Grinder & Stuffer Cleaning/Storage/Use/Maintenance Question?????

[Fishawn]

After I clean my grinder (Northern) & all of it's parts..... I have been spraying the cast iron(?) parts & areas of the parts that will show rust with Pam, rubbing the sprayed areas to make sure of coverage & storing them in a ziplock bag..... On my grinder, this would be the 3 grinding plates & the front & back portions of the auger.... Everything else that is D/W safe I just clean all the crap off with soap & HOT water & send it through the D/W.......

On my stuffer (5# Northern)...... I handwash the frame with HOT soapy water & dry...... All the tubes, top stuffing plate & the stuffing chamber get cleaned as best I can by hand with HOT soapy water, then go into the dishwasher as well. I lubricated the Nylon gears before my first use with some Low temp grease that is still intact & working great...... I usually hit the "O" ring on the top plate with Olive oil before I stuff, but I know this is not good & know I need to invest in some food quality grease here soon......

Both my grinder & stuffer came from NorthernTool in nice sturdy heavy duty cardboard boxes & that's what I store them in, in the garage.

Kind of a BORING topic, but was always curious what others do as far cleaning, storage, use & maintenance

[Walking Dude]

I got the same thing you got buddy. Thankx for the headsup! Was a GREAT christmas. One tip i do, is with my knife and plates, I store in a baggie with rice. The rice will keep any excess moisture away.

But my auger and meat pan, I clean, dry well, and put in the freezer (I have the freezer space). No harm so far, and its also cold and ready for the next grind session.

[Fishawn]

I got the same thing you got buddy. Thankx for the headsup! Was a GREAT christmas. One tip i do, is with my knife and plates, I store in a baggie with rice. The rice will keep any excess moisture away.

But my auger and meat pan, I clean, dry well, and put in the freezer (I have the freezer space). No harm so far, and its also cold and ready for the next grind session.

Steve..... I Love You Man ..... See, I learned something today. Great ideas & totally different than what I am doing..... Thanks Buddy

[Bbqgoddess]

I got the same thing you got buddy. Thankx for the headsup! Was a GREAT christmas. One tip i do, is with my knife and plates, I store in a baggie with rice. The rice will keep any excess moisture away.

But my auger and meat pan, I clean, dry well, and put in the freezer (I have the freezer space). No harm so far, and its also cold and ready for the next grind session.

OH.. the RICE! farken brilliant Steve... I wish I had the freezer space for the pan.. no go since my big freezer died... Thank you both for your input... I have a dishwasher... me... what a PITA after a one man (woman) stuffing session then the clean up...

[GOT14U]

If I lived in a high humidity place the rice thing would be spot on. but I normally just clean thoroughly and dry for 2 days then store. When ready for use I spray with a food grade spray and go to town. The choprite I have, I try to keep "seasoned" after a stuffing session by a little spray or something.

One thing a buddy of mine told me from back in Wisconsin when he worked at a sausage factory was to run a piece of fat through firsts with the "face" loose. that lets fat get between the blade and the plate. then tighten her down and grind away. No need for spraying the plate or anything...It seems to work well and he seems to know his stuff as well.

[Fishawn]

If I lived in a high humidity place the rice thing would be spot on. but I normally just clean thoroughly and dry for 2 days then store. When ready for use I spray with a food grade spray and go to town. The choprite I have, I try to keep "seasoned" after a stuffing session by a little spray or something.

One thing a buddy of mine told me from back in Wisconsin when he worked at a sausage factory was to run a piece of fat through firsts with the "face" loose. that lets fat get between the blade and the plate. then tighten her down and grind away. No need for spraying the plate or anything...It seems to work well and he seems to know his stuff as well.

SHEEESH!..... I personally am glad I posted this thread..... I was hesitant & thought it would be considered boring as Hell to most, as the Title sounds, but there are already some GREAT tips & info coming in....

[GOT14U]

there are always so many great tips for a subject like sausage. I have made a ton of it but seems like I can always learn something new.

SHEEESH!..... I personally am glad I posted this thread..... I was hesitant & thought it would be considered boring as Hell to most, as the Title sounds, but there are already some F-N GREAT tips & info coming in....

[Richtee]

My knives and plates are wrapped in a Pam soaked paper towel to prevent rust and knicking each other up- and I keep a couple of those little dessicant bags (DO NOT EAT heh...) in the baggie with them. Pam will leave a bot of sticky residue eventually... but you can wash it off with a laquer thinner or alcohol based solvent..or hot power wash every now and again, and start off fresh with the cast parts.

[Fishawn]

Here again learned something...... Never thought about this..... My knife for the grinder is Stainless, so I don't worry about rusting...... But I just throw it in the box at random after cleaning.... Never thought about it getting knicked up rattling around in the box..... Good one Sir Rich ..... It will now be wrapped in a paper towel & into a Zip-Lock for storage...... It's all the little details that I just Love man.....

[curious aardvark]

the knife and plates on my grinder are stainless steel.
They whole metal assembly just gets washed in hot washing up liquid, dried and put back in it's box on top of the freezer where it's lived for the last 4 years.

As for the stuffer (lol) I remove the nylon pad and wash in the sink. Wipe the frame down with dishcloth and the sink water (given that i'm washing up all the bowls, spoons etc from the sausage making session).
Replace the plunger on the stuffer rub a little industrial food safe grease round the rubber seal and wind down completely into the cylinder.

That get's put back on it's shelf till next time.

No tips lol I just do the bare minimum that's necessary. So far nothing has gone rusty or sprouted fungus - so it works

[Dionysus]

I use a LEM grinder and all I do is wash everything in warm soapy water and then put everything in a warm oven to dry. Once it's thoroughly dry I store everything in the original box. Been doing this for years and have never had a problem.

[Walking Dude]

Never thought about it getting knicked up rattling around in

I purchased a rubber maid tub to store my grinder and stuffer in. After I clean and dry and put in rice, I lay em in the bottom of the tub. its put away. If its just laying there, no chance for it to get bumped around. The rice protects em pretty well.

[SmokinLee]

I remember my mom put rice in the salt shaker that sat on the kitchen table to keep it free of clumping up.