Stuffing snack sticks

[eagle_3464]

I am looking for any advice on stuffing snack sticks using a #32 grinder. It works great for the larger items but I can't seem to make it work for the small snack sticks. I am using a stuffing spacer plate but the meat will not push through the small tube (1/2" x 8" long). I have heard that some add water to the meat to make it flow easier but I hate to do that if there is another way. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[woody1975]

You will need to add water - It will evaporate during the smoking process.

My .02

[eagle_3464]

I am concerned that the collagen casings will absorb some of that moisture and not adhere to the meat like it should. Even without adding water I have had the casings separate from the meat after freezing.

[doubleUcubed]

We've battled the same problem the last few years with stuffing the 19mm casings and we have the largest 30 lb stuffer with the electric foot controll. What we have found best is that it is a fine-line with very cold meat and cold water, too much water and you have mush and not enough we blow the meat outside the rubber ring inside the stuffer. We first tried it with the grinder/stuffer and gave up on that and went with the large stuffer which has helped a lot. Good luck!