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Q-talk *ON TOPIC ONLY* QUALITY ON TOPIC discussion of Backyard BBQ, grilling, equipment and outdoor cookin' . ** Other cooking techniques are welcomed for when your cookin' in the kitchen. Post your hints, tips, tricks & techniques, success, failures, but stay on topic and watch for that hijacking.


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Old 12-05-2018, 01:43 PM   #1
BuffettFan
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Default In the market for a grinder. Kitchen Aid attachment or stand alone?

I've been wanting a decent grinder for some time, but have been trying to avoid buying another kitchen/BBQ gadget. Quite unsuccessfully, I might add. This forum is NOT helping me in that particular endeavor.
I currently grind all of my meat with my grandmother's hand grinder. It works, but I'm usually grinding 10 to 15 lbs at a time, and I would like to have something a bit faster, not to mention easier.
For stuffing sausages, I have an LEM jerky shooter, basically a big caulking gun, which is fine for small batches, but again, for 15 lbs at a time, is a bit labor intensive. Even though stuffing with a grinder isn't as handy as a dedicated stuffer, it's still better than how I'm doing it currently.
I am in possession of my late grandmother's vintage (read really freakin old) Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I'm guessing early 1970's vintage due to the avocado green color.
I'm expecting to pay $175 to $200 for a stand alone grinder while the grinder attachment for the KA is ~$70.
That extra $100+ would buy a lot of meat to use in said grinder.
My initial thought is that the attachment isn't going to work as well as the stand alone grinder, but the few reviews I've found are inconclusive. Another concern is how long will a nearly 50 year old mixer hold up to grinder duty?
I'm willing to bet that more than a couple of folks on here have both and can give some honest comparisons.
The only grinders I've looked at in person are the Cabela's/Bass Pro/LEM grinders.
Are there other brands I should be looking at and what are the "Must have" features I need to look for?
Thanks in advance!
Terry
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Old 12-05-2018, 01:51 PM   #2
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I have both, and the KA grinder attachment works pretty well for grinding small batches. 5-10 lbs is certainly doable, without too much trouble. However, it is not even close to as good as a good grinder. It absolutely sucks!!!! for stuffing.

The older KA (ones made by Hobart) are actually better than the new ones(made by Whirlpool). So I wouldn't be concerned about the mixer. Since you are looking at doing small batches, I would recommend buying the KA attachment, and a dedicated stuffer. Then when you can buy a good grinder.
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Old 12-05-2018, 01:54 PM   #3
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Definitely a dedicated stuffer. I have the mixer attachment for our Electrolux, and it does the grinding just - I'd expect the same from the KA. But for stuffing, standalone is the way to go.
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Old 12-05-2018, 01:58 PM   #4
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I've ground 100's of lbs of meat with this. They sell stainless ones now, but I don't think I would put one, on an old mixer. This will save you some $$, to put toward a stuffer.
https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-FG...d+meat+grinder
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Old 12-05-2018, 02:15 PM   #5
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I finally gave up on the KitchenAid attachment and bought an LEM dedicated grinder. The KitchenAid worked OK with little batches, but the tray is small, and unlike metal you can't refrigerate it beforehand to keep cold. I would get fat smear pretty easily with the KitchenAid as it heated up in larger batches.

Found a LEM #12 grinder on clearance and I can chew through twenty pounds of meat in minutes. Also bought the foot switch which is great for keeping your hands free.
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Old 12-05-2018, 02:30 PM   #6
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I bought the kitchen aid one thinking "how bad could it be?" I had some butts in the freezer that needed to be used, so I thought I'd give a go at some sausage. At grinding it's barely acceptable. At stuffing its fu**ing horrible. It took me 4 hours to make like 20 sausages and I maybe ate 5 of them and the others sat in the freezer for months before I threw them out.

