I just bought a meat grinder, just a small 500 watt "Meat Your Maker". It's certainly better than the KitchenAid attachment I had.

I read that hamburger from the store is generally 4.5 mm grinding plate. I bought a whole brisket, ground it with the 10 mm then the 4.5 mm. I just cooked a pound for tacos and it seemed way too fine compared to what I'm used to.

The company doesn't sell other size plates but I see a 6 mm or 8 mm on Amazon. Wondering what other folks use. Hoping this stuff will be okay for hamburgers since I have 16 lbs. Maybe brisket grinds different than chuck or sirloin?

Also why not start a thread for meat grinding/sausage making etc.

Dang man, grinding a brisket into hamburger is a felony in Texas!!!

Watching closely.

Why did you not like the Kitchen Aid attachment?

Post good sausage recopies.

I'm going to start making my own, and the Kitchen Aid attachment was going to be the call.

when I was in the biz, we got plates and knives from these folks

https://kasco.com/collections/hubbed-grinder-plates

not sure if they sell anything that would work on your machine,

we used roughly 3/16 for beef and lamb, IIRC,

and also had a chili plate (3/8 or 1/2) for making chili meat and or sausage,

be careful if you go to fine on the plate , even wiht a sharp knife they can fill up with
connective tissue and grissel,


most will rust in a second, so a good coat of food grade mineral oil helps keep them from staining and rusting,

keep in mind, in the grocery world, big chains limit inhouse grinds,
too much risk in contaminated product,
most by pre made or pre packaged ground meat,


we used to do all grinds from trim off primals , and then later when Chubs came about, we got cases of course ground chub meat (ground chuck, round, etc in 10 lb tubes) that we would run thru th grinder 2x's, 2 time in the tray,

fine grind was also available, that only went thru the machine once

We have this LEM grinder: https://lemproducts.com/produc...grinder-0-75-hp.html

We added all the optional sizes grinding plates: https://lemproducts.com/produc...-grinder-plates.html

The grinder came with plastic sausage stuffing tubes. After the first usage, the plastic stuffer tube being relatively lightweight, ended up on the heating element in the bottom of the dishwasher.
All the grinder head parts are stainless steel, rinse everything off first in the sink using a drain basket for meat particle collection, and then into the dishwasher for actual cleaning.
The spraying water moved the lightweight plastic stuffer tube and it fell down on the dishwasher heating element.
Shortly after that, we added the stainless steel sausage stuffing tubes and threw out the plastic stuffer tubes.
Here: https://lemproducts.com/produc...stainless-steel.html

We also make beef and venison jerky using the LEM grinder.
We extrude the double ground meat using the grinder, that has been already seasoned with the jerky mix, and use the stainless steel sausage stuffing tubes for directly extruding the jerky meat mixture onto the plastic dehydrator trays.
The foot switch for the grinder makes filling the dehydrator trays easy.

One person holds the tray and moves it under the extrusion/stuffer tube outlet while using the foot switch.
The second person keeps the grinder filled with the seasoned double ground jerky meat mixture and cuts the extruded "tube" of meat at the end of the dehydrator tray.
It goes pretty fast with two people. You can make 15 pounds (wet weight of meat) in under 45 minutes. Finished jerky will weigh about half the wet weight when dehydrated.
This foot switch here: https://lemproducts.com/produc...der-foot-switch.html

You need to select the correct size grinding plate that works for the job that you are doing. Trial and error and you'll figure it out.

We buy eye round roasts at Sam's Club and turn them into very lean ground beef for chili, tacos, stroganoff, spaghetti sauce and similar.
We butcher and package our venison ourselves. I usually butterfly cut the sirloins and tenderloins. We grind everything else and make venison jerky.
Jerky really isn't an accurate description, what we make is much more like a Slim Jim meat stick. Just not disgustingly greasy like a Slim Jim.
We use this mix, cracked pepper & garlic. It works equally well with venison and beef. Here: https://www.amazon.com/Hi-Moun...Y478?ref_=ast_sto_dp

We also use the LEM grinder for making cranberry/orange relish. It certainly is a useful kitchen appliance!
We call it the "Wood Chipper" and it's a good thing they come with that plastic meat stomper for shoving meat down into it.

^^^^^^^ big +1 pretty much everything here.

Personally I use a 4.5mm plate for just about everything, but it does depend on what you're making. Sometimes you want a little chunker pieces. Occasionally I'll do a pre-grind with the 6mm, mix in spices, cure, and then regrind at the smaller size.

