Meat grinders are available with electric and manual operation options. Both come in different sizes. The product size and motor of electric models only determines product weight. The size limits where you store the grinder when not in use. The hopper size, type of metal such as stainless steel or iron, horsepower (hp) of the motor increases the weight and size of an electric meat grinder of many models. A manual model uses a handle to move the auger. The size of the hopper and whether the grinder is a clamped-on or a bolt-down model determines the size of a manual grinder. Whether you complete grinding jobs at home for farm or game meat, you should consider the power necessary to complete the task in a dependable way to add spices and seasonings to suit their tastes. There are accessories that come with many grinders sold for home use that allows you to make sausage to simplify grinding the meat enabling a gourmet taste for any meat lover. Many people choose to buy other accessories providing ease and convenience in their food preparation.
Meat grinders provide healthy ways to avoid store-bought and processed meats while giving you creative opportunities with your food preparation. Grinding meat for sausage adding applesauce or apple slices for a different flavor that keeps the meat moist.
So let us review at how you would choose a meat grinder that will to meet your needs:
What kinds of meat are you looking to grind; Game meats like bore, elk, or deer? Do you get most of your meat from your butcher or grocer such as beef, pork? Game is usually more of a challenge to grind due to the meat having more muscle. Fat and gristle become another challenge as they can easily clog plates used for grinding the meat fine, medium or coarsely. The Meat quantity you wish to process and prepare is one very important factor when considering the product of your grinder. If you choose to process an entire elk or deer, this takes more time and effort than meats purchased from a butcher.
Most people should not even consider a manual grinder for game meats. This will only lead to frustration with clogging with even using larger grinding plates. If you take time to chop game meat into very small sections or chunks and move very slowly will a manual grinder work with most game meat?
An electric meat grinder with a powerful motor and a reverse function can cut frustration while speeding the process of grinding many kinds and larger quantities of meat. Many people try to save money with a manual product. However, this alone will not help to save money as many electric grinders have powerful motors with reverse functions at a low enough cost to challenge many comparable manual meat grinders. A warranty of at least one year and may even two years should show the level of commitment the company may have for their meat grinder.
While shopping for your product, I recommend you check for the following:
· the number of blades or (knives) or (cutters),
· the number of and size of the grinding plates (from 2mm to 23mm,
· hopper size (3-6.5 inches),
· ratings on pounds-per-minute (ppm) of grinding,
· watts of the motor (no less than 400 (.5-hp) & preferably 800 (1-hp) watts,
· accessories & attachments like sausage suffers + tubes.
Many of the items above may or may not come with the grinder. Accessories included should affect your decision just as the cost of the product as you may decide to add later. There are several great sites to find information on grinders. At Meat Grinders Now, they offer articles, blog posts, comprehensive choices of electric and manual meat grinders along with several other food processing products.
If you are interested in shopping for a Meat Grinder, the web has a good selection of quality products. I always stress healthier food preparation and enjoy writing about products that make this easier. Meat Grinders are a product that makes this possible!