My brother has a Cabelas grinder (I want to say it's the Deluxe Model) and has done whole deer with it easily and without issue. I'll be getting one of those at some point because I really want to try my hand at sausage making again.
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Old 12-05-2018, 02:42 PM   #7
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One thing to consider is how often you grind. If it's just a couple times per year, any frustration with an attachment might be acceptable. If you are frequently grinding 15lbs, then you'll probably want a dedicated grinder.
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Old 12-05-2018, 02:57 PM   #8
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BTW, for somewhat small batches like 15 lbs, you can get a grinder that will work fine at Bass Pro or Cabelas for about $80 right now. I wouldn't want to try to push 100lbs through one, but 15-20lbs wouldn't be a problem.
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Old 12-05-2018, 03:11 PM   #9
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Our Kitchen Aid mixer is 15 or 20 years old so it's not as powerful as the current models. I would agree with everyone that the grinder attachment (which was only $40 when I bought mine) is fine, but the stuffer attachment is horrible.

I prep my meat into cubes or 3/4" square strips and chill them down on aluminum trays in the freezer until icy.... then grind. I only use the larger plate and only do a single grind except on my hot dogs which are a double grind. Here is some pork, single grind through the large plate to give you an idea.




This is a double grind on my hot dogs


With chilled meat and a speed setting of 4 on my mixer I can grind 1 pound per minute and after 10 or 12 minutes I give it a break, which works good because I have to rotate my ground meat to the spare fridge and get out the prepped meat from the freezer and break it apart. My normal amount is 20 or 25 pounds as I make two or three different flavors of sausage. I have ground as much as 60 pounds at once and with breaks this takes 1.5 hours or so. Clean-up is really easy. And the box that the grinder fits in is pretty small. I have access to a friends LEM grinder but have only used it a few times when we made group sausage in the 100 pound range.

You will need a dedicated stuffer, and mine has a 5# barrel which is good if you make more than one flavor at a time.


So, if nothing has changed with the KA grinder (again, mine is 15 or 20 years old) and if you are not doing huge batches of meat, they get my recommendation. You could always play it safe and buy through Amazon because they have a solid return policy.
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Old 12-05-2018, 04:14 PM   #10
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Get a dedicated grinder. Once you do, you will probably end up doing larger batches anyway because it's sooo much easier. Even if you only use it once a year, it's better than struggling with an attachment.

Cheers!
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Old 12-05-2018, 04:26 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Demosthenes9 View Post
BTW, for somewhat small batches like 15 lbs, you can get a grinder that will work fine at Bass Pro or Cabelas for about $80 right now. I wouldn't want to try to push 100lbs through one, but 15-20lbs wouldn't be a problem.
Very much agree here. The sales happening this time of year are great and those less expensive ones are how I started (borrowing a buddies) and it worked great for those 15/lb batches.

I've since upgraded to a steal I got on a #32 and it is just insane, but I love it. I also have a 15lb stuffer that does batches both large and small quite well. I didn't want to have to reload when doing a batch larger than 10lbs.


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Old 12-05-2018, 04:32 PM   #12
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Get a dedicated grinder, stuffer...
I went the cheapie route buying a cheap grinder (recently gave it away) after buying a number 22 I now grind meats in record time, I also bought the meat tenderizer attachment for the grinder to tenderize chicken & beef quickly and efficiently. The right tools make a world of difference in the processing. Now I need bigger cold storage as the current deep freeze and side by side fridge are not large enough. So if its not one thing its something else....
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Old 12-05-2018, 05:50 PM   #13
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For those recommending dedicated meat grinders, could you tell us what grinders you do recommend? I'm also looking at grinders, but reviews seem to be all over the place unless I'm willing to pay over $250 for one, and I can't afford that for a grinder. My budget would be $100, maximum.
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Old 12-05-2018, 06:48 PM   #14
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I recently got a Cabela deluxe grinder (considered a kitchen aid attachment) and it worked great for me. I did about 18-19lbs at one time and it didn’t take long at all. Think I got it on sale for $130?


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Old 12-05-2018, 07:01 PM   #15
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Can some of the oldest Kitchenaids still use attachments?

I have an old hand crank. We were making some brats with goose and wild hog and I got tired of cranking. Pulled the handle off and put my old electric wall powered Black & Decker drill on the end of the shaft...it worked fine that way, but man, never realized how much torque the handle gives until you try to hang on to the drill. You have to recognize when the drill starts smelling funny to pause and let it cool. It’s at least another option for ya.
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