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Griffin - Grinder question

Village Idiot
Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
edited April 2012 in EggHead Forum
I just ground up 3 pounds of hamburger meat and the grinding attachment to my Kitchenaid mixer clogged up three times.
I am wondering if you have any clogging problems with your Kitchener #12 grinder.

Also, anybody else doing their own grinding that like their grinder?


__________________________________________

Dripping Springs, Texas.
Just west of Austintatious


Comments

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    i get better results if i cube about an inch.  did five pounds last night with no clogging
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
    edited April 2012
    Thanks.  My cuts were bigger than that.  And, I might be wrong, but it may be tendon that's clogging it up.  I was using top sirloin ($2.75/pound on sale).
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,669
    Gary I did a smaller brisket on my KA and no problem. I did get it real cold before grinding.
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    you'll get fibrous tendons that wrap themselves around the cutter.  even if you cube to an inch.

    i thought i was being smart and only did 1x1x a few inches (long strips), but the tendons are the problem there.

    i thought the cubing was for easier grinding and feeding.  it's really to minimize the winding of the fibrous stuff.


    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Chris88
    Chris88 Posts: 41
    I got my grinder from Cabela's and have been grinder hamburger meat for about two months now. Last time I used brisket and chuck. It came out pretty good. Not sure where I got this tip but I cut up the meat and put it in the freezer with the blade attachment for about 30 minutes. That way the fat does not get soft and clog up the end. I won't buy any more hamburger meat ever again. 
    Egg head in Louisiana.
  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
    you'll get fibrous tendons that wrap themselves around the cutter.  even if you cube to an inch.


    Aha !  I thought so, by examining what was wrapped around the cutter blade.  I bet any grinder might have that problem.  You may have saved me $138.  Thanks.



    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    i thought for a sec that maybe a better grinder would cut them somehow, but then realized having them in the meat isn't exactly a bonus.

    i used to think it was a pain.  now i think of it as a bonus. hahaha
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Griffin
    Griffin Posts: 8,200

    Sorry I didn't respond sooner. I don't get on the forums much on my days off and today is one of them. I guess you've already gotten your answer, but no I haven't had that problem. I cube mine up into small pieces first, about 1 inch. Maybe thats why.

    Chris - that is good advice. I do the same. Meat and all metal parts into the freezer 30 minutes before I start to grind. Heat is your enemy.

    Rowlett, Texas

    Griffin's Grub or you can find me on Facebook

    The Supreme Potentate, Sovereign Commander and Sultan of Wings

     

  • Chris88
    Chris88 Posts: 41

    Sorry I didn't respond sooner. I don't get on the forums much on my days off and today is one of them. I guess you've already gotten your answer, but no I haven't had that problem. I cube mine up into small pieces first, about 1 inch. Maybe thats why.

    Chris - that is good advice. I do the same. Meat and all metal parts into the freezer 30 minutes before I start to grind. Heat is your enemy.

    I probable got the tip from you. 
    Egg head in Louisiana.
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    That's more a tip for sausage making. Not really req'd for burgers.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Eggbertsdad
    Eggbertsdad Posts: 804
    I just received my Kitchenaid food grinder this week and want to make  breakfast sausage then hamburgers. It came with 2 plates. Do I use the larger or smaller? Do I need to grind it more than once? 

    Thanks!
    Sarasota, FL via Boynton Beach, FL, via Sarasota, FL, via Charleston, SC, via The Outer Banks, via God's Country (East TN on Ft. Loudon Lake)
  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,136
    That's more a tip for sausage making. Not really req'd for burgers.
    Um..  What's the diff?

    Freeze the grinder parts and put the meat in the freezer for an hour before grinding.  Makes everything much easier.

    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    edited April 2012
    um. here's one diff.

    most methods for sausage making (not simply grinding meat) are what call for semi-freezing the meat (spread out on a cookie sheet), and for chilling the grinder too. especially after the first grinding and before stuffing.  in fact, chilling it before stuffing is probably more important than before, although it should be well chilled before grinding also, to prevent it getting too warm (if doing a lot of meat, say 5 pounds or more)

    when you make sausage, if the fat gets too warm during the stuffing process, the fat can break and run out when cooking the sausage later, making it mealy and crumbly.  it's a guard against warming the meat too much when grinding and then stuffing soon after.

    when you directly grind a chunk of meat to make ground beef (for patties, pate, etc.) you aren't really working it that much other than the one pass.  the fat wont warm too much, and likely won't break.

    i think people read those instructions, and then the idea that it is necessary to do when grinding ANY meat, at ANY time, becomes taken for granted.  not really necessary.

    i don't find it grinds any better when frozen.  it's the regrinding, and stuffing, where the chill is vital.

    there's a lot of stuff that gets inferred from one cooking method and then applied to other similar recipes (or actions) when not really needed.  take the idea of wrapping towels around dry aged beef.  it's a misunderstanding of the linen shroud as that used to be used on sides of beef.

    reminds me of a story: a newlywed couple is enjoying theirfirst dinner at home together.  the wife cuts both ends of a roast, and puts it in the pan in the oven.  hubby asks "why did you cut the ends off?" and she replies "my mother always did. but gee. i don't know why"

    calls her mother "mom, why do you cut the ends off a roast beef when you cook it?"  and mom answers "because my pan is too short for the whole roast, dear"

    chilling meat and chilling the grinder/stuffer is a good practice for sausage making.  but not sure what it does for straight up grinding (as for burgers, etc.).  meat doesn't get handled enough for the fat to break really.


