How Many Grinds

[Brendan]

One grind here for just straight burger, double grind if I'm mixing sausage or something like that.

Comment above is right on - keeping everything cold is very helpful. I like stuff half frozen, and even put the metal grinder parts in the freezer too.

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

Has anyone tried out Lem's double-grind attachment? I've been considering it because I HATE doing the second grind but haven't seen many reviews on it.

My buddy has it I’ve put a few deer through it. Works good but does seem to clog a bit faster than mine doing the first and second grind

 

[JFK]

My LEM came with a few plates. The 3/8 was too big to single grind…the small one was a little too small. I did double grind at first with those plates, but I bought a plate that’s in between sizes and just single grind everything now. So much faster and the texture is good to the point that I prefer it to double ground meat now.

 

[Azone]

What are the differences you guys are seeing by grinding twice with smaller sized plates? Better texture? Incorporates added fat better?
Genuinely curious to here what others have observed.

 

[GreenNDark Timber]

What are the differences you guys are seeing by grinding twice with smaller sized plates? Better texture? Incorporates added fat better?
Genuinely curious to here what others have observed.

I'm curious as well. I went ahead and ordered the LEM 1/4" plate. The next deer I kill I'm going to grind in several different ways. Planning to do some single grind 3/16" plate, single grind 1/4" plate and double grind through the same plates after a first grind through the 3/8". I'm going to cook up a pound of each (at the same time) and see if there's any real noticeable difference to me or if I'm just wasting time with the second grind for what I use it for. I never add fat so incorporating that is not a factor for me. Will report back.

 

[Poser]

What are the differences you guys are seeing by grinding twice with smaller sized plates? Better texture? Incorporates added fat better?
Genuinely curious to here what others have observed.

I don’t use different plates, but 2 grinds sufficiently tenderizes and mixes up the silverskin to the point that you don’t even notice it. That allows you to put more meat in the grinder vs the garbage since you’re not trimming every bit of silverskin and it also makes the process faster. If you’re adding fat, it will be better distributed - that’s why we ground chuck twice when I worked at a butcher shop.

 

[Rich M]

I have 3/4 hp LEM. 1 trip thru the fine plate is plenty for burger, chili, etc.

I don't cube the meat but instead strip it so that it will fit down the chute and feed itself. Will also clear off the larger, thicker sections of silver-skin with a fillet knife.

Meat is packed about 18 oz per 1 quart freezer ziplock and placed in a single row-sized box. Works great. Easy to stack, keeps the seam up so doesn't drip blood, and holds meat fine for a couple of years.

 

[Azone]

I don’t use different plates, but 2 grinds sufficiently tenderizes and mixes up the silverskin to the point that you don’t even notice it. That allows you to put more meat in the grinder vs the garbage since you’re not trimming every bit of silverskin and it also makes the process faster. If you’re adding fat, it will be better distributed - that’s why we ground chuck twice when I worked at a butcher shop.

For burger I usually run all meat and added fat through a large 3/4” plate and roughly mix fat and meat until evenly distributed then a final grind through a 1/8” plate. It seems to go a lot faster.
For sausage I’ve settled on a single pass through a 3/16” plate unless it’s linguica then I go with an extremely coarse grind being a 5/8”plate.
Splitting hairs here I guess. Just interested in what other people see as a gains to passing through a smaller plate twice.

 

[VernAK]

I'm usually satisfied with one coarse grind but if we want a second grind, we again run it through the coarse plate. The fine plate seems to make too much red goo for my taste.

 

[Boarmaster]

I only grind once but I make sure the meat is very very cold. I have a nice LEM grinder as well. That probably helps.

 

[Seth]

Perhaps I don’t know what I’m missing, but I’ve single ground on a medium plate for over 20 years. I don’t add fat, don’t get too hung up on removing silver skin, and processed whitetail, hog, mule deer, elk, and pronghorn all the same way. Two pounds of ground in a ziplock freezer bag, and my wife will use that up before the steaks are gone.

 

[midwesthunter]

I trim mine to remove as much large pieces of fat and tendons and always run two grinds with no issues. I also make sure meat is good and cold.

 

[JPD350]

Great thread!
I have always done two grinds as well but I will soon be trying the 3/16th plate for a first grind to see if it works and makes the burger acceptable. I can eat grind in any way but my wife likes it they way it has been and I want her to continue liking it!! the mother in law is even eating it after years of coaxing, she enjoyed the elk tacos last night!

 

[Yellowknife]

I double ground for years...

Then I discovered that it's both dramatically faster and a better end product to single grind with the fine plate. Texture is just right IMO

I also don't add any fat, so that may impact the choice.

 

[Runningwater]

I add fat for burger, and pork/fat for sausage. I tend to use a very course for the first round (mainly to help thoroughly mix the fat and or trim), then through a med (3/8 or 1/4) for the second. It depends on what I'm making. Chorizo I like pretty fine. Andouille usually quite coarse. For years I actually just ran twice through the 3/8 plate.

If I was just grinding meat and not trying to add anything, I wouldn't grind twice, just pick a grind plate that would give me the size I wanted.

 

[RossWard]

1 vote for single grind


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[AKredneck63]

Double grind. Big than small. The silicone spray Lem sells on all your parts makes a huge difference in the second grind time

 

[Lytro]

Maybe I just got lucky, but I bought a $70 "sunmile" grinder off Amazon about 8 years ago that has worked flawlessly on an average of about 5 animals per year. I don't put meat, or the grinder parts, in the freezer before any grinds. Last year I processed 9 deer with it without a single issue.

Regular burger - Single grind through the large plate. ( I like coarse burger)
Sausage - Grind once with a large plate, put it back through with the fine plate.

 

[4ester]

Two grinds through the course plate gets the best results for me. I don’t like the mushy texture of the fine plate.

Burger patties; grind once, mix fat, grind twice and stuff into patties in one step.

Loose burger I do the same, just into tubes on the 2nd pass.

If I’m canning burger one pass through large plate is sufficient


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[Joshk358]

I always grind twice. Seems to turn out better/more tender for me. I have a Cabelas 1HP Carnivore grind and works pretty good. 2nd grind is slower for sure, but worth it imo.