Electric Meat Grinder Recommendations

[JosephB]

Getting this bad boy. Fully stainless. Grinds 260 lbs. per hour. Weighs 70 lbs. 1 HP/650 watts. 300 bucks.

Seems plenty powerful for what I need to do, without having to worry that it will choke on poultry and small game bones. The more expensive/powerful ones just seemed like overkill, since I don't have plans to grind up up 400 pounds of elk sausage in my Manhattan apartment any time soon.

Perfect. 260 lbs/hr. You can service the entire UWS of Manhattan.

[bergerka]

Perfect. 260 lbs/hr. You can service the entire UWS of Manhattan.

The entire UWS eats ground up whole chickens? The things you learn about your neighbors....

K

[slkinsey]

Oh, hell yea! This grinder kicks ass!

Here it is from the side:

More:

A better look at the business end:

The grinding parts:

Tried it out for the first time last night... it blew through a whole chicken, bones and all, like it was a piece of Wonder Bread. So worth the money. To give an idea of how the experience differs from using the KA grinder attachment:

Before

• 8:00 - Cut up chicken. Take all meat off bones. Chop bones into small pieces. Set up KA with grinder attachment.
  
• 9:00 - Start grinding bones and move on to the meat. Stop every so often to clear grinder when it jams up. Stop several times to allow the KA to cool down. The bones must be double-ground. Sounds like this: grrrr grrrr grrrr grrrr grlrl grlrl grlrl grlrl... grlrl... rlrl... rl... <gonk> (then I have to clear the stuck grinder and start over).
  
• 10:30 - Start cooking the chicken and cleaning the grinder.
  
• 11:00 Get in argument with bergerka about how there are tiny bits of raw chicken strewn all over every surface of the kitchen. Put cooked chicken in metal refrigerator container.
  
• 11:30 Kitchen is now clean.
  
• 12:00 Go to sleep alone on couch in living room.
  

After

• 8:00 - Cut up chicken into large chunks. Whack pieces with heavy knife to break up bones. Set up grinder.
  
• 8:10 - Fire up grinder and start feeding through large pieces of chicken. Sounds like this: hummmmmmmmmmgerzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzoooooooooooooorchhummmmmmmmmm.
  
• 8:20 - Start cooking chicken. Take apart grinder and wash parts in sink.
  
• 8:40 - Put cooked chicken in metal refrigerator container. Wash Le Creuset cooking pot.
  
• 8:50 - Play with ferrets, etc.
  

[Random Alias]

Oh, hell yea!  This grinder kicks ass!

Here it is from the side:

Looks like quite the grinder. I know what you mean about the Kitchen Aid being messy too. Everytime I use that thing I'm finding little bits of whatever I'm griding in a nice 1 ft. radius of the grinder, but for now it's all I need.

One day I'd like to replace the Kitchen Aid grinder with something a bit nicer. I can't help notice though that that model you have won't grind hands and, unfortunetly, that's a deal breaker for me.

[Jensen]

Oh, hell yea! This grinder kicks ass!

Hey, I thought you were getting the one with the reverse switch???? That one is just like mine. Cool, innit?

[slkinsey]

Oh, hell yea!  This grinder kicks ass!

Hey, I thought you were getting the one with the reverse switch???? That one is just like mine. Cool, innit?

Nope. Decided on raw power. Your description of how it handles chicken bones tipped the balance. Serious piece of machinery. I am already casting about for other things to grind. Ground up some chuck steak with some pancetta and made killer hamburgers the other night.

[Jensen]

Nope. Decided on raw power. Your description of how it handles chicken bones tipped the balance. Serious piece of machinery. I am already casting about for other things to grind. Ground up some chuck steak with some pancetta and made killer hamburgers the other night.

Right on! Now you'll be on the Northern Tools mailing list too and you get the catalogue in the mail. Ahhhhh. Tool catalogues ... they almost make me wish I was a guy ...

