Hand Filling vs Machine Filling Sausages

Filling sausages by hand works when you produce a few. It gets hard when orders grow. Here is how hand filling and machine filling sausages compare, and how to tell when it is time to switch.

What is the difference between hand filling and machine filling sausages?

With hand filling, you push the meat into the casing yourself, then tie or twist each link by hand. It needs little equipment, but every link depends on your hands.

With machine filling sausages, a machine pumps the meat into the casing at a weight you set, then twists the links for you. You load the hopper and guide the casing.

Which is faster?

Hand filling speed depends on the person, and it drops as hands get tired.

Our vacuum sausage filling machine fills up to 60 links a minute. That is up to 3,600 links an hour. At 100 g per link, that is up to 360 kg of finished sausages an hour, as long as meat keeps going into the hopper.

Switching portion size is just a setting on the touchscreen, so one machine can make small cocktail sausages in the morning and larger ones in the afternoon.

Which gives more even sausages?

By hand, it is hard to give every link the same weight. One link is fat, the next is thin.

With a machine, you set the weight on the touchscreen, anywhere from 30 g to 1,000 g, and every link follows it. Steady weight makes pricing and packing much easier. You know what each pack holds before you seal it.

What about air in the sausage?

Air can get trapped when meat is pushed into a casing by hand. Air pockets create weak spots, bubbles under the casing and shorter shelf life.

A vacuum machine pulls air out of the meat before and during filling. The fill comes out dense and even, with fewer weak spots. If your sausages split in the pan, [read why sausages burst].

What about tying?

Tying every link by hand takes time, and it slows down every batch.

The machine twists the casing between links automatically, at full filling speed. No string, and no one standing at the table tying.

Hand filling vs machine filling sausages: the quick view

• Speed: hand depends on your hands. The machine fills up to 60 links a minute.
• Weight: by hand, it varies. The machine holds the weight you set.
• Air: hand can trap it. The vacuum machine removes it.
• Tying: hand ties each link. The machine twists links automatically.
• Setup: hand needs almost nothing. The machine needs power and floor space.

When should you switch to a machine?

You are probably ready if:

• Orders are growing and you can’t keep up
• Your links vary in weight
• You spend more time tying than selling
• Customers complain about bursted sausages
• You want to sell in neat, labelled retail packs

If two or more of these sound like you, a machine will likely save you time and waste.

What do you need to run one?

Actually, less than most people expect. The machine runs on single-phase 220V with a 1 kW motor, so you don’t need three-phase power. 

It weighs 150 kg and measures 1,000 × 550 × 1,470 mm, so it needs a firm, level worktop or floor space.

It comes with four nozzle sizes (10, 12, 14 and 17 mm) and works with natural, collagen and synthetic casings. The 57-litre hopper is removable, which makes cleaning easier.

Ready to move from hand filling to a machine?

Message the Brandsquare team on brandsquare.shop with how much you want to produce each day, and we will reply.