Do electric meat grinders really work?
Question by naturalphase:
Do electric meat grinders really work?
I have heard that getting the old fashioned kind is best because the electric ones tend to burn out. I would like to start grinding our own meat because I can sometimes get round steak cheaper than regular ground chuck.
I have never had trouble with an electric one, and I ground meat for our family for 25 years with it. It was made by Oster, and attached to my Oster Kitchen Center, which also had blender, mixer and slicer attachements. I vote for electric!
If you have a butcher shop or a high class hamburger joint an electric meat grinder makes sense. For occasional home use … use the good old fashioned one. Just make sure you clean it well after every use. And if you don’t use it often (like in my home) it might be a good idea to wash it before using it, too.
You can’t wear out an old fashioned hand grinder (I still use the one my great grandmother had) but an electric grinder is great.
I’ve never seen one burn out UNLESS you overload it. Just feed the meat slowly.
I typically use a combination between sirloin, chuck, and round depending on the flavor I want. Equal portions of each are fine, although they do taste different once you cook them.
You can also use other meats such as turkey or buffalo to make the “hamburger” leaner and healthier. My favorite recipe right now is 1/3 beef, 1/3 turkey breast, and 1/3 bison/buffalo. Great taste and very healthy, although it’s easy to cook it too long and make it dry.
I use the grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer. It works really well. I usually do pork for sausage.