What does and doesn’t make it into your grind pile?

[westslopelaker]

So with the LEM grinder, is it normal to really have to work to feed the grinder on the second pass? It was really slow pushing the rough grind down the throat and filling bags. Not sure what I’m doing wrong, or if this is normal. I used the medium plate on both passes. The first grind went really fast - ground as fast as I could feed it. The burger doesn’t feed very well and I had to use the tamper to push it out a bit at a time into the bags.

I have a LEM #12 and when I first started processing my own burger I had a similar problem. What I found is that if I fed the grinder golf ball sized chunks of burger they would "free fall" down the throat and I could grind the second pass way way faster and not have to use the plunger. I also experimented with spraying a little cooking oil, like Pam, down the throat too. It seemed to help keep the throat unclogged. I can do a whole animal and not have to use the plunger on the 2nd grind as long as I keep feeding it smaller chunks and i don't just try to push all the burger down at once.

 

[TheCougar]

I have a LEM #12 and when I first started processing my own burger I had a similar problem. What I found is that if I fed the grinder golf ball sized chunks of burger they would "free fall" down the throat and I could grind the second pass way way faster and not have to use the plunger. I also experimented with spraying a little cooking oil, like Pam, down the throat too. It seemed to help keep the throat unclogged. I can do a whole animal and not have to use the plunger on the 2nd grind as long as I keep feeding it smaller chunks and i don't just try to push all the burger down at once.

I’ll try that. I’m using a tube to to fill the meat socks, so there is some pressure for the auger to overcome. Not sure how it will work, but I’ll try it.

 

[Poser]

I’ll try that. I’m using a tube to to fill the meat socks, so there is some pressure for the auger to overcome. Not sure how it will work, but I’ll try it.

I’m a commercial setting, food grade silicon is often used as a lubricant, but a little olive oil will work, too.

 

[bpietila]

I use a LEM big bite 8. I've only ground elk and I don't add any beef or pork fat or meat. Elk only. I only grind once.

Last year was the first time I ground my own. I went overboard on trimming fat, sinew, silver skin, etc. All of it tasted amazing. But, it was very time consuming trimming and I'm sure there's tons of nutrients lost by trimming out all the day an connective tissue.

This year, since it's elk, I decided to test my grinder and see how good the elk tallow tastes mixed in. I want all the good stuff the elk has to give. So I trimmed the largest chunks of tallow and tendon off so that I didn't get a frozen pound of 50/50. All of this has tasted amazing too!! No gamey flavors at all. You do get the slick mouthfeel from the tallow, but it still tastes good.

Everything that wasn't big enough to use as a roast or cut into steaks went to grind.

I saved all the tallow I cut off so that I can use it for something... Not sure what yet.

And my grinder handled everything I threw in very well. It never bound up even though I got a couple of large tendon pieces in there.

In my experience I would not recommend mixing the tallow in with your grind meat. The tallow will get rancid very quickly once stored in the freezer.

 

[TheCougar]

Do you guys just drop the shanks in whole? Trimming the silver skin is a losing battle. I’m trying to find some efficiencies here...

 

[fish impaler]

Experiment with grinding a cut of the shank or shoulder with tons of connective tissue etc. that you might typically scrap, then cook up a burger and see what you think before proceeding. After I did that, I spend a lot less time trimming and the scrap bin is a lot smaller.

 

[Michael54]

If

Do you guys just drop the shanks in whole? Trimming the silver skin is a losing battle. I’m trying to find some efficiencies here...

If they fit down the tube yep. Just take the heavy stuff off.

 

[TheCougar]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their advice. We just finished processing the elk. We learned a lot and it went well, but I also definitely underestimated the time it would take and mess it would make. I think hanging the elk would make a huge difference on both, but that isn’t an option for me.

 

[5MilesBack]

I drop the shanks down whole and push them through. The tougher silver skin actually gets separated from the meat and stays inside the grinder on mine. The rest just grinds right up. I've heard that the shanks have great flavor, so I kept them whole on my sheep, and will throw them in the crock pot overnight until they're ready to fall apart.

 

[Chris aka stlhntr]

No lickers, wagers, filter's , or stickers, I've been a meat cutter for 22 years it's the going joke around the shop

 

[PADave]

As someone stated earlier, I probably waste more meat than others. I trim everything that I can that's not red meat prior to grinding. Those throw-aways become dog treats. I single grind w/o any mixing. The family likes pure venison. Then package in one pound portions in flat, 1-gallon ziploc bags. They stack easy in the freezer. Experiment and enjoy

 

[Erict]

All I'll add is that if you are grinding your shanks you are missing out. I always ground them until this year. Bone in or boneless, try this simple recipe for Braised venison shanks and you'll never grind them again. I was skeptical and after 3 hours the meat was real tough and I got worried, but by hour 4 it was fork tender and pulled apart easily. Mix up a quick package of Idahoan instant potatoes and you'll be eating like a king.

