Thread: just wanted to share tonight's dinner with you guys..

Originally Posted by cudarunner

I've never used my Kitchen Aid Grinder Attachment much. Usually just for very small jobs and a lot of the time with cooked meats, boiled eggs, chopped onions etc to make sandwich spreads and such.

For big jobs I've used the Chop Rite #22 for over 35 years. However my shoulder was telling me that it was time to move further into the future and my nephew worked for Cabelas so I asked him to use his employee discount to purchase me an electric grinder.

I love it! As long as it out lasts me I'll be happy. It accepts all of my dies and cutters from the Chop Rite.

Here's the link to it.

Cabela's Carnivore Commercial-Grade 1hp Grinder : Cabela's

OH! With his discount it was $280 delivered to my front door.

That's a pretty serious grinder. And while I'd be very happy to own it, it may be overkill for my needs. After all, yesterday I was content to use my KA attachment. Im not set up for bigger jobs. Even if I had a grinder that would take down 20 lbs of meat in a flash, my next problem is properly mixing that kind of volume. And then of course stuffing that much. My stuffer will only handle about 3-4 lbs of meat at once. But I would prefer to operate at twice my current capacity so that I could economize the effort.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

That's a pretty serious grinder. And while I'd be very happy to own it, it may be overkill for my needs. After all, yesterday I was content to use my KA attachment. Im not set up for bigger jobs. Even if I had a grinder that would take down 20 lbs of meat in a flash, my next problem is properly mixing that kind of volume. And then of course stuffing that much. My stuffer will only handle about 3-4 lbs of meat at once. But I would prefer to operate at twice my current capacity so that I could economize the effort.

My grinder is a little overkill....

I went with this. It's about $100 cheaper on Amazon and I had points. So it wasn't too bad.

Mighty Bite # 8 Aluminum Grinder | LEM Products

I have never tried to stuff using a grinder and think that the speed control would be very hard to do.

Any thoughts or comments about how to use one would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by 32t

I have never tried to stuff using a grinder and think that the speed control would be very hard to do.

Any thoughts or comments about how to use one would be appreciated.

I don't use the grinder to stuff. I don't like that method. I use a sausage stuffer. I use something like this.

https://www.sausagemaker.com/5lb-tsm...-p/18-1020.htm

I think using the grinder would incorporate too much air. You want to limit air in the mix or it makes the sausage like a balloon.

I have a vintage model of what you show and feel the same way.

The modern grinders and the one that you showed have stuffing tube/attachments.

That was the basis of my question.

Originally Posted by 32t

I have a vintage model of what you show and feel the same way.

The modern grinders and the one that you showed have stuffing tube/attachments.

That was the basis of my question.

Hmmm, yeah. I think that is designed to play on people's lack of knowledge on how sausages should be made. For instance, I usually incorporate something after grinding. Sometimes it's egg whites, water, wine, vinegar, whatever. And the mixing stage is often overlooked. If you don't mix well, you don't get the proper texture.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

Hmmm, yeah. I think that is designed to play on people's lack of knowledge on how sausages should be made. For instance, I usually incorporate something after grinding. Sometimes it's egg whites, water, wine, vinegar, whatever. And the mixing stage is often overlooked. If you don't mix well, you don't get the proper texture.

In the last picture I showed I am doing a second grind. I mix the spices by hand and the run it through a finer grind for the final mix.

My sausage is made more for storage purposes and so I am certainly not against some of the ingredients that you mention but they do not last well.

I have been leaning more towards bulk type storage and then make it special when it is used.

Well it's not Sausage, but it's Good! I recently made a batch of Chinese Hot Oil. I let it set sealed for a couple of weeks then I strain the solids. I've left the solids in for longer but it doesn't seem to effect the taste nor the heat. (Besides, it looks better in the bottles) This batch has the Szechuan Peppercorns in it! They really aren't 'hot' but they have a 'Numbing Effect' that I really like.

Our local 'Chinese' Resturants are very Americanized and I take hot oil with me to liven up some of the dishes.

Anyway, here's a couple of the bottles of oil;

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

That's a pretty serious grinder. And while I'd be very happy to own it, it may be overkill for my needs. After all, yesterday I was content to use my KA attachment. Im not set up for bigger jobs. Even if I had a grinder that would take down 20 lbs of meat in a flash, my next problem is properly mixing that kind of volume. And then of course stuffing that much. My stuffer will only handle about 3-4 lbs of meat at once. But I would prefer to operate at twice my current capacity so that I could economize the effort.

I know that it's bigger and stronger than I needed. The main thing was being able to use my dies and knives from the Chop Rite. I have #22 dies with holes ranging from 3/4" down to 1/8". Besides for the price, I couldn't go wrong.

Something that was a Very Pleasant Surprise was that it came with a 'Ice Pack' that is put in the freezer overnight and then can be wrapped around the snout before grinding. Also the snout can either just have the pack put on or it can be refrigerated in advance. This pretty much eliminates any chance of 'smear'. I love this grinder. I only wish I had it when I helped a friend at church grind 100 lbs of meat by hand (twice) with the Chop Right to make German Sausage with his families recipe. Stuffing took awhile with my little 4# stuffer but damn was that sausage good!