    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,136
    Total hooey, though I applaud you getting a completely off topic dry aging factoid in there.

    The chilled meat and equipment behave differently than if they were at room temperature.

    Cold metal operates at tighter tolerances - less gaps for tissue to slip through and jam the works.  More efficient grinding from torque being applied where you want the work done.

    Cold meat cuts easier than not and doesn't warm the metal grinder.

    Fat "breaking?"  It's pulverized meat.  If you're fat is breaking and your meat is mealy, it's because you overground it or it's old.  Just like beating ground beef into patties instead of massaging then into shape.

    Ha!  I love you Stike, I do - but the scientist you are should be more practical in your responses.
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


  • SamFerrise
    SamFerrise Posts: 556
    When making sausage use a coarse grind.  I use a die with 3/8 inch holes and it never gets clogged with pork or beef.  My tools have never been frozen.  What a waste of time.  BTW coarse ground meat makes much better sausage, ask any old-timer.

    Simple ingredients, amazing results!
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    edited April 2012
    not "total hooey", MM

    you apparently don't know what 'fat breaking' means.

    go away, learn about it, then come back with something more than a reactionary defense.

    i do not mean it mechanically 'breaking'.  sorry if i accidentally used a term from sausage making and charcuterie which you aren';t familiar with.

    freezing all your gear to run 5 pound of simple grinding is a waste of time with no benefit.  virtually a necessity when further stuffing the casings or doing a double grind.

    my 'dry aging factoid' was simply to illustrate that a lot of people do a lot of crap they hear from a buddy, without knowing why or what it accomplishes.  kinda like your freezing all your stuff to do a ten-cent low-difficulty burger grind




    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    I like all the low blows. They really contribute to the forum experiance
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • MikeP624
    MikeP624 Posts: 292
    I agree with MM.  While the fat may not break from one grind, i find the process to go much smoother when the meat is cold.  Espeically for the KitchenAid attachment. 
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    My Kitchen Aid grinder has never clogged and I have run over 10 pounds of chuck, short ribs, and tri tip through it in a row before. At the end when I am cleaning it there are some tendons wrapped around the spinner and chopper but never enough to come close to clogging it. I have read that even the warmth of your hands when making burgers can start breaking down the fat in burgers so I try to form them quickly but I have never coled the internal parts of the grinder. I have put the meat in the freezer for 30 minutes or so before cutting though.
  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
    edited April 2012
    nm.  I get in trouble for what I think, sometimes.
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • SamFerrise
    SamFerrise Posts: 556
    Hey Stike,

    You seem very agitated my friend.  Everybody has their own method passed down the family chain.  I have been making sausage for 53 years.  I was born in Calabria, Italy.  Calabria is world renown for their tradition of sausage making and the curing techniques.  We make Capicola, sopressata, prociuto, head cheese, ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella.  My uncle owned an olive grove and made his own olive oil which he sold about half to make a nice profit.  I respect your views, please accept our cultural differences and use them to experiment with new things.  This is how we became so proficient in producing our own staples for our nutritional needs.  

    Buona Fortuna my friend,

    Ciao,

    Sam

    Simple ingredients, amazing results!
  • SandBilly
    SandBilly Posts: 227
    edited April 2012
    Helpful hint, most probably know. After you grind, run a piece of bread through your grinder, does wonders for cleaning.
  • Eggbertsdad
    Eggbertsdad Posts: 804
    Helpful hint, most probably know. After you grind, run a piece of bread through your grinder, does wonders for cleaning.
    Really? Cool tip! I bet I spent 15 minutes (twice) cleaning the grinder attachments.
    Sarasota, FL via Boynton Beach, FL, via Sarasota, FL, via Charleston, SC, via The Outer Banks, via God's Country (East TN on Ft. Loudon Lake)
  • tazcrash
    tazcrash Posts: 1,852
    Helpful hint, most probably know. After you grind, run a piece of bread through your grinder, does wonders for cleaning.
    I didn't know either, but don't grind much. Great tip

    Bx - > NJ ->TX!!! 
    All to get cheaper brisket! 
  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,136
    Helpful hint, most probably know. After you grind, run a piece of bread through your grinder, does wonders for cleaning.
    Freeze the bread first!!

    (waiting for Stike to discount this for no reason as well)
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959

    (waiting for Stike to discount this for no reason as well)
    Stike will come forth with some obfuscatory rhetoric, designed to discredit the aforementioned tip.  However, he will somehow be able to vaunt his acumen in dry aging beef so that we will not challenge the real vacuity of his post.
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,136

    (waiting for Stike to discount this for no reason as well)
    Stike will come forth with some obfuscatory rhetoric, designed to discredit the aforementioned tip.  However, he will somehow be able to vaunt his acumen in dry aging beef so that we will not challenge the real vacuity of his post.
    Verily!


    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


  • SamFerrise
    SamFerrise Posts: 556
    Stike may need some better meds.  I use Jameson or Bushmills Irish whiskey to even out the edges after a hard day.  My Egg tops it all off when the meal is ready.

    Simple ingredients, amazing results!