[slkinsey]

Nope.  Decided on raw power.  Your description of how it handles chicken bones tipped the balance.  Serious piece of machinery.  I am already casting about for other things to grind.   Ground up some chuck steak with some pancetta and made killer hamburgers the other night.

Right on! Now you'll be on the Northern Tools mailing list too and you get the catalogue in the mail. Ahhhhh. Tool catalogues ... they almost make me wish I was a guy ...

Actually, I doubt I'll ever be buying from them again. When I submitted my order I had them ship to my day-job work address, because I don't have anyone at home in the afternoon to sign for packages. So... when I finally get an email confirmation from them, the address is wrong. It had the correct street address, but did not include the name of the business. As I work in a large office tower with dozens of businesses and thousands of employees, this is a problem. So, I emailed them saying that I didn't understand why they had omitted that part of the address and asking that they correcthe delivery address immediately. I even attached a saved html file of the web page confirmation I got upon completing my order, which displayed the correct full delivery address. Some 4 days later, they sent me a reply email saying "we shipped it to the address you submitted" -- arguing with me about the address rather than just making the change. I had to get the tracking number off their web site and call UPS myself to have the address modified after the first delivery attempt failed. Then, the meat receiving tray was seriously dented (who cares, of course, but I paid for it) and the sausage stuffer attachments were cracked. I plan to have both replaced, but I dread dealing with their crappy customer service people again.

[picaman]

Unfortunately I have no idea what the manufacturer is let alone the model.

From the handle, I'd say it's a Hobart. Do you care?

Jamie

P.S. I could be wrong.

[tryska]

so here's a question on grinders.....how difficult is it to wash these bad boys after the deed?

(the reason i ask - i have a double stainless VERY shallow sink.)

[Hest88]

I don't find it hard at all. Thick dishwashing gloves, hot water at full heat, and lots of detergent shaken through the tubes. I figure that the water is at a high enough temperature to kill the bacteria and the detergent cleans the rest. There isn't usually a problem with sticking, except with the grinder holes, and a sharp smack on the side of the sink usually releases the rest of the stuck-on meat.

[slkinsey]

Yea. It's totally easy to clean. One of the nice things about a really heavy duty one like mine is that all the parts are stainless. We don't have a dishwasher, but I'm sure having one woud make cleaning even easier.

[tryska]

hmm. and i do have a dishwasher. i'm still trying to figure if grinding myself would be worth it.

[Jensen]

I put the bits from my grinder in the dishwasher all the time. No problem!

I'm not sure about grinding yourself though, Tryska...is that anything like self-trepanation?

[tryska]

*lmao*!!! no i didn't mean grinding myself.

i'm jsut trying to figure out, what the best option is for raw-feeding my cats. whether i should grind my own meat and bone, get my ground meat, organ and bone delivered, or get premade meals from a supplier down here.

so far getting delivered meat, and get premade meals are about the same cost. and it seems that grininding my own would be the same cost too - especially when considering the hassles of finding organ meat these days.

[mr.baconhead]

I want to buy a meat grinder to replace the new KitchenAid system that I now have, and I've read some of the comments regarding the Northern Tool meat grinder:

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/sto...340586&R=340586

My query is to owners who have had the Northern Tool for a while - do you have any further thoughts about it, and would you still recommend it, or do you have reservations?

And yes, I'm selling the KitchenAid attachments (food grinder + sausage stuffer + pasta) - if anyone is interested, please PM me off list.

[andiesenji]

I have the Northern Tool grinder and I also have the band saw so I am pretty confident that the machines will do just about anything you ask of them.

I think the grinder is about 9 years old now and it has gone through tons of meat, or rather tons of meat, poultry, wild game, etc., has gone through it.

My neighbors use it. I live in a somewhat rural area, a lot of my neighbors are hunters and I have former clients who are hunters for whom I used to do dressing or butchering and preparing game meat for cooking.

This grinder has run for 5 or 6 hours straight without overheating, stalling or giving any problem whatsoever.

