Let's Talk BBQ
General => General Discussion & Topics => General Discussion => Topic started by: Smokin Don on April 29, 2013, 01:14:00 AM
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Barry pm’d me and asked about my avatar, he guessed three things and one was right, a sausage maker.
Years ago every farmer that did his own butchering had one of these. It was a lard press too that had a lard bucket perforated with holes and had a smaller disk press plate to fit inside the bucket. It was also used to press fruit.
Cut up hog fat with the skin was rendered down and all poured into the lard bucket then pressed to extract the lard to use for cooking. It also came with tubes for stuffing sausage. I never got to see one in operation but remember well my uncle’s large wood press in his slaughter house. My cousin and I wanted to be there when he made lard to get the hot cracklins. He lined the cylinder of the press with cheese cloth and after all was pressed pulled out the large disk of cracklins and dumped them onto butcher paper. I think he gave these away at his grocery.
More than twenty years ago my sister in Texas wanted me to find her one and send it to her. I found an antique dealer that had two of them. One was complete with sausage tubes, lard bucket and lard disk; the other one did not have the lard bucket but had what looked like the original paint and stenciling. I called her and she wanted the one with the lard bucket. I bought it boxed it up and sent it to her. I went back and bought the other one for myself. I paid $80 for hers and $70 for mine.
I was always going to clean it up and use to stuff sausage but was afraid I would not get it clean enough so bought a new stainless steel one. I did buy a new stuffing tube from Lehmans Hardware in Kidron, Ohio who still has them for the Amish people. They have a web site. I got a bargain since the one they sell; same size as mine, 8 quart No. 35 sells for $595. I think it is made in the USA.
Mine is stenciled “This cylinder bored true, 8 quart No. 35” and it has some stenciled designs on it.
Smokin Don
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Thanks for the full story. There is kitchen equipment and there is special 'stuff.' Seems to me this qualifies as special.
BTW. I suspect it ciuld be used as a duck press too. 8)
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It IS cool looking!
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That's a nice antique, Bet she's heavy :)
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That's a nice antique, Bet she's heavy :)
Forgot to answer pronto :-[ It weighs 40 lbs. It set for years on carpet and had permanent dents from the feet. I just mounted it on a round board 1 1/2 inches thick and now sets on our back porch. My sister mounted hers on a plank bottom chair that had the back removed. She knew a farmer that had his mounted that way, had it up high enough to set a lard can under. Don
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When i lived in Amish country and went to estate auctions you could not even bid on these cuz the Amish would bid the prices way up. Seen some go for $300 just so normal folks would not bid. The Enterprise stuffers are nice, built to last. You can still buy parts for them.
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We love old stuff like that and have way too much of it, but can't seem to ever part with any of it.
I was just wondering the other day if anyone on here ever rendered their fat into lard. I can remember my Grandmother doing it but don't remember exactly how it was done.
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Great avatar Don!
Those can also be used as a cider press. I've often been tempted to get one 'cause I love the way they look!