Meat Processing Equipment 101 - Grinders

[Jonathon]

dudeweembo Well the Weston Pro and Butcher #22 and #32 (and some #12s) are now basically impossible to find. I’ve recently heard good things about them being back in stock soon but I’ve been burned too many times to give anyone a date on that until they are firmly in hand!

I will say this, the #22, #32 in either Westons brand our ours will absolutely get the job done. Our grinders will have some advantages in design that will allow you to use commercial-style plates and knives or retail ones but if you wait for them it MIGHT be a month or so longer than the Weston ones. Our Walton’s grinders will also hook up to the Weston 44 lb meat mixer so either way your grinder will do the mixing for you!

[dudeweembo]

Jonathon Thank you for the insight! I think I’ll wait it out for the Walton’s Grinders Sounds like they will be the best option. Most likely a #22 for me

[Jonathon]

dudeweembo To say we are excited for these grinders is a vast understatement! First, having any 22 or 32 grinders will be great but with these changes we really think we’re going to be selling a great product!

[dudeweembo]

Jonathon I’m getting ancy pancy here lol any updates on the Walton’s grinders? I would love to pre-order one just so I can secure gettting one I’ll be better at being patient

[Jonathon]

dudeweembo Lol reminds me of super troopers when they run into the town cops in the diner! So, we are hoping to have them before thanksgiving but I highly doubt we will get it very much before then, sorry!

[Chef]

Jonathon Which plates and knifes are the commercial ones, How do I tell the difference? Thanks

[Jonathon]

Chef commercial plates and knives are only available on #12 and up (i am 90% sure of that) and any plate with a “hub” on it is a commercial-style plate and any knife that doesn’t have the curved blades is a commercial-style plate. There are however commercial-style plates that don’t have hubs on them, on our website any plate or knife that isn’t from Weston will be considered commercial style. You can tell if they are weston by it NOT saying weston in the extended description (scroll down on the products webpage) or if it does not say the size in MM in the image.

[Jonathon]

THis is an example of a non hubbed plate that is “commercial” https://www.waltonsinc.com/32-x-3-8-edge-grinder-plate and this is a Weston one that wouldn’t be https://www.waltonsinc.com/32-x-3-8-grinder-plate

[Chef]

Jonathon so do the commercial plates all have the three notches ?

[Jonathon]

Chef For the most part, there are also styles called Toledo that has one edge flat and Cleveland that has two edges flat but I don’t know of any plates we carry that are single notched that are commercial quality

[Chef]

Jonathon Thanks for being patient, I’m in a step learning curve, but stepping up the game big time. Need that #32 grinder. When it takes me 4 hours to grind and 25 mins to stuff, well, that’s a problem.

[Jonathon]

Yeah, 4 hours is too long. On another post someone else was complaining about the time it took to do a second grind and I don’t know if I had ever shared this before but the best way to do a second grind is to NOT force it down the throat with a stomper. It is actually to just put a little bit down, then let the auger take it and once that has cleared the grooves of the auger that you can see from the top of the throat then add a little more and repeat.

[gChart]

Hey guys, I could use a little info. I usually grind around 3 deer a year and some pork to mix in. I have been using the (Weston 575-watt #8 grinder)[https://www.waltonsinc.com/weston-8-meat-grinder-575-watt]. But because of how small the throat and auger are, I have to cut very small pieces of meat (time consuming) and doing a second grind seems nearly impossible (so I usually just do a single 3/16" grind).

I’m debating about getting a new grinder, especially with the new Walton’s grinders coming out. If I get one (that is, if I can convince the wife), I’m trying to decide between a #12 and a #22. Obviously, bigger is almost always better. But on the same token, it might be easier to convince her of the less-expensive (#12) model.

So… how much better is a #22 over a #12? I’m mostly concerned with the ability to get through a second grind and not needing to chunk up the meat as much. Time savings is ok, but not a huge concern given my fairly low volume (100-200 lbs per year).

PS - I’m not concerned with stuffing with the grinder; I have a separate stuffer.

[craigrice]

keeping your meat as cold as possible almost stiff on the second grind helps a lot with that said my opinion is that a #12 will last you a long time with the amt. that you do , I use a 750 watt #12, small and I have no complaints other than it will wake the dead with the noise

[Jonathon]

gChart So with my wife I often start pitching the bigger more expensive thing and then act like I am being reasonable and switch to the smaller less expensive thing. It is a tactic that has usually served me well and one that I think is fairly well known. The issue is, if I see she is going along with it and I try to go back to my larger option she will say “you just said you don’t need that!”

Difference between the Walton’s 12 and 22 will be all about HP and lb per minute. I will double check this but I am confident there is almost no difference between the throat from the pan to the auger in a 12 and a 22. Either way you will be much happier with either of those verse the small #8 you are using now.

I second what craigrice is saying about cold cold cold. It always helps, especially with the 2nd grind through a small plate on that second grind.

[PapaSop]

gChart
Not gonna sugar coat this. IMO a #22 is a beast compared to the rest. #12 will serve your purpose for a long time but… Just depends on how much you process and your budget. The #22 is worth it to me even if doing a smaller batch. So much easier… especially the second grind.

[kyle]

gChart the best thing to do is just win the one Waltons is giving away this month. And if you dont, buy one and just tell the wife you did. Kidding of course, I have a #12 and am very happy with it. I dont know what the weight of each one is, but that’s another thing to consider. I dont have a place to leave mine set up, so I carry it up and down from the basement.

[gChart]

kyle said in Meat Processing Equipment 101 - Grinders:

gChart the best thing to do is just win the one Waltons is giving away this month.

I know! I’ve made every entry I can. Maybe I’d have better odds if I slip Jonathon a nice package from Crane Brewing…

I tried a blend of tactics with the wife. I talked about our #8 being too small, and saying that I don’t think we need to go all the way to a #32. But the #12 and #22… if we’re going to get one, might as well get one we’ll always be happy with and won’t regret “settling on” (that is, the “buy once, cry once” method). So I’m pretty sure a #22 will be in my shopping cart this weekend. Thanks for the tips Jonathon, craigrice, PapaSop, and kyle! Oh and yes, I’ll try making sure the meat is nearly frozen for that second grind.

[AdamCA]

I bought the Weston #12 countertop model a few years ago and after using it twice I realized it was just too loud and too slow. I ended up giving that to a friend I train Jiu Jitsu with and bought the Weston Butcher series #22. It was a night and day difference in performance plus I can cut the meat into fist sized chunks instead of bite sized which saves plenty of time but it is just so much faster on both first and second grinds. I would recommend you go with the #22, you will not be disappointed I promise.

[Jonathon]

gChart I assume you aren’[t saying you work for crane, because if you do I want to come out for a tour!