Cleaning a Kitchenaid Grinder and Stuffer

[NickV]

So, I've got this Williams-Sonoma gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket and I was thinking about the sausage making attachments for my Kitchenaid. I'm just wondering if the grinder and the stuffer are a pain to clean. I could probably live without the grinder and just have a butcher grind what I wanted, but that still leaves the stuffing attachment. Does anyone have any experience with either of these? Thanks

[srhcb]

So, I've got this Williams-Sonoma gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket and I was thinking about the sausage making attachments for my Kitchenaid. I'm just wondering if the grinder and the stuffer are a pain to clean. I could probably live without the grinder and just have a butcher grind what I wanted, but that still leaves the stuffing attachment. Does anyone have any experience with either of these? Thanks

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The grinder disassembles completely for cleaning. I just let it soak a while and use a bottle brush on the case.

SB (will use his tonite to grind pork scraps for meatloaf)

[slschnur]

So, I've got this Williams-Sonoma gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket and I was thinking about the sausage making attachments for my Kitchenaid. I'm just wondering if the grinder and the stuffer are a pain to clean. I could probably live without the grinder and just have a butcher grind what I wanted, but that still leaves the stuffing attachment. Does anyone have any experience with either of these? Thanks

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I've had the grinder & sausage-making attachment for some years now (although I haven't made sausage in a long time). It works pretty well & isn't terribly difficult to clean.

[Della]

My boyfriend got the grinder and stuffer for Christmas and while we have only used it once so far it was easy to clean. We took Alton Brown's tip and pushed a couple pieces of white bread through the grinder when we were done with the meat and it seemed to get alot of the "scraps and bits" out so when we washed up there wasn't a lot of meat to clean up.

[srhcb]

My boyfriend got the grinder and stuffer for Christmas and while we have only used it once so far it was easy to clean. We took Alton Brown's tip and pushed a couple pieces of white bread through the grinder when we were done with the meat and it seemed to get alot of the "scraps and bits" out so when we washed up there wasn't a lot of meat to clean up.

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I remember my Mother used to run a few slices of dried bread through her old hand grinder when she finished with the meat, which was perfect if she was making meatloaf.

My KitchenAid's instructions doesn't recommend doing this, but if you take the plate out first, (the piece with the different sized holes), it should be okay.

SB (wishes his KA had flames like AB's!)

[fatmat]

I'm not totally impressed with the grinder - I find that the central spindle clogs quickly and then the grinder mushes as opposed to grinding, producing a pulp as opposed to a mince. I don't know if mine has a fault as I've not seen another in action, but I feel that it is a design issue.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?

[srhcb]

I'm not totally impressed with the grinder - I find that the central spindle clogs quickly and then the grinder mushes as opposed to grinding, producing a pulp as opposed to a mince. I don't know if mine has a fault as I've not seen another in action, but I feel that it is a design issue.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?

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You maybe grinding too fast? Or perhaps try to plate with the larger holes first, and make a second pass at the finer grind. Also, make sure the front collar is VERY tight.

I usually set meat, cut to size for grinding, into the freezer just ot firm up and it seems to grind better.

SB (never had much trouble)

[Michael Ruhlman]

you can also dangle a piece of plastic wrap into the grinder until the auger catches it and the plastic wrap will push out the remaing bits and won't get ground up. no white bread necessary.

[Malawry]

I have found that the spindle gunks up more quickly if you try to run a lot of silverskin through the grinder attachment. Cutting as much silverskin as humanly possible off your meat before you try to grind it makes a big difference to how quickly the blade gets clogged. I hate that raw meat paste, too.

[scubadoo97]

I use a KA grinder often to grind my own beef. Nothing like hamburgers right off the grinder. I clean meat well of silver skin so that's never a problem. I use to get blood on my tee shirts while standing in front of it as it spat out a little liquid. I solved that problem by using a piece of plastic wrap which I screwed onto the grinder with the retaining ring. It drapes over the grinder providing a splash shield. I find it works better to grind with the meat semi frozen. The fat stays hard and grinds through. Some sinew will get caught up in the grinder but over all it works okay if you don't want to buy a dedicated grinder. I clean it with hot water until the fat melts away and then I stick it in the dish washer. Cleans well.

[Jmahl]

I've used the KA grinder for years and except for its small capacity I never had a problem. Once you start grinding your own meat you will never let the butcher do it. Just think what was in the grinder before he used it for you.

Scubadoo97 has the cleaning down.