Grinding meat and sausage stuffing question

[Ronin75]

Guys when your grinding the meat a second time and it becomes difficult to push the meat through a 1/2 Ho grinder. Is it ok to add water to the meat to allow the meat to push easier through the grinder ?

 

[packer58]

Second time through the grinder is always a bit of a chore, I would think adding water would make it worse.
What I typically do is stick my first grind back in the freezer and semi freeze it, makes second grind much easier for me.

 

[huck]

Agree with P, or get a smaller plate and grind once .

 

[packer58]

As far as your stuffer, assuming it's a stand alone unit and not a grinder attachment I do add water to the meat mixture while its in the mixer, just off the top of my head I think I add approx 2 cups to my pep sticks and 1-1 1/2 to my summer sausage. the water helps mix ingredients and the meat slide through the horns better, in the end the water goes away through the smoking process.

 

[huck]

YA I should have said that earlier I add enough water when im stuffing that its not a chore to run the crank . Doesnt seem to change smoking time , just evaporates out .

 

[Zappaman]

Rytek Kutas (who wrote the book on sausage making) always adds water to the "grind" unless you are going for a dry salami recipe (which I haven't tried yet).

One hard lesson we learned last year (well... I read the book but my buddy wasn't convinced-- until afterward doing it "his" way)... is to add the cheese and jalapeno AFTER the first grind. We put it in the first grind and it was a sticky ass mess... "told ya!".

I agree I'll usually use a smaller grinding plate and go ONE time (water added) if at all possible. But my wife hates ANY chewy bites, so I usually grind our burger once (no fat) on the LARGE plate... then, I add the fat into the second grind on a smaller plate so she gets "perfect" burger. It's a pain... but as Bugs Bunny once said... "whaterver baby want's, baby gets!

The BEST thing I ever did was buy a sausage press... saves HOURS of pushing down on that damn stuffer!!!

 

[doc holiday13]

I'd ask how cold is the meat? sometimes water needs to be very cold

Also a 1/2 hp grinder has either #8 or #12 throat. Those sizes are generally not great for 2nd grinds ESPECIALLY the #8..

 

[huck]

I only add my water after everything is ground, mix my seasonings, add my water with this . If your worried about a good mix put it back in the cooler for 24hr. I used to do this, but figured out it didnt make a difference, at least to my family . My batches usually run 100 to 300 ib. If you put your mixed meat back in the cooler you will probably have to add more water before you can stuff comfortably.

 

[Zappaman]

Yes, if two grinds I wait on the "ice water" until grind #2 time. If I use it first, it's no easier (on that first grind) and if I wait a day between grinds, the meat (overnight) soaks up any water added the day before-- and it's just as hard to get through the following day on grind # two.

But I typically just run it (one or two grinds) the same day, then (sometimes) put it up overnight before using a stuffer.

 

[Tmac]

If you have to do two grinds, if you can grind the first run very coarse, it tends to run through much easier for the second grind.

 

[huck]

If yout hellbent on 2 grinds after #1 put your meat in garbage bags and flatten it out to 2in. thickness ,put it in the freezer till 3/4 froze chunk it up with a butcher knife then start grinding , more work better product.

 

[gburk]

I only do one grind, with fine plate if needed, semi frozen. I like to see frozen fat particles in the output, not a pink smeary mishmash which is what the second grind looks like to me.

I tend not to add much if any water even for stuffing since I usually don’t need it, and there’s a lot of water in the meat already.

 

[packer58]

In my experience, the smaller the horn dictates the cold water quality. My pep stick horn is over a foot long and can slide 5 feet of casing on it, about two cups of water and the stuffer is much happier.

 

[shaftslinger]

I've made hot dogs out of deer/elk meat which requires emulsifying the meat to the consistency of cake batter. About 6x through the grinder. I start with damn near frozen cubes of meat and as the meat thaws I throw back in the freezer. You still end up having trouble getting it to pass through the grinder so instead of adding water ill drop in actual ice cubes. This has never been a problem for my 1/2HP grinder.

 

[WoodBow]

I've made hot dogs out of deer/elk meat which requires emulsifying the meat to the consistency of cake batter. About 6x through the grinder. I start with damn near frozen cubes of meat and as the meat thaws I throw back in the freezer. You still end up having trouble getting it to pass through the grinder so instead of adding water ill drop in actual ice cubes. This has never been a problem for my 1/2HP grinder.

You need to get a hobart buffalo chopper. That is what they are made for. Just let that puppy run until desired consistency is achieved. Problem is they are very pricey. Lucky for me I stumbled on a vintage one that needed some love. Picked it up for $175 and restored it. I primarily just use the grinder on it but the chopper makes fast work of jalapenos or pulled pork.

 

[shaftslinger]

You need to get a hobart buffalo chopper. That is what they are made for. Just let that puppy run until desired consistency is achieved. Problem is they are very pricey. Lucky for me I stumbled on a vintage one that needed some love. Picked it up for $175 and restored it. I primarily just use the grinder on it but the chopper makes fast work of jalapenos or pulled pork.

I'll have to check them out. thanks for the tip!

 

[Tod osier]

I'll have to check them out. thanks for the tip!

I'd agree, use something other than the grinder. Even a kitchenaid mixer will work in batches.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I have a lem #12 and struggled with the second grind the first couple times I used it. I finally found something that worked the last time:
I put the steel stuffing tube cf rom the bagging kit on the discharge for the first grind, and the first grind meat came out in a long tube. The diameter of that tube just perfectly fit down the throat, no tamper needed. The meat wasn't even that cold, but the tubes still seemed to get pulled right down by the auger.

This technique saved me a couple hours, and it didn't seem to matter if the first grind had been collected in organized logs or was a continuous tube piled in a huge bowl, both worked, but one was way less effort.

 

[WoodBow]

I have a lem #12 and struggled with the second grind the first couple times I used it. I finally found something that worked the last time:
I put the steel stuffing tube cf rom the bagging kit on the discharge for the first grind, and the first grind meat came out in a long tube. The diameter of that tube just perfectly fit down the throat, no tamper needed. The meat wasn't even that cold, but the tubes still seemed to get pulled right down by the auger.

This technique saved me a couple hours, and it didn't seem to matter if the first grind had been collected in organized logs or was a continuous tube piled in a huge bowl, both worked, but one was way less effort.

That's a good idea. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Birddy]

It helps a lot if you keep the grinding throat and blades in the freezer and then also use actual ice cubes in the meat vs the water