The Spiral Sausage Stuffer: Packing Meat Without Air

"This invention has relation to means for filling sausage-skins; and it consists, mainly, in the construction and novel arrangement of the cylindrical or conical casing, having its side wall extended in the lower or body portion, and gradually contracted or brought together to form a large funnel, which terminates horizontally in the discharge-pipe". The wings "besides their spiral twist, are usually designed to be curved transversely, or in the direction of their rotation, for the purpose of scooping the mass of meat forward." The meat is forced "into the funnel-recess k, where it is squeezed and packed together firmly, the air being kept back, and the mass passing in this compact form through the spout h into the skin."

Keep the meat and all metal parts cold. Grind the pork with salt by weight. Soak and rinse the hog casings, then slide one onto the stuffer's spout, leaving a tail. Fill the stuffer, turn the crank steadily and let the casing fill as it slides off the spout. Count turns and measure the length filled; compare with the notebook. Hold a length up to the light and look for air pockets. Prick any you find with a clean needle.

**Penrose W. Brownback** of Limerick Station, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, filed US 142,897 on 29 March 1873; it is dated 16 September 1873. The casing is made in two sections hinged together and closed by a hasp. **Honest limits.** The notebook assumes the meat moves one full pitch per turn. In practice it slips back and the fill fraction varies. Sizes and fill fractions are examples. Your turn count and sausage length are the measurement.