Meat Grinder

[toyman2]

Just bought the Cabala's 1/2hp grinder, cant wait to use it.
With the slicer I got earlier this year and now the grinder, I have really got into processing my own stuff.
I think between the Bacon and lunch meats, the slicer has more than paid for its self.
Looking forward to making burger, summer sausage, breakfast sausage and stuff like that.
Any experienced tips out there or favorite recipes you would share?

[Bigluke1981]

That 1/2 hp grinder is awesome. I have had one for a fee years and have never had any issues with it. One thing that I do is spray the auger with a kitchen grade oil spray while storing. I would also recommend looking into the foot petal for hands free operation, it will make the job of stuffing so much easier. It is a awesome unit that should last you a very long time.

[luvmystang67]

With the burger:

I bought a patty press for mine and love it.  I'm way more incentivized to eat the burger when its pre pattied.  I add ~20% fat.  Usually I do this with pork shoulder.  I usually add the fattiest pork shoulder i can find at 25% (which probably comes in at less than 20% fat added, its not THAT fatty), but it holds things together longer.  Some prefer to add beef fat as it lasts longer in the freezer.

I patty it up and use wax paper between the patties.  Usually 3 or 4 in a stack.  I stick them in the freezer on cookie sheets overnight and then vacuum seal them in the morning.  With the vacuum sealer they taste better for MUCH longer than with the traditional wrap method.  When I've not frozen them first, the vacuum sealer tends to smush them too much.

I do my first grind with the 3/8" grinder for the shoulder and the venison, mix it, and then do my final grind with a 1/4" grind (i believe) and directly into the patty press.

[Stein]

Is that the 1/2 hp pro series one for about $400ish?  That is the one I was looking at investing in after doing way, way too much research.

[toyman2]

Yes it is, It was on sale fore $329.
With deer and elk, do you need to grind twice? It did come with 2 plates.
I have never done it so I am learning as I go here. I have looked into the mixtures of pork, pork fat, and beef fat some.

I spent a lot of time looking into these, I have a few friends with the 3/4hp, and each of them said they didn't need one that big, and some at times said they wish theirs wasn't so big. With any luck this will work out just right. I think the foot pedal would be a good idea.

[Stein]

Great price, what store was that at?

I just got Steven Rinella's new book and he mentions that 10% added fat is probably the best all around solution but you could go to 20%. 

I have never found a good source of high quality fat, so I just grind my wild game by itself.  The burgers do take some egg to hold together, but not bad.  If I was really into burgers, I would probably try to track down some good fat.

[quadrafire]

https://www.spokanespice.com/

Check out these guys next time you are in Spokane. Call them up and see when their next sausage making class is. I took one last year. A lot of fun. They go through all the basics of grind, mix, stuff etc and cook them up during class.

[toyman2]

It was the store by Spokane

[BULLBLASTER]

I buy bacon ends and pieces and grind 10-15% with my burger for pattys. Pretty good that way

[toyman2]

So in Dayton, the small grocery store at times will have packaged pork fat on the shelf for sale.
Would that be good? and can you freeze it and save it for later when you do your grinding?
Also I do know that there are local places to just get beef fat.

[Stein]

So in Dayton, the small grocery store at times will have packaged pork fat on the shelf for sale.
Would that be good? and can you freeze it and save it for later when you do your grinding?
Also I do know that there are local places to just get beef fat.

Both of those would work.  I prefer knowing where the animal came from and how it was raised, but if that isn't a big deal for you go for it.  I would prefer the pork fat over the beef and yes, it can be frozen but won't hold up as well as meat.  Personally, I would try to get it as fresh as possible but have it partially frozen for easier grinding.

[toyman2]

Sounds good. I wont stock up yet then.

I have ordered from Spokane Seasoning, I kind of forgot about them though, thank you

[Bean Counter]

That 1/2 hp grinder is awesome. I have had one for a fee years and have never had any issues with it. One thing that I do is spray the auger with a kitchen grade oil spray while storing. I would also recommend looking into the foot petal for hands free operation, it will make the job of stuffing so much easier. It is a awesome unit that should last you a very long time.

Why spray the auger?

[Bean Counter]

Yes it is, It was on sale fore $329.
With deer and elk, do you need to grind twice? It did come with 2 plates.
I have never done it so I am learning as I go here. I have looked into the mixtures of pork, pork fat, and beef fat some.

I spent a lot of time looking into these, I have a few friends with the 3/4hp, and each of them said they didn't need one that big, and some at times said they wish theirs wasn't so big. With any luck this will work out just right. I think the foot pedal would be a good idea.

I now grind twice. I used to not AlwYs do so, becAuse I would trim lots of silver seam off the meat. Thing is, this takes time, and lots of it. Processing an elk can become a three day affair instead of two days like I do now.

[luvmystang67]

You can call the grocery store and have them save fat for you.  Most wont charge you.  You grind twice so that you can mix it and then kind of smush it together through the grinding plate for the final grind.  I really like how it mixes it together.

