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Community => Butchering, Cooking, Recipes => Topic started by: Night goat on January 10, 2017, 01:01:28 PM

Title: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: Night goat on January 10, 2017, 01:01:28 PM: anybody ever use a meat grinder that runs off the pto on a kitchen aid stand mixer? I ended up with my moms old heavy duty mixer, and have always wondered about the meat grinder add on
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: Firedogg on January 10, 2017, 01:02:38 PM: You can get by with one, but it is slow going if you are doing any volume of grinding.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: Brushcrawler on January 10, 2017, 01:05:00 PM: I made two batches of sausage on the Kitchenaud setup before buying a real grinder. It took forever. Save yourself the time and trouble and just buy a powerful grinder.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: Fl0und3rz on January 10, 2017, 01:10:51 PM: :yeah:

and

:yeah:

It'll work, but it is not a fun ordeal trying to stuff your meet down through the narrow tube. Well, not as fun as such things should be.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: Whitpirate on January 10, 2017, 01:18:00 PM: It is great if you like swearing and watching paint dry. IF you are going to do any kind of volume get a dedicated grinder. I'm the wrong guy to ask as I have a 1 1/2hp Cabelas commercial but I've put over 3000 lbs through it easy.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: KFhunter on January 10, 2017, 01:20:44 PM: I used one for years and ran a lot of venison through it. Now I have a big 1.5hp Cabala's carnivore but I still use the kitchen aid one for small batch in the kitchen projects.

example:

One thing I like to do is I'll freeze venison burger coarse ground in 2lb packages; then I'll find some recipe off HW that looks interesting :chuckle: like bacon/gorgonzola hamburgers for example...

so I'll take out a few lbs of coarse ground venison, thaw, then add this or that to it and make a small batch and run it through the kitchen aid grinder. Lot nicer and easier than digging out a big grinder then clean up is a lot faster on the kitchen aid.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on January 10, 2017, 01:22:35 PM: I've put a lot of deer thru ours, up to thre a year at times :tup:

Yes it slow, but it has always been hard for me to spend the dollars on the big ones for a deer a year at least, and at best when the kids hunted maybe three.

Did you get the grinder with it, what model is it?
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: jackelope on January 10, 2017, 01:23:09 PM: I had/have one. I used it and it worked ok until I saw an actual meat grinder work. We did maybe 15-20 pounds of a deer worth and it worked. That's all. I wouldn't want to do a lot. I bought an actual grinder and it's about 100x better than the Kitchen Aid one, and even it is just a cheap one.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: fireweed on January 10, 2017, 01:25:43 PM: Have one and use it for small, softer things in small batches. Works great for clams and grinding vegetables (for canned relish or soup). can't imagine using it for making hamburger. It's worth having just for clam chowder at my house.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on January 10, 2017, 01:29:00 PM: Quote from: fireweed on January 10, 2017, 01:25:43 PM
Have one and use it for small, softer things in small batches. Works great for clams and grinding vegetables (for canned relish or soup). can't imagine using it for making hamburger. It's worth having just for clam chowder at my house.

Just imagine a hand grinder, then the kitchen aid seems awesome. :chuckle:
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: Bean Counter on January 10, 2017, 01:42:45 PM: We looked into the idea of getting one of those mixers before buying a grinder. We basically determined that if it was just one deer a year and space was at a premium then it might be wort the space savings, going through an elk or half a dozen deer (from various states) makes a dedicated grinder a no-brainer. :twocents:
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: Angry Perch on January 10, 2017, 01:59:26 PM: They certainly are a handy thing to have around, even if not for your dedicated big volume grinder. If you want to thaw a couple pounds of venison to grind for chili, grind a few leftover chicken thighs, etc., it's a PITA to get the big grinder out. Also, other Kitchen Aid attachments are great. Pasta roller, and my favorite, the Spiralizer!
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: npaull on January 10, 2017, 02:30:01 PM: I've been very happy with mine, but I only do small batches (less than 10 lbs). So I think it's highly dependent on what you're looking for. Small batches - great. Big batches - frustrating.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: quadrafire on January 10, 2017, 02:35:20 PM: I've thought about picking one up, especially if I can find it on CL or the like for small grinding jobs a burger or 2 worth of grind or some chicken/turkey etc. I keep my 1HP cabela's grinder in the basement and it is a back breaker bringing it up for a small grind.