And yes, without question, spend a little more and get the stainless steel stuffer tubes. The plastic ones are garbage.

I'd also recommend getting the LEM 5 lb. Stuffer.. One day I'd love to really splurge and get their motorized version, but this guy gets the job done perfectly. I've never had good luck stuffing from the grinder, and life got so much easier when I bought this guy.

quote:

We butcher and package our venison ourselves. I usually butterfly cut the sirloins and tenderloins. We grind everything else and make venison jerky.
Jerky really isn't an accurate description, what we make is much more like a Slim Jim meat stick. Just not disgustingly greasy like a Slim Jim.

cee_Kamp, should you try this kabanosy recipe if you like homemade "slim jims". I call them Polish Slim Jims, and they're a big hit around here. I've tweaked the recipe to my liking (almost doubling the spices and adding a touch of cayenne). I've never tried it with venison, though, but I bet it'd be good. Proper drying at the end will give you best snack stick ever...although they're still good without that.

Also HIGHLY recommend Syracuse Casings.. Prices are good and they ship anywhere. Been using them for years and have never had a bad batch. Blow-outs are rare and it is always my fault.

quote:

Originally posted by BigWhup:
Dang man, grinding a brisket into hamburger is a felony in Texas!!!

I used to think that too. I make a damn good bbq brisket. I've been told that it beats most stuff friends have had in Texas (of course they probably weren't at the best places).

Anyhow, when brisket price is lower than ground beef, why not? I can get brisket here under $5/lb and most ground beef is very expensive here (compared to what I'm used to in Massachusetts). Sometimes Walmart has Select Grade which will be even cheaper and good for grinding but not as great for BBQ.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
Watching closely.

Why did you not like the Kitchen Aid attachment?

Post good sausage recopies.

I'm going to start making my own, and the Kitchen Aid attachment was going to be the call.

I have to qualify my opinion with the fact mine is an old version that is mostly plastic on the outside. It has a fairly small neck opening size and takes forever to grind. The newer versions look to be all metal and wider opening so maybe they aren't that bad anymore. But overall I think for under $200 you can still get much better than the kitchenaid attachment.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
Watching closely.

Why did you not like the Kitchen Aid attachment?

Post good sausage recopies.

I'm going to start making my own, and the Kitchen Aid attachment was going to be the call.

For the KitchenAid, see above. Mine was just too slow.

2 sausage recipes that I've made and like...

Andouille Sausage Recipe

For all sausage it's best to put the meat into the freezer before grinding for a few hours. Not frozen but very firm and cold.

I had 7 lb 12 ounces of pork shoulder. Ground half with coarse plate half with fine plate. Andouille usually has a fine texture with bigger chunks mixed in, so my 2 grind sizes worked fine. It was a cured sausage. You will need to recalculate the amounts based on how much pork you have. I use the EQ cure calculator on the website below. The calculator is for bacon but the amounts are the same for sausage or any boneless cure. You can make this uncured but need to use or freeze it as you would any fresh sausage.

https://www.diggingdogfarms.com/



Ingredients

1 Pork Shoulder boneless cubed into 1" pieces. Calculate the rest of seasonings based on this recipe, which was for 7 lb 12 ounces of pork. (I use ChatGPT and just put in my new pork weight and the recipe and it will convert everything for you).

Cayenne Pepper 3 tsp

Paprika 1.5 TBSP

Fresh Garlic 0.4 cup garlic minced fine
(on the garlic sometimes it can be a bit strong when raw and then put into sausage. You can saute it for a quick minute in a tiny bit of oil to take out the bite before putting in sausage if you want).

Black Pepper 0.25 cup

Kosher salt 4.00 TBSP

Fresh Thyme 1.5 TBSP (use less if dry)

Crushed Red Pepper 2.0 TSP

Cure 8.77 grams pink salt Cure #1 (Prague Powder #1) Use EQ Cure Calculator

Cube meat into 1” pieces, mix with all the above and refrigerate overnight. Grind (I used coarse grind for half the meat and fine for the other half and stuff into sausage (hog) casings. Smoke on low (180 was lowest RecTeq went) until internal 150-160. Place in ice bath immediately. After 10 minutes or so, it’s cool and you can vacuum seal and freeze. These are fully cooked but I always grill them or cut up and brown before adding to gumbo.

Fresh Italian Sausage


8 lb Pork Shoulder cubed into 1" pieces (again, calculate the rest based on how much pork you have).

I use granulated garlic. I found that fresh garlic is just too strong of a taste for fresh sausage. I may try roasted garlic some time.

