Grinder HELP
-
Most young guys don’t think about the size and weight of equipment and many people believe bigger is always better.
The older I get, the more I think about right-sizing for my needs.
Moving, cleaning, storing and maintaining
oversized equipment in a limited work area utilizes time and energy I would prefer to use elsewhere.
My philosophy is to try to buy the best quality I can afford AND in the size I need to do the job.
There are commercial operations that use their grinders 2 or more times a week and find a #22 grinder more than adequate for the job.
FWIW, I typically grind 3-4 deer per year and another 60 lbs of pork butts /fat through a 60 year old #12 Hobart grinder.Paul
-
Most young guys don’t think about the size and weight of equipment and many people believe bigger is always better.
The older I get, the more I think about right-sizing for my needs.
Moving, cleaning, storing and maintaining
oversized equipment in a limited work area utilizes time and energy I would prefer to use elsewhere.
My philosophy is to try to buy the best quality I can afford AND in the size I need to do the job.
There are commercial operations that use their grinders 2 or more times a week and find a #22 grinder more than adequate for the job.
FWIW, I typically grind 3-4 deer per year and another 60 lbs of pork butts /fat through a 60 year old #12 Hobart grinder.processhead You hit it on the head with weight and size. When one is young, it’s not so much of an issue. As I get older, as you, I must take size and weight into consideration.
20 years ago when I got a 30 pound F. Dick, it was no problem to handle. It weighs 67 pounds.
I now struggle with the unit when moving or lifting it. Still a great unit, but would love a smaller one even if I had to fill it more often.
-
Most young guys don’t think about the size and weight of equipment and many people believe bigger is always better.
The older I get, the more I think about right-sizing for my needs.
Moving, cleaning, storing and maintaining
oversized equipment in a limited work area utilizes time and energy I would prefer to use elsewhere.
My philosophy is to try to buy the best quality I can afford AND in the size I need to do the job.
There are commercial operations that use their grinders 2 or more times a week and find a #22 grinder more than adequate for the job.
FWIW, I typically grind 3-4 deer per year and another 60 lbs of pork butts /fat through a 60 year old #12 Hobart grinder.processhead I definitely am not of the school of bigger is better, but simple high quality. That is an area that a whole lot of folks do not understand or in my opinion are confused about. Often times along those lines, just as you mentioned, less is more! However, I want lifetime service which often comes from not overworking what you have, serviceable equipment, & if the opportunity is there to get what I can reasonably afford today to prevent more expense tomorrow, I am all for it. In this case, you are absolutely right, this is not a whole lot of every day service, year after year, yet. However, those are fairly large animals & the ability to get them processed quickly & efficiently without having to worry about your equipment, year after year, will pay off 10 fold over time. I do respect what you are saying though & in many cases on many things I would be behind you 110%, but in this case, to me, there is just no hesitation at all between the #22 & the #32, that I would take the #32 in a heartbeat, so long as I could afford it. If the cost is that critical though, I probably would not be able to afford the #22 either & as much as the savings is there, might not be able to afford to process those large animals either.
-
Okay, just my .02¢. I know a few processors and they are running #22’s and one won’t even think about a buffalo chopper because he can run the meat through the grinder another time or two. I own a #8, #12 & #22 and the #22 is a beast to start moving around, but it will grind faster than I can feed it, all three will outlast me. Buy quality and what you can afford. Talk with some folks that use those tools daily and see what lessons they can pass along. I don’t think that you would be disappointed with either. There is a lot of good information and lessons being shared here. I don’t have issues with any of my grinders and two are over 20yrs old. Buy quality once and be happy
-
Buy whatever makes you happy. Everyone’s needs and wants are different. I have a couple of #12s and they do just fine for me. I only grind 400-500 pounds a year, and they work great for me. I have stated this before when this topic came up, but I will say it again. My meat processing stuff is kept in the basement. The older I get, the more pain in the butt it is carrying the equipment up and down the stairs, so when I purchase something, I take the weight into consideration. Ok, I will step down now
-
If you only grind once which size plates are you using in your #22 or #32 grinders? We always grind twice for any sausage we do. First with the 7mm-coarse, then we mix in seasoning, and 2nd grind with the 4.5mm-fine plate. The 1st grind goes pretty fast with our #12 grinder but the 2nd grind takes a bit longer. Do most of you grind your sausage 2 times or only once? Maybe we aren’t doing it right.
