Meat Grinders

[Phoney]

I'm in the market for an electric meat grinder and I have little idea where to begin. I havent been able to find them in any retail stores where I can chat to a salesman, so I've been doing some research online and holy moley it's a whole new world out there that honesty I'm finding a bit daunting. There are so many options & features that I have no idea whether I need or not.

The main purposes I want one for are sausage making, making my own fresh mince for hamburgers, relishes etc. So sufficient grunt, different grades of coarseness and sausage filling attachments are my requirements I suppose. There are plenty on ebay ranging from $60 to $600, most are brands I've never heard of so I'm a bit dubious & cautious of buying one without at least some recommendations. I'm hoping to spend around $100. $200 if it's worth it. I'm happy with my Maxkon vacuum sealer so I was considering this Maxkon grinder.

Do you have an electric meat grinder? What make/model? Where did you get it from? Are you happy with it? Is it easy to clean? Any other tips & suggestions?

Cheers!

:icon_cheers:

 

[domfergo]

I have done a bit of research and want to buy one also. I buy most things off kitchenwaredirect.com.au. I have been thinking about buying the telfal branded one. It has great reviews and is it my budget. I only worry about being able to source parts for it if needed.

There is a lot better ones on there for more money.

From what I have been told the most important thing is being able to pull them down for cleaning

 

[benno1973]

I have the Tefal 'Le Hachoir' grinder. Not sure what the price is as it was bought for me, but it really is a great grinder. Easy to strip down, and it's got loads of grunt. We've minced 200kg of pork for dried salamis and it didn't miss a beat. My brother has also modded his to drive his grain mill, so it definitely has the torque required.

I also have a Kenwood with the mincer attachment. It's good, but hasn't had a lot of use since the Tefal came along.

 

[mr_tyreman]

Bulk Buy!!! h34r: h34r:

hahaha

shh

but count me in

 

[punkin]

Bulk Buy!!! h34r: h34r:

hahaha

shh

but count me in

I'd be in for the tefal one if there was a saving to be had.

I do like my #8 Spong, but it can take a long time to process a small amount of meat, especially if it's as fatty as i like it. Plus it's just hard work.

Did you find you were dissassembling the Tefal one very often during the 200kg session?

 

[benno1973]

Did you find you were dissassembling the Tefal one very often during the 200kg session?

Not once. We ran the fat through fairly cold, and if ever the fat clogged it up we just ran through a lump of meat to clear it out. Everything was pretty cold though, close to freezing, which mean that it sheared rather than smeared. And we used the coarsest plate because it was for salami. The only time we disassembled was when we cleaned it down at the end. Can't see it being any different for finer plates though - we did 15kg of sausages a few weeks ago and only disassembled to change the plates over from coarse to fine, and then to change over to the stuffer.

 

[punkin]

Cool, i'll be looking for one then. Got the blade sharpened on the hand grinder, meat was close to frozen and still had a stack of problems with the fat on my hand grinder on coarse.

 

[domfergo]

Well that's another great review for them! Looks like I will order one, I get a lot of buffalo meat give to me and it's really no good as steak. Ever wondered why you only get buffalo sausages and hamburgers on menus.....

 

[Phoney]

Thanks guys, looks like I'm sold on the tefal.

 

[Andyd]

$79 for the maxxon if you get in quick...


http://www.shoppingsquare.com.au/p_399731_...ge_Maker__Micer

Andy

 

[domfergo]

Just ordered mine from kitchenwaredirect.com.au ( no affiliation) free shipping and $15 off on a coupon code that ends today "FIFTEENOFF"

$214 total

 

[punkin]

Just ordered mine from kitchenwaredirect.com.au ( no affiliation) free shipping and $15 off on a coupon code that ends today "FIFTEENOFF"

$214 total

Thanks for the code, got mine too. B)

 

[punkin]

http://www.pricepirate.com.au/ProductDetai...00W+MEAT+MINCER

Of course i've found it now for $202 free freight

 

[wobbly]

If you follow up on Mercsown site and subject on salami making you will see that he speaks very highly of the Sunbeam and reportedly puts 10s ok kilos each year making his salami

cheers

Wobbly

 

[brettprevans]

The salami thread has a lot of reviews. I read those before making my decision on what brand to but. I bought a tefal. Figured I may as well spend a bit more and be assured that it will last and is up to the task of big batches

Edit. Maybe edit the thread to incl a vote/pole on possible grinders. Problem solved for future generations.

