I finally read the introduction to sausage-making in “Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing” and they mention all of my problems as being very common. They also advise to have everything very cold so I’ll be trying that in the new year.

That being said. . .any small mincing machine has alot of problems trying to rend flesh of any sort. They don’t have the umph or the volume in the chute to really grind anything up–what happens is friction takes over and things gum up a bit.

A few things you might do for maximum sucess. Do you have a magimix? That’ll blitz the meat up into a paste before trying to grind it. . . .Second, and this stands for the magimix too–when making mince–have everything bloody cold. Put the blade, mincer, tube attachment, meat–what ever makes sense in the fridge to chill for a few hours, or the freezer for a shorter time. This will not only keep the bugs from attacking but some how seems to help. Also grind some fat first to lube everything up then put it all back through.

I’ve not made sausages, but I regularly mince up meats for whatever with a little, borrowed, countertop mincer. It is probably about the same as the Kenwood attachment. I yearn for an industrial mincer and have almost bought one many times. Develop your own Bandon Corker Chroizo and you’ll be able to get one in no time. By the by–if you don’t already own them–all of Hugh’s River Cottage videos are on bit torrent. . . .