Who Owns a Food Grinder?

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Andy M. said:
If you had a couple of pounds of meat to grind, I wonder which would be faster. You'd have to do small batches in the FP, filling and emtying in between. I don't know what the throughput on th KA grinder is.



Usually, the KA grinder is operated at a lower speed, so you can't set the speed too high.
 
Well, Corey - I have both ... and the difference is the texture. And, I'm not even going to go into the differences of how the two work since I know you're familiar with Hobart commercial equipment ... so think of this as a comparison between a Buffalo Chipper and a Meat Grinder.

What does speed have to do with anything?
 
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I have the grinder attachment for my KA which does a good job - also have my mother's grinder it is one of those old things must be about 60 years old and can't find parts for it anymore, it clamps on the table and you turn a handle to operate it wish the blades were sharp since it would be a lot less bother than hauling out the Ka and attachment - no good reason why i am hanging on to it must be sentiment
Joyce
 
I'd guess that the parts for your mother's grinder are still the same as what they make now!!
Speed of the KA--continuous feed. Grind 10# of meat by just putting it in the top, tamping it down and putting in some more. Same speed, no stopping--just keep grinding.
The FP is not an adequate meat "grinder".
 
Have both. Can think of almost no application where I prefer the FP to the grinders (have both electric and hand-cranked). Better quality, more consistent and wider range of grind sizes. About the only thing a FP does better is a forcemeat, and even that can be done better with a grinder if you have the right sized plate (not available for electrics, AFAIK).
 
Michael in FtW said:
Well, Corey - I have both ... and the difference is the texture. And, I'm not even going to go into the differences of how the two work since I know you're familiar with Hobart commercial equipment ... so think of this as a comparison between a Buffalo Chipper and a Meat Grinder.

What does speed have to do with anything?



Most of the attachments or accessories for the K'Aid Stand Mixer call for you to set the mixer at a certain speed for use.

There ARE acually three types of grinders;

1. Hand crank operated.

2. Self-contained unit (has its own motor).

3. The accessory attachment for your stand mixer.

Yes, I've seen the Buffalo Chopper at work. I've even used one on several occassions.
It was a wide heavy stainless steel bowl that slowly rotates. And the blade is an S-shaped one that spins vertically on a horizontally-mounted pole.
 
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Yes, it does require a certain setting, but it doesn't have to be started and stopped as you would with a FP. And it is a constant speed that turns the meat out into the waiting bowl. I don't know what speed has to do with the subject either.
And I would/have never bother(ed) to get the grinder out for gazpacho. FP is plenty good for that task for me. In fact, I don't think I can picture celery and cucumbers coming through my grinder. I have used my KA shredder for gazpacho before the age of FPs.
 
Candocook said:
...I don't know what speed has to do with the subject either...

I asked about relative speeds. If you have a large quantity of meat to grind, speed may be a consideration in choosing one device over another.
 
Hey Corey. New here, but have been cookin' for a while. As StirBlue asked upthread, what are you looking to do with a grinder?
 
I have my grandmother's hand operated grinder. I use it for chutneys, cranberry relish, and grinding meat. I don't think the effort is too great using it; in fact, I find it therapeutic. I have a KA mixer, but no desire for the grinder attachment. Coincidentally, I met a woman at the local butcher shop, and had a discussion about this very thing. She was buying meat for homemade kielbasa, and the butcher asked if she wanted it ground in the store. Turns out that she can't get the right texture from an electric grinder--she has resigned herself to cranking through many pounds of meat to get it right. Sometimes TNT is the way to go.
 
Hey Corey. That's one of the few things for which I'd say a food processor does a decent job. If you've worked out a technique with which you're happy, you may not have enough need for the attachment to justify the space it takes to store. Whereas, if you wanna do sausage, IMHO, you need a grinder.

Bullseye, I'm curious. Did the woman you met say why her electric grinder wasn't working for her? Mind you, I prefer the hand-cranked grinder, but started with a standalone electric that I thought was adequate for most purposes.
 
i've got one.









but no luck so far finding a monkey with a suit. :(



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PBear42 said:
Hey Corey. That's one of the few things for which I'd say a food processor does a decent job. If you've worked out a technique with which you're happy, you may not have enough need for the attachment to justify the space it takes to store. Whereas, if you wanna do sausage, IMHO, you need a grinder.

Bullseye, I'm curious. Did the woman you met say why her electric grinder wasn't working for her? Mind you, I prefer the hand-cranked grinder, but started with a standalone electric that I thought was adequate for most purposes.



I think I've tried using the food processor before, and got mixed feelings about it. But I'll try it again soon.
 
Well, I interpreted the OP to say you were satisfied with the FP for the things you've been doing so far. If you have mixed feelings about even that, you probably should get the grinder attachment after all. Would give you a more consistent product and less work (even counting cleaning the darned thing). And, who knows, if you have the attachment, maybe you'll dabble in sausage (can form into big patties like burgers, you know, no need to stuff in casings) and the other things mentioned above (relishes, etc.).
 
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