on the mechanism if you leave a cutting plate in.

What we thought: Gadgety. It does grind the meat and stuff the casing and you can’t beat the price, but it’s too small for big jobs.

How much: $25.95 at Surfas.

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Call me Boris

What’s the difference: The IOMC Meat Mincer looks like Soviet technology circa 1935. Weighs a ton and will probably last generations, at least if you carefully dry and oil the steel blade and cutting plate after every use to prevent rust. Has the widest feeding neck of the four. Needs at least a 1-inch overhang on your work surface (which should be sturdy but not thicker than 1 1/2 inches) to clamp onto.

What we thought: Clunky. Once you get some momentum going, it’s not hard to use, but it only has a fine-size cutting plate, so it’s less versatile for sausage than the others. The stuffing attachment has to be purchased separately.

How much: $37.50, stuffing attachment $3.95 at Surfas.