It's a lot heavier than any of the others I have used or owned at one time or another.

[slkinsey]

I have the Northern Tools grinder as well, as detailed above, and couldn't be happier. The only drawback is that it's quite heavy -- but that comes with the territory. You don't get that kind of power in an eight pound grinder.

[ojisan]

Advice needed from owners of Northern Tool grinder:

- Am I correct in assuming that the front ring is lightly tightened, and the locking handle is used to adjust the blade-to-plate contact? What is your procedure when setting up?

- Are the blade and plates stainless, or carbon steel?

- FYI, it arrived today, poorly packed (original cardboard box, no outer box) and the styrofoam completely demolished. The top is dented, but nothing was broken. The feed screw is not polished - just a rough casting. The good news is Northern is offering free shipping, usually $40.

Thanks

Phil

[Waterzoy]

Admin: threads merged.

I want to get a meat grinder - does anyone have any opinions on the meat attachment for the KitchenAid or whether I'd be better off with a separate machine altogther, either manual or electric? I'm looking for the best tool for the job rather than aiming to save kitchen space.

Also, what is the most appropriate cut of beef to be mincing for use in meatballs, burgers etc.

[Bombdog]

As far as the KitchenAid goes, I'd say that it depends on how much you plan to do. I have used my attachment for up to 5 lbs of meat and fat during charcuterie projects with no problems.

I doubt it's the 'best' tool for the job, but it certainly fits the bill for the projects I have thrown at it.

[Bill/SFNM]

KA meat grinder attachment does a fine job for small batches. It is important that the chopping assembly be very well-tightened (a plastic wrench is included for tightening and loosening) and that the meat be very cold, even partially frozen, to avoid smearing the fat.

BTW, if you ever want to make sausage, the stuffing attachment for the KA meat grinder is worse than useless, IMO.

I grind whole packer brisket for burgers, but I like plenty of fat. Great flavor.

Bill/SFNM

Edited November 11, 2006 by Bill/SFNM (log)

[KitchenQueen]

Kitchenaid, hands down.

And a good chuck roast.

[adegiulio]

I have the KA attachment, but went out and bought a dedicated Waring meat grinder. I'm glad I did. I grind most of my own meats, and I find its just easier with the waring. It has a bigger hopper, bigger choice of dies and stuffers, and is all metal. As another poster put it, the stuffer on the KA is completely useless, but then I find the stuffer on the waring equally useless. If you plan on making sausage, I would invest in a sausage stuffer. Manual ones made by Dick from Germany seem to be the best. I love mine...

For meatballs, I use chuck and pork shoulder. Everything should be extremely cold (including the grinder pieces). Brisket does sound like a nice idea, I am going to try that next...

[andiesenji]

I have the meat grinder attachment for an old KA but never used it. I had an old Waring that worked fine for grinding meat, cheese (for pimento cheese sandwich spread), finely mincing stuff for patés and etc., but, has been mentioned earlier, the sausage stuffer was pretty much useless.

I bought the Waring Pro, which again worked okay grinding stuff but the sausage stuffer was iffy, at best.

Now I have one made by Northern Industrial Tool co., which is probably too big for your use.

However, I have helped my neighbors purchase this smaller unit made by the same company and I have used it when helping them prepare for a party on several occasions. (Grinding meat for tamales, empanadas, etc.)

Northern tool 1000 watt meat grinder. and it does an excellent job. It is more powerful than other grinders at this price. The cutting plates are 2 3/4 inches in diameter (most of the others are 2 1/8)

The throat size is larger and it has a REVERSE switch.

This last detail means you do not have to unplug, take the grinding assembly apart and scrape everything out to remove something has had hung up in the grinder.

The sausage stuffer works very well.

The fine mince plate will produce almost a paste, which still has just enough texture to work well in patés and terrines.

Currently it is on sale for 89.99.

The knife is carbon steel and can be sharpened on a flat hone or waterstone.