Homemade Sausage Making

I am having problems with my grinder plates and knifes starting to rust. It is minor but I hate rust on anything that comes in contact with food. This is what I do when I finish grinding. I hand wash them in the sink, then dry them completly. I use some stuff called Haynes spray that I bought at Butcher and Packer which is suppose to prevent rust. Then I put them in a plastic sandwich bag and they go in a small plastic tupperware container. Each plate and knife have their own container. Is there a better way to store grinder knifes and plates?

I don't know about better but after mine are washed and dried I rub olive oil on them and on my hands and then wipe the oil from my hands with a paper towel and wrap the plates and knife in the paper towel with the oily paper between all the pieces and then into a zipper bag. I don't allow the plates to contact each other. I haven't had any problem with rust spots.

I do similar to Ross, but I use a little Crisco. Fats go rancid, but if you are using them regularly, you have to replace the paper regularly, too. Some people use food grade silicone spray, which may be what you have. Some wash and dry their plates and knives and then put them in a ziploc bag and cover them with uncooked rice. One friend of mine uses reusable dehumidier crystals that come in small containers for use with photographic equipment.

In this regard be mindful of what you use for oil or fat. Some oils are of a drying type and when they spoil for food use they get very sticky and won't yield to soap and water. I choose to use olive oil because it keeps better than some of the soya or corn oil products. I think all of them will spoil in a couple of years.

I wash dry then spray with food grade silicon spray, store in an old margarine tub.

Bake all your metal parts in a low oven long enough to evaporate any residual water from cleaning. I usually put my oven at it's lowest temperature and leave them in for a few hours or at least until I'm done cleaning everything else. I've also pre-heated my oven to a hotter temp (300ish), tossed them in on a sheet tray, turned off the oven and went back to put everything away the next morning. I do spray my plates and blades with Haynes as added insurance.

Before I purchased Haynes I used to bake my blades and plates then stored them in a baggie of dry rice.

You may be trapping moisture under a layer of Haynes if everything isn't totally completely dry.

The sausagemaker.com sells a spray for this exact purpose. Only remember to wash it off prior to using them again. I never had a problem with it. It's also USDA approved.

I bet that tallow or lard would serve as well as any if you are going to wash them before you use them.

Thanks for all the input, these are some great ideas.

Keep your plates and blades in a container of rice.