Who owns a meat grinder and uses it

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Olga

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jan 14, 2007
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27
I have and meat grinder/mincer made by ALFA 8,is new ,galvanized and I would like to grind turkey, is clean but smells like metal.Any ideas how to get the smell out,how to use and clean.I'd love to hear from someone that uses a grinder.
 
Have you washed it in very hot water? It may have a coating on the metal. Maybe put some baking soda in the water and then rinse well.
But, truth be told, it IS metal, and will smell like metal. It doesn't mean it will transfer that to your meat. I have a grinder but haven't really thought to smell it.
 
Who owns a meat grinder

I'll try the soda wash.Thanks.
What type of meat do you grind, do you mix condiments with the meat prior to grinding?I'm like a kid with a new toy.
 
I use mine to make sandwich spread...ham or balogna spread. I grind the meat with hard-boiled eggs and cheese, then mix with Miracle Whip, mustard and sweet pickle relish. It's delish! You can also make it with leftover roast, beef or pork.
You can also grind turkey or pork to make your own breakfast sausage, or grind vegetables to make relish.
 
I used to do the same thing with my mother's very old meat grinder with left over pot roast- best foods, pickle relish and I would also grind a little onion. Yum, have not had it in years.
 
Meat grinder

Today I used to grind turkey,I bought turkey "London broil" and decided to make meat balls, I always stayed away from supermarket ground turkey.
I was easy to grind, but cleaning was difficult, turkey stuck every-were in the machine, I'm always buying brushes ,now I'm glad I had them they really helped.
Next time I'm using oil or Pam,before grinding , I will add chopped onions and garlic to the chunks, I'm leaving for AZ. next Tuesday, so the grinder will be resting, after that WATCH OUT turkey breasts.;) ;)
 
Hi, so were you able to wash the smell of? I usually put mine into dishwasher, warks fine. As far as grinding, I use mine quite bit. For a lot of things. I reraly buy store ground meat. As far as grinding "condiments", what did you mean by that? I do grind bread and onion and garlic alone with meat, then the meat balls come out tasting more evenly. Also I doubt pam will help you with cleaning, just grind onion or bread at the end, it will push all the meat thru and it will be easier to clean.
 
I was easy to grind, but cleaning was difficult, turkey stuck every-were in the machine, I'm always buying brushes ,now I'm glad I had them they really helped.
I would suggest just letting it soak in a big sink or container of hot soapy water. Then swish it around well. I think most things will come out quite easily. I would definitely NOT put pam on it. That will just make another layer of film that may be really hard to get off.
 
I have two..both SS. I use the small one fairly often. The lager one less often.
The "smell" you refer too sounds like the smell of galvanized metal. If used frequently and washed properly then the smell will go away. Only to return if not used for a long period of time...
 
To remove the turkey just put a couple slices of bread through the grinder - this will help push the turkey out. Any bread that is left in there can be easily soaked and washed out. Be a bit patient and give it some soaking time though.

I use mine to make gazpacho! It makes the BEST gazpacho. I can use the bigger grind for chunkier but I usually end up using both blades in there. Still chunky but smaller chunks. I end up at the end putting a slice or two of bread in there and leaving it in the gazpacho - it has never hurt a thing by being in there. I'm not suggesting you use the bread in your ground turkey, only telling you what I do with my gazpacho.

This left-over gazpacho can be strained a bit the next day to use as a salsa over some white chicken enchiladas with black beans.
 
I have an old (clamp-on) Universal grinder that, too, smells a bit like metal. But, as someone said earlier, it is metal after all. If I've ground meat in my grinder, I usually run several slices of old bread through it to sort of pre-clean it before I wash it in hot soapy water before storing it away.

In addition to grinding meats, I use mine to grind walnuts for an ethnic bread called Potica (pronounced po-teet-sa) and to grind fresh pears for to make pear honey.

It's a wonderful old tool I wouldn't be without.
 
KATIE E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry, off topic) My mother made Potica. When she passed away I looked everywhere on the net for a recipe for Potizza or Poteeza - or Patezza, or SOMETHING. I finally posted my question somewhere and someone from just a few miles from where I grew up came to my rescue! That stuff is awesome but I have never tackled the recipe - it looks so time-consuming! :blush:
 
kitchenelf said:
KATIE E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry, off topic) My mother made Potica. When she passed away I looked everywhere on the net for a recipe for Potizza or Poteeza - or Patezza, or SOMETHING. I finally posted my question somewhere and someone from just a few miles from where I grew up came to my rescue! That stuff is awesome but I have never tackled the recipe - it looks so time-consuming! :blush:

Vicky,

Don't be intimidated. It's really quite easy. And yummy, as you already know.:)
 
My family actually eats Ground Roast Beef Hash for our Christmas Dinner. We've had it for as long as anyone in my family can remember.

As bad as it sounds, it tastes phenominal..

Here's the basic recipe..

- Cooked Beef Roast
- Cooked Potatos
- Cooked Onions
- A little Milk
- A little Butter

Basically, you grind the roast, potatoes, and onion together. I do about 1-2(or 3) ratio of Meat to Potato.. Then I add some milk (Sorry, not an exact science). Bake it in the oven at 350 until it's nice and hot. Since it's all pre-cooked, it's not really necessary, just nice to eat warm.

To serve, place on your plate like Mashed potatoes, load on the butter and salt, and enjoy!

It's something that scares most people until they try it..

-Brad
 
:)Like Katie E said running some bread will get out the metal smell and oil I would wash it well let dry and run some more bread thru and maybe repeat they also recommend it on your new new pasta makers as well and it works on electric coffee grinders also.
 
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I LOVE my grinder, I'll never buy store hamburger again (cept in a pinch).:)
 
I'm back from AZ, ready to grind again.I did soak the parts in warm water ,it takes some serious washing( because of raw meat).Thanks for all the good suggestions:
no pam
washing in the dis washer after removing the chunks of meat
I thought adding pieces of pepper,onions and spices will really change the taste of plain old turkey.
My hairdresser said she mixes some fat free beef into the turkey so it has a better consistence and flavor.
MDH had high cholesterol, after changing the way I cook (I need to loose weight) his number are excellent, the good chol. is way up.
 
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