 

[domfergo]

My mincer turned up today! Moved a 5kg bag of chuck steak out of the freezer last night in anticipation...

Put it straight to work and it chewed threw the beef no problems at all.

It is a lot noisier then I would have thought!

Just going to put this out there but this could be the best thing since sliced bread!


Photo 1

Photo 2

Mmmmmm

Mass

 

[punkin]

Got mine yesterday, going to run 5kg of Jerky topside through it today and convert to mince as a trial.

Damn right about it being noisy.

Bloke on another forum i hang out on bought one from ebay. He said it's tween 50-55lbs B)

Nice looking bit of gear, wish i could have justified one of these instead.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...#ht_2911wt_1165

 

[punkin]

Chewed 5 kgs of topside in good time. never looked like it was straining. pieces have to be smaller than i'd like to fit down the chute, but nonetheless happy with this purchase. 1 pass on the medium strainer looked like it was about right for beef mince.

I'll have to get some of my hard won Long Black- Wild Sow mixed mince out of the freezer and do some Pork and Apple Bourbon Sausages. B)


They looked like this last time..

 

[benno1973]

Damn right about it being noisy.

I hadn't really noticed how noisy it was. I guess its all relative - my Kenwood made far more noise and really felt like it was straining...

Those sausages look good punkin. A recipe would be great. Do you soak dried apples in bourbon or what?.

 

[punkin]

I hadn't really noticed how noisy it was. I guess its all relative - my Kenwood made far more noise and really felt like it was straining...

Those sausages look good punkin. A recipe would be great. Do you soak dried apples in bourbon or what?.

Yes mate, soaked in bourbon and apple juice. Also works good with other dried fruit like mango.

I base them on this recipe, including the home made rusk.

Pork and Apple from Welsh Wizard

Thread
http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=3213.




Hi Oddley

I totally agree. If you cant taste the apple, they are not pork and apple.

I make quite a lot of these little beauties and use the following:

1kg Pork
c40g dried apple
10g salt
2g pepper
7% rusk
7% apple juice simmered down to concentrate the flavour and cooled
Herbs from the garden (depending on whats about)

I reduce the apple juice by c50% and then soak the dried apple in the juice for an hour or so to allow the dried apple to reconstitute

Mix with the pork, herbs, seasoning and rusk.

Depending on the wetness of the pork you may need to put some more juice into the mix to get the right consistency.

Works for me................

I have used fresh chopped apple in the past but it turned to mush whilst coooking, not so the dried apple...........

Cheers WW


Herbs i used were sage, mint, lemon thyme and parsley, all but the sage were fresh from the garden.



Rusk;


Quote:

For rusk if price is not too important an absorption figure of 1 to 1 lbs of water per lb of rusk should be aimed at however, a ratio of 2:1 is frequently employed.



Recipe for an economy rusk follows

Rusk (Economy)

Ingredients
1 lb (450 g) plain/all purpose flour or bread flour/strong flour
1/4 tspn (pinch) of salt
5 tspns (25 ml) DOUBLE ACTING baking powder (see note below)
6 - 8 fl oz (185 -250 ml) potable water

Note: 1 tspn (5 ml) baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and
2 tspns (11 ml) cream of tartar may be substituted for the baking powder.

Method
Preheat oven to 450 F (230 C)
Sieve the flour, salt and DOUBLE ACTION baking powder together.
DO NOT ADD ALL OF THE WATER but just enough to make a smooth, pliable dough (all flours vary)
Roll out lightly to approximately (12 mm) thick then place on a lightly greased tray
Place in oven on the middle shelf and bake for 10 minutes at 450 F (230 C)
Remove from the oven and using the tines of a fork split in half along its thickness
Place back on tray with the opened faces upwards
Return to oven
Reduce the heat to 375 F (190 C) and bake for a further 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
When cool using the large holes of a grater reduce to ⅛ (3 mm) particles.
Store in airtight container and use as required.










From the site in the quote above.