Does anyone have a recommendation for a good meat grinder? I was looking at the KitchenAid attachment, but there were a lot of reviews that talked about metal fragments and grey material (maybe grease) getting into the meat.
I’m not looking for a super heavy-duty $200 machine; I’m not going to grind up a whole cow. I would basically be using it for the occasional hamburger and chili meat, some ground chicken and possibly (someday) sausage.
I use my Kitchen Aid to grind meat for sausage, and I have never had the problems you described. There is no grease in the attachment, other than what comes from the meat.
Same here. I do 5# of sausage at a time, and the KitchenAid works fine.
The only trick is that the meat really does have to be put in the freezer for an hour or so before grinding, or it doesn’t grind well. From what I hear, this is an issue with other types of grinders as well, not just the KitchenAid, but I don’t have any direct experience with anything other than the KitchenAid.
And, for what it’s worth, I did manage to crack part of the plastic grinder attachment. Given that it’s about $40 to buy an entire brand new grinder attachment, it took me 20 years of on-and-off use to crack it, and standalone grinders start at about $150, I’m OK with it.
Ditto. I use it for sausage and ground beef and have never had any problems. I’ll also add that it’s also pretty easy to clean.
FTR, these are reviews on Amazon if anyone wants to take a look at them.
As far as the people complaining about the blade not being sharp and getting “ooze” or “mush”, that’s what happens when you try to grind meat that hasn’t been sufficiently frozen. From what I’ve researched, it’s an issue with most lower-priced grinders, not just the KitchenAid.
Dunno about the metal shavings. I’ve never had that problem with mine.
Turek,
I’ve always been a fan of my old-school vintage grinder (grandma’s.) If you really think you’ll only be using it infrequently (I understand not wanting to crank till your arms fall off), scour e-bay and the thrift stores for one - look for lots of accessories. Mine makes lovely fine-grind ground lamb the once or twice a year that I haul it out : )
For the record, the step-up from the KitchenAid grinder that the folks over on eGullet recommend is this one. Currently on sale for $99. They say it works really, really well.
Damn you, Turek! You may have just cost me $99!
Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society.
This. For as often as you are going to use it, get an antique. I still use the one I got from my grandmother, and it works just fine.
I’ve used the old-fashioned iron manual ones, but sadly never had luck. Make sure if you go that route to see that there’s little (or, better, zero) chance that you’ll end up with red water all over your feet, floor, and cupboards. There are new models that look enticing, but I’d rather use the machine. A good condition vintage model would be fun to use, though – I wouldn’t know how to try it out before you buy, in a store or estate sale, though.
KitchenAid attachment, to echo above, easily handles 4-5 lb. of pork and fat (I only use mine for making sausage), is easy to clean, and never had any metal shavings or anything suspect come out of it except delicious pig.
This may be one of the least valuable contributions in board history, but here goes: my brother-in-law uses a KitchenAid attachment to make sausage. He’s made hundreds of pounds over the last decade or so, and I haven’t heard any complaints about it.
That’s the one I own, and can recommend it highly.
I’ll add to the chorus: I’ve used my KitchenAid grinder attachment for the last 18 years without issue. I don’t use it all that frequently, but have never noticed any problems.
Thanks for the advice everyone. What prompted this was buying some chili meat this weekend, only to eat it and find a lot of gristle. Surely I can do better than this.
I use a hand cranked “King Kutter” that belonged to my late mother in law. It must be 60 years old and works fine. All cast iron and steel, not a bit of plastic. Makes some mighty fine ground meat for chili.
Update: My Kitchenaid grinder finally cracked to the point that it’s unusable, so I want ahead and got the Northern Industrial one to replace it. Verdict: I like it.
Pros: It’s much less fiddly than the Kitchenaid, produces a more even grind, and is faster. It’s bigger, too, so cleanup is easier (the Kitchenaid could be a pain to get all the meat bits out of the little parts.) I didn’t get any “meat mush” like the Kitchenaid tends to produce if the meat isn’t nearly frozen. The ground meat came out in long ropes, much nicer of a grind than the Kitchenaid.
Cons: Costs more, is MUCH bigger, takes up more storage space.
For someone who just wants to occasionally make some sausage or grind some meat, I’d say go with the Kitchenaid. It works fine, is small & easy to store, and is cheap.
If you’re grinding more than a few times a year, though, I think the Northern Industrial one is worth the money. It’s less of a hassle to use, and faster (though only a few minutes - maybe 5 minutes less time to grind 5# of meat than the Kitchenaid.)
Thanks for the update and side-by-side, Athena.
My folks just got a commercial grade one from Cabela’s for about $400. The use it to process deer. No complaints.
I have a Kitchen Aid mixer, but I’ll never buy the grinder if I can just go use theirs. They were excited about making their own hamburger; I was excited at the prospect of making rillettes and terrines.
Rillettes? Rillettes aren’t ground, they’re poached in fat and shredded. Yum yum. You remind me, I need to make more rillettes.