 

[Pro953]

Pretty well covered here, but a couple tips I use are.
- pull your plate and blade a few times over the run. At times they will build up some fat and silver skin. These being caught at the end will keep the blade from cutting against the plate and increase smearing. The sharper your blade/plate the less of a issue this is.

I rarely run a second grind, but when I do I put the first grind on a sheet plan and freeze/stiffen it back up then cut it into sticks/chunks and feed it that way. Give some structure to push the grind though and helps keep everything cold.

In my opinion the cold is more a issue with sausage than just regular grind, but always good food safety.

Congratulations and have fun. I like the processing almost as much as the hunting! Nothing more satisfying then looking at that full freezer.

Best,
Phil


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[highcountrymuley]

i cut steaks. trim and discard dirty, bloodshot/bruised meat and fat caps and thick silverskin. all good looking red meat goes into my grind pile. stuff with connective tissue and a little red goes into dog's pile. No trash in dog pile, just stuff i dont feel like trimming and taking a lot of time on.
grind once. i used to grind twice and found i don't like the mushy texture - it should still feel like meat. i tend to keep back ham trimmings seperate and wash grinder between that and then grinding the shoulder meat. I label accordingly just in case i felt something was bad after the fact...
This year i made a small elk burger from the dog's grind when i was ALL done. It tasted fantastic! I wonder if when cooking that ground stuff the connective tissue breaks down into grease... it was damn good so i labeled that "grind 3." i know it was for the dog but that's why i kept it clean - nothing i wouldn't eat in there.

 

[highcountrymuley]

oh yeah: i don't add anything (fat) to my meat. i don't feel the need. I sometimes mix game meat with pork sausage to stretch both and i like the taste.
And i don't bother to grind shanks... they are great in crockpot! Oil, season and brown on grill 10 to 15 minutes then in slow cooker for 6 hours. some tomato is good in there, the acid helps break down and gives broth excellent flavor.

 

[highcountrymuley]

Do you guys just drop the shanks in whole? Trimming the silver skin is a losing battle. I’m trying to find some efficiencies here...

C'mon man get on the shank train! they are fabulous in the crockpot. Brown 15 min on grill or broil, then 6 hours in crockpot (or dutch oven) with tomato, red wine, 4 cups or so water and seasonings. Add onion, carrot, celery, etc last hour of cooking. you will never grind a shank again. it's rough to trim and grind them so try this out and you will BELIEVE.

 

[highcountrymuley]

I kept the eye of round of my elk this year. Going to jaccard it and try cooking it like I cook my backstraps. Might try to pound it and make chicken fried steak with them. I assume they’re not as tender as backstraps?

I find steaks that you can cut out of back hams are just as tasty and tender as backstraps. I use the Jaccard too. But not to much or it makes it kinda mushy

 

[mstahlz]

As a few have commented, the meat slurry is fairly unappetizing if you overgrind. Keeping the first grind COLD (like partially frozen) seems to help the fat from smearing through the meat and becoming homogenous. I find that adding the shanks and leaving in most of the see-through silverskin helps with the texture and makes everything taste better and bind together better in the case of meat sticks, sausage links, brats, and summer sausage.

I tried the braised shanks a couple of times but found it to work but prefer whole front shoulder roasts, for shredded meat for tacos, chilis, etc. On large bodied deer and elk you get two or three per shoulder. Does and small bucks can usually fit the whole thing in the crock pot if you truss it up a bit with butcher's twine. Definitely cuts into the size of the grind pile when you save the whole shoulder, though.

 

[Stickbow]

Anyone else have an issue with silver skin gumming up in the plate holes? I just bought a new LEM grinder and I'm constantly disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling.

 

[mstahlz]

Anyone else have an issue with silver skin gumming up in the plate holes? I just bought a new LEM grinder and I'm constantly disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling.

If you keep the meat partially frozen that helps a lot. I also cut up any chunks of silver skin laden meat before grinding to help with this. For instance on shanks I'll cut across the silver skin on 1/2" strips to break up the pieces. Make sure the nut on the end of the grinder is very tight as that forces the blade up against the grinding plate and helps it slice tougher stuff.