Dual Grind vs Single Grind

[ResearchinStuff]

I bought the LEM #12 BigBite single grind last year and ran 2 deer through it fairly quickly. I typically will trim meat off quarters and cut into manageable sizes and put in gallon bags until I can partially thaw out and grind all at once. Last year I donated 1 deer to burger (added 15% beef tallow) and 1 deer to breakfast sausage (added 30% pork fat).

I was amazed how fast the 1st grind went with mostly frozen meat and fat through the course grind. I then mixed the fat and course grind together in a tub and put through the finer grind plate, that's where I had the most issues with overheating.

For those of you that use the LEM packaging system with the bags and tape dispenser, would you recommend upgrading to the 2" stainless steel stuffing tube over the plastic one they send with grinder? I'm also wondering if I just use the coarse grind plate again instead of the stuffing plate to go into the freezer bags. I had my wife helping so it made it easier, but I'm assuming I could make the last half of the project go quicker.

Overall, I was really impressed with the grinder and system.

Yes, I recommend the 2"steel tube.

 

[Amos Keeto]

Bought (many years ago!) a big (#32) manual grinder.
After several sessions of arm exhaustion, I went online and built a "speed brake" for the grinder.
My 3/4 hp "Farm Duty" electric motor is 1750 rpm.
Inch and a quarter sheave on the motor.
That goes to a 4" sheave on an idler axle. The other end has a 1" sheave that belts to the big 11" (?) sheave on the grinder. Reduces the speed to a more manageable 60 rpm.

 

[rbljack]

I'm waiting on your update because if this works like you have plannned I may copy your order and be done with it. I'm due for a new grinder and can't decide enough to pull the trigger.

Ive had the hog trap set for a week anticipating the grinders first use....LOL. Had a few get close but wouldn't go in and commit!! My new trail camera can go "live" and Ive watched them a few times hit the entrance but go no further. We will also be deer hunting in the AM and over the weekend. I will definitely post up my results and let yall know what I think....good bad or otherwise. In the mean time I can tell you this: I "beefed up" a shelf to store it on in the garage because its heavy! More to come.

 

[jbwright]

MYM single 1.5HP never had an issue. run ground only, though, no sausage and only every use course

 

[Sandstrom]

I used to double grind everything. I prefer single grind with the smaller plate now. Double grinding made the meat almost too mushy. As for adding fat, we don’t.

 

[Amos Keeto]

Unless I'm making kielbasa or breakfast sausage, I don't add fat either.
If I am adding fat, I always use beef fat.

 

[Rich M]

I’ve tried double grinding meat and it just gets mushier. No real diff otherwise. I run it thru a medium or fine plate.

A 3/4 or 1 hp machine will serve you well if you only process a couple hundred pounds at a time.

 

[rbljack]

I had a few of you requested an update after I got to use the LEM #32 with Dual grind adapter, so here it is...

I got two hogs in the trap the other day. Had them on ice for a cpl days and got them cut up. I froze some of the meat, but wanted to try a few things tonight.

So first off, I was making breakfast sausage and made a 25 pound batch of AC leggs #29. I prefer the #10, but this is what I had on hand. Those spice packets are enough to do 25 pounds of meat. I prepped 18 pounds of wild hog and I combined that with 7 pounds from a pork butt for some more fat content. Even though I could get much larger pieces thru, I still chopped my meat into about golf ball or slightly larger sizes. That helps me get a good trim and cut off anything i don't want ground up. If your less picky about it, the grinder could easily take much larger pieces which would save on cutting time.

I mixed the 2 meats together and added the spice/ hand mixed them in a meat tote. The #32 grinder meat tray (on top) held 12 pounds of meat easily which was nice. I had the sausage stuff plate and the Medium plate inside the dual grind adapter. I went ahead and ground about 1 pound to see how it looked. From what I can tell, running it thru once is enough to get a fairly even mix using a pork butt. If you were adding Pork Fat Trim, not sure if the results would be the same or not.

Then I added the 2" tube on the output of the meat grinder (it's similar to a sausage stuff tube, but larger for the meat bags) and labeled all 15 of my meat bags (about the right amount for 25 pounds of meat if your bags are holding 1.5 pounds each).

Big tip here: Get the foot pedal if you use the meat bags. And for those wondering, it worked great.....meat bags filled nicely, and I didnt have to do a second grind. It was all done in one pass/cycle. I did not have to use the plunger at all to get the meat to feed thru and into the bags. Very happy about that.

Its a larger machine, and a bit heavy, but worked as I'd hoped. One pass thru the grinder and into meat bags ready to freeze! For efficiency, larger batches at one time are the ticket. I know 50 pounds is doable in a short amount of time if all the meat is cut up and ready to grind/cold and get into meat bags.

I then tried something new. I've wanted to try and make Wild Hog Spam. So I took a batch of 12 pounds of wild hog (no fat or pork butt added) and ran it thru the dual grind and into a bowl. Same plates were in, the sausage stuff plate and the medium plate. It took less than 2 minutes to run the 12 pounds thru. For the spam, I did need to run it thru a second time to get protein extraction so the meat would bind together. I was pleased to see that I only had to use the plunger a couple times on that second grind, and the second grind took about 3 to 4 minutes tops. Just pulled the bread pans full of spam out of the oven! Chill them tonight and we will see how Wild Hog spam turns out!

 

[SDHNTR]

I have an LEM 22 and have thought about buying the dual grind kit. What I can’t get my mind around is how you then properly mix the sausage seasonings.

I normally coarse grind all of my meat and fat first. Then I add the seasoning and hand mix thoroughly. Then I run everything through the fine plate.

