Monica Hewitt is an accomplished chef with an extensive background in setting up kitchens around the world. From selecting kitchenware and kitchen utensils to menu planning, Monica has been responsible for establishing complete restaurants from the ground up. As the Kitchen and Cooking Expert at Homesthetics, Monica is in charge of reviewing and curating all cooking and kitchen-related content on the platform. In her free time, Monica is a good sport, enjoying critiquing our homemade meals around the clock and telling us what could have been improved in sandwiches.
When mincing meat for your spaghetti bolognese, classic lasagna, and sloppy joes, the best home appliance is a manual meat grinder.
The question now is:how to use a manual meat grinder?
To help you find the answer to that question and have you use your manual meat grinder properly, here is a complete guide for beginners. Let's get grinding!
In using the meat grinder, these are the things you need to remember: preparation, grinding, and cleaning.
Here are the six quick steps to using a meat grinder!
1. Fix the Meat Grinder
First, you must assemble the meat grinder and fix its position on a stable surface intended for it or your countertop.
Ensure that every part is properly attached before using them. You can even crank or rock the meat grinder to ensure its stability.
2. Prepare the Meat
Afterward, ready the meat you will run through the manual grinder machine. To help you, here is how you can prepare your meat:
Trim the cartilage, excess tendon, and excess fat of your meat
Cut your meat into smaller pieces with a cutting knife
Put your pre-ground meat without excess fat in the freezer until it feels cold
Once you get the cold meat out of the freezer, you can proceed with the next step.
Tip
Putting it inside the refrigerator or fridge will help keep the flavorful-essential fat intact.
3. Get the Bowl Ready
The next step is to get a bowl and position it under the exit end of the manual meat grinder.
Bear in mind that the bowl you will use to catch your fresh ground meat should have the following characteristics:
Sterilized
Clean
Dry
Large
One of the expert tips we can share is that freezing your bowl can do the trick if you don't have a sterilizer. Just ensure you put in the clean bowl to freeze for at least 10 minutes.
4. Start Grinding and Crank the Meat Using the Handle
Lower the first piece of meat chunks into the manual meat grinder using a meat pusher to guide it through the hopper. Then, rotate the handle to push ground meat out through the exit.
As you continuously rotate the handle, simultaneously insert, in a gradual manner, the remaining meat pieces. Repeat this process until you have transformed your protein into delicious ground meat.
5. Remove the Last Few Bits of Meat from Your Grinder
Once you've run all your meat into the manual meat grinder, it's time to clear it out.
To do this, you will need moist bread pieces. These bread slices will be inserted into the manual meat grinder as you did to the meat.
With this process, you get to sweep the remaining meat from the meat grinders to save on cleaning time and make the process more hygienic.
6. Disassemble and Clean the Meat Grinder
An indispensable part of using the manual meat grinder is disassembling and cleaning its parts after every use.
When cleaning the manual grinders, make sure that you wipe the nooks and crannies, or else the following may happen to your manual meat grinders:
become rusty
develop molds
get infested by insects
attract rodents
develop stinky smell
Aside from wiping it clean, please ensure the grinders' parts are dry before you store them properly in your designated storage space.
How to Assemble a Manual Meat Grinder - A 4-Step Guide
Of course, before you can use manual meat grinders, there is a need to assemble the equipment. Here is a step-by-step guide to assembling manual meat grinders:
1. Clean the Meat Grinder Components
In assembling, you should always start by cleaning the manual grinder. Here is how you can clean it thoroughly and correctly:
Disassemble
Soak the metal and steel parts in warm soapy water
Hand-wash all the components
Clean the internal and external parts of manual grinders
Dry with a cloth
2. Fix the Handle
After cleaning the grind machine, you can proceed by fitting the handle into the main body of the meat grinder.
The key here is to fix it as tightly as possible because wobbly handles will make grinding difficult. It can even damage your grinder.
3. Fix the Grind Plate and the Cutting Blades
When the handle's in place, fix the grinding plate and the cutting blade. In doing this, ensure you use the appropriate plates and blades to easily cut the meat pieces perfectly for your burgers.
4. Mount the Meat Grinder
The last step in assembling meat grinders is to place them on the kitchen surface or anywhere that will stabilize them. Also, the surface where you will put the meat grinder must be firm for quality results.
How Does a Meat Grinder Work?
A meat grinder machine uses its plates and blades to slice cold meat into the desired texture and shape based on what type of plate and blade you incorporate.
For this, the smaller the holes are in the plate, the better the meat quality it produces.
You then use a hand-cranked mechanism to spin the blade that finely chops the meat. This crank is secured by a screw and a built-in clamp. It's connected to the auger to grind the meat.
Essential Parts of a Meat Grinder
To help you get acquainted with the grinding machine, some of the important factors to know are its parts. A grinder consists of the following:
Auger
Chopping blade
Grinding plate
Handle or hand crank
Hopper
Ring
Screw and clamp
Is a Manual Meat Grinder Worth It?
Yes, a manual meat grinder is worth it because of the following advantages:
Straightforward process when using a manual meat grinder
Easy grinding of meat chunks used for cooking in any food or recipe (e.g., sausage)
Space-saver
It can be used to mill vegetables, a fruit, and a bone
Common Problems When Using Hand Crank Grinders
You can also encounter some problems when you use a manual meat grinder. Some of these problems are listed below:
You need a helping hand to maneuver the hand crank while you insert the meat or vice versa
If you're not careful and don't use a pusher, you may lose your fingers
Manual vs. Electric Meat Grinders
If you're torn between using a manual grinding machine or an electric meat grinder, here are the things that you should know:
A manual grinder will save you money because it's cheaper
A manual grinder is not dependent on electricity, lowering electricity costs
A manual grinder is lightweight compared to an electric one
The following are the frequently asked inquiries about manual meat grinders:
Are Manual Meat Grinders Worth It?
Due to the required labor, manual meat grinders are best for people who won’t need to process much meat at once.
Yet, they are significantly less expensive than electric meat grinders, making them an excellent choice for people on a tight budget.
How Hard Is It to Use a Manual Meat Grinder?
Because most manual meat grinders only require turning a crank to grind meat, they are simple to use.
Yet, if you have to handle a lot of food at once, the design’s simplicity can also be one of the largest obstacles because it can lead to hand and arm fatigue.
How Do I Choose a Manual Meat Grinder for My Home?
The best meat mincers and grinders should have strong, heavy-duty motors, a large cutting group, and anodized aluminum and stainless steel construction to withstand corrosion.
A crucial component is a switch that reverses the flow to clear obstructions.
Is Bellemain Meat Grinder a Reliable Brand?
It is easy to assemble, take apart, and clean up. The best hand meat grinder brand out there is this one. Amazing quality is present.
Now that you know how to use a manual meat grinder, you'll be able to grind meat efficiently, even if you're not a butcher. Cooking and meat-based recipe work have now become even more accessible.
Remember that the key to using a meat grinder is summarized in these three processes: preparation, grinding, and cleaning.
