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One of the easiest things to do is to grind your own meat. Grinding your own beef, pork, or turkey provides better hotdogs, sausages, summer sausages and better burgers along with saving you some cheese (got it? …money).
After the first time that you grind your own meat and you taste the difference, you will never want to purchase store bought meats again. The flavor alone is much better and the texture is extremely better.
It isn’t hard to use an electric or manual grinder and there are many different ones to meet everyone’s budget. We came out with a top ten list of the best meat grinders to make your life easier.
In this article:
Tools
There are manual and electric appliance grinders. Depending on how often you plan on using the appliance will determine which type you should buy. The electric appliances are easier to use and they do all the hard work for you, but if you really want to grind your own meat, then considering to start off with a manual appliance. You can start with this manual grinder or this one.
After you have purchased the appliance that is the one to use, start off by placing the grinding plate and blade in the freezer for approximately an hour. Placing these parts in the freezer will get the parts very cold and the meats won’t stick to the parts or clog up when you are in the grinding process.
After you have purchased the appliance that is the one to use, start off by placing the grinding plate and blade in the freezer for approximately an hour. Placing these parts in the freezer will get the parts very cold and the meats won’t stick to the parts or clog up when you are in the grinding process.
What kind of meat can be used?
The meats that is going to be used is completely your choice. That is one of the benefits to grinding your own foods. You can mix and match them as it is your choice. If you are not grinding your meat, read an article about how to cut against the grain for the best beef cuts for jerky
Beef, chicken, pork and lamb are excellent choices. For the best grinding, you should choose meats that are fattier. The fat ratio should be 80% – 20%. Fattier cuts of meat are very tasty when they are ground.
How To Grind Your Own Meat
Step 1
Take the meat that you have selected and cut them into two-inch strips. When you cut them into the smaller strips it makes them easier to fit into the spout of the grinder.
Place the cut strips onto a baking sheet (view on Amazon), then place them in the freezer for approximately thirty minutes. You will want the strips to be very cold and they should be firm and not flimsy, but not completely frozen.
When the cut up strips is in this state it will the meat will not clog, jam, or gum up to the grinding plate or blade. The fat on them will not smear when it is this cold, which tends to happen when the fat isn’t very cold.
Step 2
Take a moderate sized bowl and place this in the freezer at the same time. The chilled bowl will be placed below the spout for the grounded meat to drop into.
Step 3
Take the grinding plate that you have selected from the freezer and attach it to the grinder. Remember, when making sausage, always choose the grinding plate holes to be larger, but if you are wanting chili, then choose a grinding plate with smaller holes.
Step 4
The preparer will need to have another large bowl. Add ice and just a small amount of water. This bowl of ice is for the beef, pork, or turkey that hasn’t been placed into the grinder yet, but the cold temperature is now becoming warm.
Step 5
Turn on the appliance and start feeding the chilled cut strips through the feeding tube.
Step 6
If at any time the grinder plate or blades start becoming warm, then place them back into the freezer for ten or fifteen minutes. You will know immediately as the meat will start sticking to the parts. Take these parts out of the freezer and just start the process again.
Step 7
Use the stomper that comes with the appliance to push the foods into the feeding tube. This will also keep your fingers protected at the same time.
Step 8
You should try to grind up the product twice. As anyone can grind it the first time with a grinding plate with larger holes, then the second time use a smaller holed grinding plate.
Step 9
Once the meat is ground up, then add your spices to the creation and be prepared for tasty and delicious meat.
Step 10
Remember to always keep the area where you are working clean and everyone should always wear gloves. Nobody wants any contamination occurring while they are working with raw beef, pork, chicken, or turkey.
Step 11
After the preparer is finished, then take a slice or two of bread, then push it through the grinder. This will remove any of the meat that is left in the grinder and will help with the cleanup too.
Cleaning the Grinder
Cleaning the meat grinder is very important. As soon as you are done using the appliance it should immediately clean it. Make sure to run the bread through the feeding tube as it will make the cleaning easier.
Here are the easiest ways to clean the appliance:
- Unplug the appliance if you are using an electric meat grinder. If you are using a manual appliance, then remove it from the countertop.
- Have a sink of warm water and disinfectant soap.
- Remove the grinding screw, the cover of the blade, the grinding blade, and the grinding plate, then carefully place them into the warm, soapy water.
- Use an abrasive sponge and clean the parts thoroughly.
- A bottle brush is a great way to get inside of the hopper and the feeding tube. The bottle brush will clean these areas thoroughly.
- After each part is cleaned, then rinse them to remove all the soap.
- Take a soft clean towel and dry all the parts and then let them continue to air dry. This will prevent the parts from rusting.
- Once the parts have aired out, then you will want to take food grade oil and spray it on all of the metal parts. This will keep the parts from rusting.
- Don’t reassemble the parts to the grinder.
- You can place the parts into a storage bag with rice. The rice will keep the parts from absorbing any moisture. If you have room in your freezer you can store the parts in the freezer too.
- The grinder should always be disinfected before each use. You can use a gallon of water with one teaspoon of bleach and simply spray the appliance down right before you are going to use it.
Cleaning and maintaining your appliance is essential and it is easy to do.
Conclusion
If anyone wants tastier sausages, hamburgers, and other dishes, then grinding your own meat is the key. As you can see, it is easy to do and you will save money in the long run when you grind your beef, turkey, chicken, or pork.
There are many different recipes that can be followed, but just by adding fresh herbs and seasonings will make a big impact with the meats.
Nobody has to pick the most expensive grinder to see great results. There are affordable manual and electric models that will fit just about any budget. The more the grinder is used, then the better the you will get using it.
Everyone that is using a grinder should get prepared because your friends and family will want to know what your secret is to the delicious meals that has been created.