Hmmmm. Just had a thought. Could keep the grinder in the basement and just remove the head to clean upstairs.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: DOUBLELUNG on January 10, 2017, 02:43:38 PM: I will use mine if I am just cutting up one deer; I usually only end up with 15 or so pounds of grind, and clean meat in 1" strips runs through pretty quick. If you grind a lot of crap into your meat (sinew, silverskin, etc) it gums up fast. For any more than that, I borrow a buddy's grinder. I do use it quite a bit in the kitchen for grinding pork loin, beef and chicken breast - I don't like to buy commercially ground raw meat.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: JKEEN33 on January 10, 2017, 02:45:51 PM: Quote from: Boss .300 winmag on January 10, 2017, 01:29:00 PM
Quote from: fireweed on January 10, 2017, 01:25:43 PM
Have one and use it for small, softer things in small batches. Works great for clams and grinding vegetables (for canned relish or soup). can't imagine using it for making hamburger. It's worth having just for clam chowder at my house.

Just imagine a hand grinder, then the kitchen aid seems awesome. :chuckle:

I still use my great great grandmas hand grinder on clams and small one pound grind items. They are a great tool to have.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: NRA4LIFE on January 10, 2017, 02:46:37 PM: I seen one on Amazon for $35 I think. I sadly gave mine away a number of years ago. I'm also thinking about buying another one just for those small jobs. You can put almost all the parts in the dishwasher too.

Quad, now you're thinking. That ain't just a hat rack on your shoulders I guess.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: The100Road on January 10, 2017, 02:49:58 PM: Quote from: npaull on January 10, 2017, 02:30:01 PM
I've been very happy with mine, but I only do small batches (less than 10 lbs). So I think it's highly dependent on what you're looking for. Small batches - great. Big batches - frustrating.
:yeah:
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: DaveMonti on January 10, 2017, 02:55:55 PM: I just used mine last weekend to do about 5 lbs of venison. For $40 it worked great and it's cheap (we already had a kitchenaid mixer, just bought the grinding kit). As long as the meat is cold there are no issues. I mixed it with about 20% ground pork and turned out great.
All the meat I had for grind, I cut into strips and froze. When I want some ground meat, I just pull out a package of the strips (can use them for stew meat as well), buy a pound or two of ground pork or pork shoulder, and get to grinding. Easy to clean in the dishwasher and didn't require a huge investment.

Now, if I get an elk and want to get all the grinding done at once, I'll buy a bigger unit.

If you don't have a kitchen aid mixer, you can find non-commercial grade mixers for considerably cheaper than the commercial grade ones. Remember, Commercial Grade stuff is made for very frequent use. The Cabelas Deluxe Meat Grinder is 750W is a one HP machine for less than $200, which is fine for doing a few animals a year. The Cabelas Commercial Grade 1 HP is $500, but you can probably do a few deer a DAY and it will last for years.

I realize we all like the VERY BEST when it comes to our stuff, but there is no way a real commercial grade mixer is needed for a few animals a year.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: quadrafire on January 10, 2017, 03:21:38 PM: Quote from: NRA4LIFE on January 10, 2017, 02:46:37 PM
I seen one on Amazon for $35 I think. I sadly gave mine away a number of years ago. I'm also thinking about buying another one just for those small jobs. You can put almost all the parts in the dishwasher too.

