I have a meat grinder that I bought from Princess Auto. I have used it this year grinding venison but the holed plate keeps getting plugged with sinews. I have pre cut my pieces very small but I can only get 1 lb ground before I have to remove and clean the plate. Is there a trick to this?. Freeze the meat before? I use the large opening plate. Is my grinder at fault?
Grinding venison-any tricks?
- Thread starter Ed Smurf
- Start date
I have the same thing happen with my armstrong grinder.
I think it depends on what is being ground. Trimmings tend to have more connective tissue. If you were grinding tenderloins or backstraps, I don't think you would notice the clogging as much.
I think it depends on what is being ground. Trimmings tend to have more connective tissue. If you were grinding tenderloins or backstraps, I don't think you would notice the clogging as much.
The meat has to be very cold before grinding. Frozen cold that your hands hurt putting it in. Then there is no plugging. Some even put the grinder part in the freezer for 1/2 hour before grinding. Fat and connective tissue go right through almost frozen. When you freeze the meat lay it on a cookie sheet in strips for 1 hour in the freezer. It fly's right through the grinder then. Warm meat will plug the grinder/ too sausage stuffer too. Only take out of the freezer enough that you can run through to fill the bowl. Then go get the next batch out of the freezer.
I have the same grinder from Princes Auto & used it to grind a NFD moose . Tips are as follows ;
1 - Cut off all "Stuff" that is not pure meat & be aggressive / don't leave anything that looks odd , like "silver skin".
2 - Cut into 1" cubes.
3 - Put in frig. overnight & grind the following day, while meat is still @ frig. temp. .
4 - Use the plate with biggest holes.
5 - Feed meat in slowly & listen to motor . It should not laber too much as it grinds.
Good luck.
Cold meat works best as mentioned, I have also found that if your grinder has multiple speed settings use the higher speeds, it seems to work better even with warmer meat. As an aside I got my moose Saturday, 50 yard shot, 37 inch spread.
we have 2 identical Cuisinart countertop grinder/stuffers.
They weren't expensive, a bit over 100 bucks each when they are on sale.
Can tire and cosco is where we got ours.
all I can say is that they have been ultra reliable and seldom clog up.
I don't worry about the meat being super cold but I do give the working parts a light coat of vegetable oil prior to starting the grind.
getting all the sinew and silver skin you can while you are trimming is the key
not sure about other brands but I'm sure not all grinders are created equal and if the cutters are dull or of poor quality, that would make grinding no fun in a hurry
They weren't expensive, a bit over 100 bucks each when they are on sale.
Can tire and cosco is where we got ours.
all I can say is that they have been ultra reliable and seldom clog up.
I don't worry about the meat being super cold but I do give the working parts a light coat of vegetable oil prior to starting the grind.
getting all the sinew and silver skin you can while you are trimming is the key
not sure about other brands but I'm sure not all grinders are created equal and if the cutters are dull or of poor quality, that would make grinding no fun in a hurry
billbmcleod
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Back very close to Bruce County
We use an old butcher shop table top grinder that no one man should carry. I have found with it that you have to have the plates very tight with each other otherwise it will bung up.
As an addition to Sharp Cutter, and Sharp, flat grind plate, screw that plate cap down like it owes you money!
It IS a cutting process! If the stuff does not cut, it's usually because something is not sharp, flat, or tight enough. Fix all three circumstances, and it'll cut cleanly right off the warm carcass.
Chilling the meat makes a cleaner grind, as the meat does not get smeared around as easy. Esp., the fat.
For a not-commercial grade grinder, I like cutting mine into strips. They tend to self feed, rather than needing much of a push from the plunger.
For what it's worth, I don't much bother chasing down every bit of tendon or silver skin. It goes through the grinder just fine. When it's sharp and tight!
I do Cuts, Stew, and Grind bowls on my work surface. I will process in that order, but occasionally dump the grind bowl into a container in the freezer while processing.
Once the rest is cut and wrapped, the grind meat comes out and is run, divided up, and packed away. Then the counter gets cleaned up.
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If you can't grind it near frozen you might need a better grinder.
I read deep into grinders and found most people were disappointed with the smaller and cheaper grinders.
I bought the Cabelas 1 hp on sale and it is a beast, it will chew anything you throw in it as fast as you can feed it, frozen or not.
If all else fails and you plan to grind more meat each season I highly recommend the Cabelas 1 HP grinder.
I read deep into grinders and found most people were disappointed with the smaller and cheaper grinders.
I bought the Cabelas 1 hp on sale and it is a beast, it will chew anything you throw in it as fast as you can feed it, frozen or not.
If all else fails and you plan to grind more meat each season I highly recommend the Cabelas 1 HP grinder.
I ground 30lbs of moose trim last night w a cabelas grinder, one model up from their cheapest one. It ground everything including some leg tedons i missed, the dog got that 1/4 lb of meat. Blade is sharp and all was tight, no freezing required.
I had a chinese grinder that always plugged up, i just powered through the blockages w more meat. I replaced it with the cabelas unit.
I had a chinese grinder that always plugged up, i just powered through the blockages w more meat. I replaced it with the cabelas unit.
Been there, done that.
Most grinding plates have a notch in the edge of them. This fits over a pin on the end of the grinder and then you tighten the cap.
If the pin is not in the slot, any sinew will plug the plate because the knife will not be flat against the plate.
Most grinding plates have a notch in the edge of them. This fits over a pin on the end of the grinder and then you tighten the cap.
If the pin is not in the slot, any sinew will plug the plate because the knife will not be flat against the plate.
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Skin out the blue skin and sinew, or spend more time unclogging than grinding. If the motor is labouring, clean it. Alternately,a powerful/expensive grinder.
Hand grinders are ok, just need a long vrinder handle for torque.
Hand grinders are ok, just need a long vrinder handle for torque.
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
This in its entirety, especially point #1, for two reasons, it will grind almost effortlessly and the quality of your finished product will be so much better after it is thoroughly trimmed of anything that is not pure muscle/meat. Personally I trim every bit of anything that has a 'white' color tinge to it, that includes all the wild fat. If I am making sausage with the grind I will add pork fat for a binder but absolutely every bit of 'wild fat" is removed.
Your grinder should do you for a long time, I have the same P.A. grinder and have put 6 or 8 complete full sized deer carcasses through it and will do another sometime this fall I think...never had to "sharpen" or change a cutter yet.
