manual meat grinder?

[zimmerstutzen]

I have seen old meat grinders. I mean OLD. made of wood, with a cylinder that had a series of square iron pegs and a wooden clam shell type housing that also had a series of iron pegs embedded in it. chunks of meat were dropped in the top and coarsely shredded meat came out the end.

https://www.instappraisal.com/appraisal/18th-early-19th-century-tobaccomeat-grinder

 

[Eterry]

Back to the op, if you want to go cheap get a used hand grinder or check out northern dot com. Twenty odd years ago I started with their hand grinder, a buddy pulled the crank screw and crank off it, we found a bolt that fit, got a wobble socket, his electric drill, and made a pretty decent electric grinder.

I Also got their cast iron 3lb manual sausage stuffer. Stuffed a LOT of sausage with it.

Bought a book by Rytek Kutas, "Great sausage recipes and meat curing", I built his smoker for under $50, have smoked sausage, hams, hocks, etc. It'll smoke 100lbs of sausage.
Btw, Most grinding plates are proprietary and won't fit other brands.

My wife got me a counter top German made electric meat grinder (so she wouldn't have to help) and it grinds 6lbs of meat per minute.

I bought a 5lb stainless steel stuffer, it's soooo much easier than the old cast- iron.

I've made almost all the "wurst", chorizo, Italian sausage, bologna, salami, bangers, boudan, kielbasa, and many more.

The book is worth it's weight in gold.

 

[Poboy]

Yeah, unfortunately, the Google information only says "19th Century " on the invention of the meat grinder. A Century is a long time, and most of the guns representative of the type this forum are tailored to are also from that century.

Honestly, I'm surprised it's that close. Maybe a chicken and egg question.

Regardless, the mortar and pestle were never a traditional method of meat preparation for sausage to my knowledge. A sharp knife or clever and some persistent chopping would get the job done. A small manual meat grinder, much faster. A small electric meat grinder, faster than that. A large commercial / restaurant grade, faster than that. A commercial sausage maker's grinder...... stupidly fast.

The difference between Daniel Boone gathering tinder and wood to first bite compared to Ramen in the microwave.

 

[Ames]

I did a bit of looking around years ago. Picked up an 11 pound manual stuffer, new in the bargain cave, for $75, not the listed $275. With 4 tube sizes I have stuffed every thing under the sun with pork, venison and duck at the top of the list.
Sausage making is the sole reason I raise my own ducks. Mixed with pork for bangers or brats, slow simmered in a home brewed porter. Finish on the grill for grill marks.
But, first things first. Go get a meat grinder.

 

[45man]

I have my grandmothers old hand grinder and sausage stuffer, thing looks like a round rain gutter with a spout and a large wood plug to push. She made the best sausage ever but was from the old country. I never got any recipes because they were all in her head. Pork sausage had rice and pig ears in it with seasonings I don't know.
I used the Kitchen Aid a lot with deer but it has no power at all. I get points with my Cabelas card so I bought a 3/4 horse grinder and stuffer. That motor is HEAVY but I swear I can cut deer in the garage and throw meat into the kitchen and the grinder will eat it. I have never had to use the meat pusher.
LEM has some great stuff too. Too see huge chunks of meat just go in by itself is something. To turn a grinder by hand will mean you are one tough guy.
There is a new kick the wife started too. She has been buying crocks for me to make sourdough again. I make the best pancakes with sourdough ever and with deer sausage and eggs, you will never be wanting. The secret to the pancakes is to beat the egg whites and fold in to the batter after it rises. Light as a feather and 10 in a stack is a start.
My next love is cast iron to cook with. I have more then anyone. All of my grandmothers and what I found.

 

[45man]

Hunting, I did all the cooking and made bannock, eggs and bacon but also used a dutch oven buried in the ground with coals. My truck was a trail wagon. Young wood chucks with salt pork and some veggies in the ground made you scrape the bottom clean.
Summer sausage was my favorite with venison. No need for bread, just slab it off.

 

[sawyer04]

Nyck,
How many guys do you know that are qualified to use a pastry bag....? (Besides you, me and perhaps a few others.)

Tried it more than once, but once was enough, I am a slow learner. Really big mess, I made, trying to use natural casings. These grinders are dirt cheap at shows and flea markets. New parts can be purchased on line depending on the size, designated by the number on the grinder. Blades, heads and attachments will fit young or old.

 

[Ames]

"The secret to the pancakes is to beat the egg whites and fold in to the batter after it rises."

Shhhh. That's the way you get corn meal waffles to lighten up too. Beat the whites till they form stiff peaks, then fold them in.

 

[grinderdiner]

You want one that is "bolt-on" and you secure it to a very large cutting board, and then use a couple of clamps to hold that to a table. Ones made to simply "clamp on" have a single clamp, not a good idea.

You save about half the cost with a hand crank, and anything less than the cost of this one usually means a heck of a lot of shoulder-work. http://grinderdiner.com/best-manual-meat-grinder/ this one isn't for a slouch, but it should be worth the effort.

First, get your sausage patties right..., then think about putting the mixture into links.

LD

I find most manual grinders are "clamp on" instead of "bolt-on", the bolt-on ones are quite rare if I look in the likes of online marketplaces.

I like the look of manual ones, but for processing deer maybe an electric one is better? Sure can save time, though you do cough up more upfront cost for it. The Weston Pro Series is a worthy contender.

Cheers, Kash

 

[Ames]

Big consideration should go to how fast you can get to the plates of the grinder to clean them. I use a manual, and getting into it is fast. Don't know about electric.
Point being any silverskin you missed that gets into the grinder will clog up the blade and plates FAST.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Ames why would a electric grinder be any different than a manual to clean just remove the retaining collar from the end of the barrel and the plate and knife is very easily removed to clean sinew or silver skin that was missed during the meat prep. I have used both a manual and now a very good Hobart electric grinder as I age I am more into efficiency and less work this translates in to more time hunting the critter whos next stop is the grinder. My advice is buy the best electric grinder you can afford and never look back. If you only occasionally process a deer a manual one may be ok, I do a few of my own and a few for friends every year so the cost for electric as far as I am concerned is justified.

 

[Ames]

I said I don't know what it takes to get an electric grinder apart having never used one.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Just like a manual one

 

[mooman76]

I see good used hand grinders in thrift stores all the time.