I've tried straight venison, but they end up a little dry and definitely fall apart.  I'd try 10-20% fat of either beef or pork, either with fatty cuts or straight fat.  Beef will last approximately 2x as long as pork (fat), but with vacuum sealing, I've never had a problem with either and prefer the pork.

[Fishhuntmike]

You will love it!!  Great price too.

My cabelas 1hp grinder and commercial food dehydrator were the best investments for me for wild game!

[Bean Counter]

We don't add fat when mixing. All ground meat that goes into the freezer is 100% venison.

[toyman2]

I think I intend from, all that I have read to add fat in with the meat.
So your saying that the seam or silverskin will come off in the grinding plate?
I have always just trimmed it off

[quadrafire]

I have the 1 HP model. The first grind goes through like butter. The second grind seems a lot slower. Way faster than my old "professional model" however.

[olsy]

I buy bacon ends and pieces and grind 10-15% with my burger for pattys. Pretty good that way

 

[Stein]

I think I intend from, all that I have read to add fat in with the meat.
So your saying that the seam or silverskin will come off in the grinding plate?
I have always just trimmed it off

Yeah, it wraps around the cutter and doesn't go through the grinding plate.  You can then simply clean it out and save a ton of time not having to trim everything perfectly.

[grundy53]

Tagging

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[toyman2]

I will have to try that, that would save a ton of time.
Does it plug everything up?

[luvmystang67]

I cut my silverskin off ahead of time because I think it tastes bad. 

I have a Tasin TS-108.  We've probably put 6 or 7 deer through it now.  Zero hitches, eats it up like crazy.  Kind of loud, but zero issues and super cheap.  I highly recommend it.  I bought from One Stop Jerky Shop online.  Great way to do your own and save some dough.  I'm sure its not AS durable as the Cabelas one, but I've had very good luck with it and expect it to continue being awesome.  Bro has one now two and has put 2 deer through his without any issues. 

[KFhunter]

Yes it is, It was on sale fore $329.
With deer and elk, do you need to grind twice? It did come with 2 plates.
I have never done it so I am learning as I go here. I have looked into the mixtures of pork, pork fat, and beef fat some.

I spent a lot of time looking into these, I have a few friends with the 3/4hp, and each of them said they didn't need one that big, and some at times said they wish theirs wasn't so big. With any luck this will work out just right. I think the foot pedal would be a good idea.

I now grind twice. I used to not AlwYs do so, becAuse I would trim lots of silver seam off the meat. Thing is, this takes time, and lots of it. Processing an elk can become a three day affair instead of two days like I do now.

I grind once on a coarse grind (lean as possible) then I freeze it in bulk seal a meal bags.  That gives me options down the road, I can take out 5-10 pounds or whatever and make sausage on a snowy day or make hamburgers whatever.  I'll roll up 3-4lb chubs in wax paper then seal a meal 4 of those chubs in one big package. I can pull out one chub (or all 4) and have a tail on the bag so I can just reseal and not thaw the whole works. 

I usually just use my kitchen aid for a final grind if I just want burger then I cut in bacon or pork shoulder.

[Bean Counter]

I think I intend from, all that I have read to add fat in with the meat.
So your saying that the seam or silverskin will come off in the grinding plate?
I have always just trimmed it off

Nice thing about nutting up and getting the big boy grinder is that you don't have to stop, unplug, disassemble, and pull out the silver seam nearly as much. I'll do it maybe once when doing a deer (grinding two times) and maybe 3 or 4 times total when doing an elk. I think its inevitable that some will collect on the auger, blade, and the plate, but for the most part the grinder chews right through it. You'll notice when the grinding gets slower and that's usually time to clean it out in there. My impression is that the cheap, plastic grinders get clogged every 90 seconds or so.

The second grind to me is more about homogenizing the whole batch. probably 80% of a deer/elk IMHO, could be just ground once. However, do you really want 1 out of every 5 packs of ground venison to be full of ground up silver seam? Not me--especially if I'm going to give that to a friend who has never had wild game before and that's their introduction to it 

[Smoke]

have the same grinder... love it... I grind all my burger with the course blade, prefer it that way as it makes for a little chewing when ya eat it.. my sausage I grind course, add the spices and leave in the fridge overnight... then grind fine and into the casings... the second grind after spices really makes sure they are evenly mixed and they come out great....

[NOCK NOCK]

Several have mentioned using/adding bacon to your burger grind.  I would suggest to try a small amount this way to see if you like it.  This way sounded good to me years ago so I ground all my burger meat with bacon.....We did not care for it. Everything that we cooked with burger had that baconish taste to it...Spaghetti sauce should not taste like bacon.   Ended up giving away about 60lbs of burger.   

[BULLBLASTER]

  I only add bacon to my burger that I will press into pattys everything else is straight venison

[huntnnw]

I do 50 lbs a year that is ground with bacon that are just for bbq

[toyman2]

Great info guys. I like the fact that it will shave the silver skin off. The bacon with the grind.. eh idk yet.
I make my own bacon so I more than likely will use fat to mix in with my burger. I cant wait to try some summer sausage and snack sticks.