Quad, now you're thinking. That ain't just a hat rack on your shoulders I guess.
:chuckle:
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: dscubame on January 10, 2017, 05:57:51 PM: Done it, not fun. Worked but took alot of work. Don't do it anymore.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: DoubleJ on January 10, 2017, 06:00:14 PM: Research your model ahead of time and make sure you can buy the strip-gear for it. There's a nylon gear in there meant as a fail-safe and if the load gets too heavy, that gear will strip out and you'll have to replace it. Unfortunately, I know this from breaking my wife's grinding a deer and facing the wrath of it being out of commission for 2 weeks while I waited for the part
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on January 10, 2017, 06:05:57 PM: Quote from: DoubleJ on January 10, 2017, 06:00:14 PM
Research your model ahead of time and make sure you can buy the strip-gear for it. There's a nylon gear in there meant as a fail-safe and if the load gets too heavy, that gear will strip out and you'll have to replace it. Unfortunately, I know this from breaking my wife's grinding a deer and facing the wrath of it being out of commission for 2 weeks while I waited for the part

Wow, how did you load it up enough to strip that? :yike:
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: DoubleJ on January 11, 2017, 06:18:02 AM: Quote from: Boss .300 winmag on January 10, 2017, 06:05:57 PM
Quote from: DoubleJ on January 10, 2017, 06:00:14 PM
Research your model ahead of time and make sure you can buy the strip-gear for it. There's a nylon gear in there meant as a fail-safe and if the load gets too heavy, that gear will strip out and you'll have to replace it. Unfortunately, I know this from breaking my wife's grinding a deer and facing the wrath of it being out of commission for 2 weeks while I waited for the part

Wow, how did you load it up enough to strip that? :yike:

It was about the 3rd deer I had put through it over a few years. In our house, loins and backstap is all that is steaked. The rest is ground so I sent a lot of meat through it. And I was probably moving too fast and asking it to do a lot of work it wasn't meant to do :chuckle:

Lesson was learned. I fixed the kitchenaid and got a dedicated grinder and never looked back.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,107058.msg1398599.html#msg1398599
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: NOCK NOCK on January 12, 2017, 09:21:40 PM: If you are wanting to try one out, I have an older one that I would let you have (bought a new one). The housing has a crack in it, but still works.
A quality grinder is a great investment though. We use ours for lots of things other than wild game.
Ground pork burger from shoulders or discounted pork cuts, sausage, ground chicken/turkey, etc.
We have a 1/2hp cabelas commercial grinder, comes with an attachment for stuffing, works fairly well.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: lokidog on January 13, 2017, 01:02:59 AM: The newer plastic housing ones have a really crappy pressed steel blade. The older style aluminum housing ones have much better machined blades. I've been using one for about 35 years with no problems. I do think the meat needs to be "cleaner" though as the tough sinew will eventually clog the cutter and have to be cleaned mid grind.

I misplaced my blade years ago and found a second one (older style) on ebay, I recently came across the blade and could loan it to you to try out.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: biggfish on January 13, 2017, 03:20:08 AM: I use one mostly as a sausage stuffer and to run fat trim though to add to sausage. I usually have most of my deer ground at the butcher, then make stuff at home. It works I've run high meat volume through it, it was great but I also had a hand grinder for many years. I can tell you the food tray attachment to add to the grinder volume is a waste for meat, so plan for a tedious task of small amounts of meat down the tube.
Title: Re: kitchen aid mixer add on meat grinder
Post by: shadowless_nite on January 13, 2017, 11:03:26 PM: I don't think it's worth the money.... and it wears out the kitchen aid pretty good. Me and a friend both had our mixers get significantly louder after using them for making burgers.

I ended up cheaping out, bought the harbor freight meat grinder. It was like $30 after their usual 20% coupon. Works great and at a decent speed for 2 people working with one feeding the grinder and the other trimming and prepping pieces to feed. So far we've put through 4 whole deer and one elk without any issue. I'd say it was worth it especially since it probably saved my kitchen aid.