Kosher Salt 8 tsp
Fennel Seed crushed 8 tsp
Coriander crushed 1 tsp
Black Pepper 2 tsp
Garlic Granulated 6 tsp
Paprika 4 tsp
Dry Basil 6 tsp
Dry Thyme 2 tsp
Dry Oregano 1 tsp
Red Wine Vinegar 8 TBSP
Cold Water 8 TBSP

Coarse Grind and stuff into sausage (hog) casings same day. Vacuum seal and freeze.

I'm watching this thread with interest. The last nearby butcher who could/would "coarse grind" an order retired. Chili any other way seems... wrong, so it's time to build a self-sufficient plan for that and the homemade lunchmewts we've been playing with.

Chuck roast and sirloin makes the best hamburgers.

^^^ @Gustofer,
Thanks for the recipe tips!

I had one of the 500 watt plastic housing meat grinders. I gave it away.
When I moved out to the boondocks after retiring, a neighbor has the full LEM system and taught me some sausage making skills.

He's grinding red stags, Russian boars, the whole gauntlet of wild game. Plus domestic beef.
He's got the LEM big motorized 30 pound sausage stuffer, and the 50 pound tilt mixer attachment that uses the grinder for mixing power.

Stuffer: https://lemproducts.com/produc...torized-stuffer.html

Mixer: https://lemproducts.com/produc...tilt-meat-mixer.html

Sadly, I can't justify the nearly $2000 for the tilt mixer and motorized sausage stuffer for the limited quantity of sausage production that I do.

^^^ @frayedends,
If you don't already have them now, you need a dehydrator and vacuum sealer for really utilizing that new meat grinder to the fullest!

You didn't provide a link for the grinder that you purchased, so I looked it up for others watching this thread.

I think this unit here: https://www.meatyourmaker.com/...nder-12/1117072.html

Good timing! We just ran out of breakfast sausage. I like Legg's seasoning for mine. I just pulled 2 pork shoulders and 1/4 pork belly out of the freezer. I will be using a combo of these 2 for about 25lbs.

A.C. Legg Hot Pork Sausage Seasoning
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006580TKW

A.C. Legg #10 Pork Sausage Seasoning
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BSTP8YR

Shooting for 70/30 and doing about 25lbs.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: xantom,

Made ~27 1lb packages.
17lbs of Pork shoulder
4lbs of pork belly
7lbs of ground pork.

I couldn't find any place that carried pork fat, so I think I ended up around 75/25. That pork belly was really fatty. The test sample was excellent.

if you have the room, and your volume ground is high enough, look at some of the restaurant supply houses, the ones that sell used equipment, and get a hobart table top grinder or a mixer grinder

Kascocorp will have the plates/knives needed,

...what plate size do you like for hamburger?

Feed me, Seymour!

I've got a big Cabelas grinder and have made sausage for years. A few recipes out of Rytek Kutas' book but lately use seasongs from Waltons

They have some great Bratwurst mixes, Buffalo Chicken, Pizza Supreme, and Spinach/Feta are some favorites. I add hi temp cheese when I can get it for an extra boost.

Syracuse Casings are the best, if you soak them overnight they're even easier to work with.

I use lamb casing for breakfast links and freezer bags for breakfast patties. Meat bags are great but it's always a pain cutting patties/trying to catch the meat partially frozen to slice worth a darn. A pound of sausage meat flattened in a freezer bag stores nicely in the freezer, then goes in the frying pan whole with some water. As it thaws while cooking it's easy to make square patties with a spatula in the pan.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
I've got a big Cabelas grinder and have made sausage for years. A few recipes out of Rytek Kutas' book but lately use seasongs from Waltons

They have some great Bratwurst mixes, Buffalo Chicken, Pizza Supreme, and Spinach/Feta are some favorites. I add hi temp cheese when I can get it for an extra boost.

Syracuse Casings are the best, if you soak them overnight they're even easier to work with.

I use lamb casing for breakfast links and freezer bags for breakfast patties. Meat bags are great but it's always a pain cutting patties/trying to catch the meat partially frozen to slice worth a darn. A pound of sausage meat flattened in a freezer bag stores nicely in the freezer, then goes in the frying pan whole with some water. As it thaws while cooking it's easy to make square patties with a spatula in the pan.

re the patties in a casing, be sure to have a very very sharp knife,
we used to slice patties from a chub (10 lb tube) of beef in store,
a knife that was even slightly dull, struggled to get thru the plastic casing