If you use the dual grind attachment, how do you add the spices and mix thoroughly and get a good bind? Or is that thing just for grinding burger?

 

[NRA4LIFE]

You grind once to the desired consistency and buy a meat mixer to blend in the spices.

 

[BBob]

how do you add the spices and mix thoroughly and get a good bind?

The post above you spells out what he did. He cubed it, added spice, ground it directly into meat bags. I'm going to try bit this way shortly. I have about 30lbs to grind. If going into casings I suppose you'll have to grind, mix well for bind and then stuff.

So first off, I was making breakfast sausage and made a 25 pound batch of AC leggs #29. I prefer the #10, but this is what I had on hand. Those spice packets are enough to do 25 pounds of meat. I prepped 18 pounds of wild hog and I combined that with 7 pounds from a pork butt for some more fat content. Even though I could get much larger pieces thru, I still chopped my meat into about golf ball or slightly larger sizes. That helps me get a good trim and cut off anything i don't want ground up. If your less picky about it, the grinder could easily take much larger pieces which would save on cutting time.

I mixed the 2 meats together and added the spice/ hand mixed them in a meat tote. The #32 grinder meat tray (on top) held 12 pounds of meat easily which was nice. I had the sausage stuff plate and the Medium plate inside the dual grind adapter. I went ahead and ground about 1 pound to see how it looked. From what I can tell, running it thru once is enough to get a fairly even mix using a pork butt. If you were adding Pork Fat Trim, not sure if the results would be the same or not. Its a larger machine, and a bit heavy, but worked as I'd hoped. One pass thru the grinder and into meat bags ready to freeze! For efficiency, larger batches at one time are the ticket. I know 50 pounds is doable in a short amount of time if all the meat is cut up and ready to grind/cold and get into meat bags.

 

[SDHNTR]

The post above you spells out what he did. He cubed it, added spice, ground it directly into meat bags. I'm going to try bit this way shortly. I have about 30lbs to grind.

Yes I read that. Doesn’t seem like that would thoroughly mix the spices or create the same protein bind as mixing by hand.

 

[jmez]

I never dual grind. I mix spices in with cubed meat then grind it and stuff. Been doing it that way for years. It works well. spice mix starts to bind as you are mixing. When you start you have a large puddle of water in the bottom of the tub. After about 5 minutes it is a semi gel that coats the meat.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2023 using Tapatalk

 

[rbljack]

Yes I read that. Doesn’t seem like that would thoroughly mix the spices or create the same protein bind as mixing by hand.

SDHNTR..it depends on what Im trying to do. The bind you are referring to Im assuming is also meaning "Protein Extraction". For making a breakfast sausage for use later, I really don't want or need to obtain that. Same for burger. The added pork butt with fat does enough to bind the meat for patties. I learned the tip about adding the spice to the cubed meat before grinding by watching a lot of the "bearded butcher" channel youtube videos.

With that said, I did run the meat thru twice when I made the spam. I wanted the tackier consistency because I didnt add any pork trim to it. If making a summer sausage or similar, I will run it thru the "dual grind adapter twice also. In the past when I made summer sausage, I would grind three times to get the "tack" your referencing because I dont have a meat mixer. Then it was stuffed in the casings.

I've found that putting the meat in totes, adding spice to the cubed meat and then hand mixing followed by grinding gave a good even mix in the end each time. Additionally, if there happened to be a small "clump" of spice", the grinder takes care of it and distributes it into the meat better. Hope that helps. Give it a try and see what you think. I guess I should also mention that i dont have a mixer, so I looked for other ways to get the bind/tacky meat when needed.

Oh and the Spam came out pretty good too! Check out the bearded butcher channel on youtube and do a search for SPAM on their channel. They have all the info and spice blend amounts included. Easy to follow.

 

[butcherboy]

I would love to have two tandom mixer grinders for commercial use. Cubed meat in one and add seasonings then turn on the mixer. Grind coarse and it runs into the second grinder. Turn on the mixer in that grinder to achieve a more even mix and to get the protein extraction for sausages. Then grind into a tote for stuffing. I don’t have those so I add seasonings directly to the cubed meat and mix by hand then grind coarse. Move to the second grinder and then grind it fine. After that it’s put into my 60 lb hydraulic stuffer for stuffing into casings or hamburger tubes for hamburger or bulk sausage. It’s a pretty quick process. If I had one grinder it would be a mixer grinder with multiple grinder plates and blades so the meat would come out fine ground with one pass. I much prefer having two grinders and a stuffer.

 

[Gone4Days]

I have an LEM 22 and have thought about buying the dual grind kit. What I can’t get my mind around is how you then properly mix the sausage seasonings.

I normally coarse grind all of my meat and fat first. Then I add the seasoning and hand mix thoroughly. Then I run everything through the fine plate.

If you use the dual grind attachment, how do you add the spices and mix thoroughly and get a good bind? Or is that thing just for grinding burger?

I use a meat mixer

 

[JrCaps]

Progressive grinding is useful on big batches- coarse on the first grind followed by a finer die. I remove all sinew pre grind and like the denseness of a single grind on leaner muscles if not adding beef or pork fat. If adding additional fat you will have to double grind for a homogenous final product.

 

[butcherboy]

Here is an example of an elk I did a few weeks ago. One is a single grind with beef fat and the other is the same meat but ran through twice. Second time through the smaller plate.

 

[butcherboy]

Some examples of summer sausage and bologna I recently made.

 

[JrCaps]

Here is an example of an elk I did a few weeks ago. One is a single grind with beef fat and the other is the same meat but ran through twice. Second time through the smaller plate.

Perfect example of a progressive grind. Good looking Elk burger BB.