-
If you only grind once which size plates are you using in your #22 or #32 grinders? We always grind twice for any sausage we do. First with the 7mm-coarse, then we mix in seasoning, and 2nd grind with the 4.5mm-fine plate. The 1st grind goes pretty fast with our #12 grinder but the 2nd grind takes a bit longer. Do most of you grind your sausage 2 times or only once? Maybe we aren’t doing it right.
Mschmidt it depends on the type of sausage I am making. I have sausage recipes that take three types of grind. A portion coarse, fine and emulsified. As JoeB Has said, make it like you remember it and your taste. The second grind is going to take longer, keep the meat really cold, bordering on frozen, freeze your grinder head and plates and refrigerate anything else in the process. That will improve your grind time and grind. Don’t overfeed your grinder throat, the plunger should only needed to be used sparingly.
-
If you only grind once which size plates are you using in your #22 or #32 grinders? We always grind twice for any sausage we do. First with the 7mm-coarse, then we mix in seasoning, and 2nd grind with the 4.5mm-fine plate. The 1st grind goes pretty fast with our #12 grinder but the 2nd grind takes a bit longer. Do most of you grind your sausage 2 times or only once? Maybe we aren’t doing it right.
Mschmidt It depends, sometimes I just grind once with a coarse plate, 3/8" on my old #32. Sometimes I go back in again with my 1/8" plate. I mainly just use either 1/8" mor 3/16" I believe on the smaller old #8s. I have never done the large grind on the small grinders. I have one old USA made #8, a newer #8, & an older, but China made unfortunately #32. I wish I had purchased a better quality #32 when I did about 20 years ago as I feel like it would probably be performing better. I have some original plate & knife sets that still work great on the old #8 & newer Salvinox sets on the other units.
-
If grinding for sausage, almost always grind twice.
If grinding coarse meat for chilli, I might just run it through the 3/8th inch plate a single time.I see you are asking about #22 or #32 grinders.
Mine is a #12. -
If you only grind once which size plates are you using in your #22 or #32 grinders? We always grind twice for any sausage we do. First with the 7mm-coarse, then we mix in seasoning, and 2nd grind with the 4.5mm-fine plate. The 1st grind goes pretty fast with our #12 grinder but the 2nd grind takes a bit longer. Do most of you grind your sausage 2 times or only once? Maybe we aren’t doing it right.
Mschmidt just like you I always grind twice.
-
If you only grind once which size plates are you using in your #22 or #32 grinders? We always grind twice for any sausage we do. First with the 7mm-coarse, then we mix in seasoning, and 2nd grind with the 4.5mm-fine plate. The 1st grind goes pretty fast with our #12 grinder but the 2nd grind takes a bit longer. Do most of you grind your sausage 2 times or only once? Maybe we aren’t doing it right.
Mschmidt We always grind sausage twice, I think you are doing it right, it always takes longer for the second grind because the grinder auger doesn’t have as much to grab on to. I have found that my #32 grinder does better on second grind than the #22.
-
If you only grind once which size plates are you using in your #22 or #32 grinders? We always grind twice for any sausage we do. First with the 7mm-coarse, then we mix in seasoning, and 2nd grind with the 4.5mm-fine plate. The 1st grind goes pretty fast with our #12 grinder but the 2nd grind takes a bit longer. Do most of you grind your sausage 2 times or only once? Maybe we aren’t doing it right.
Mschmidt I’ve had my hands in sausage batter for 65+years. Sausage should taste and have the texture as you remember it. Polish, Chorizo, Andouille, Italian, are just a few with a course grind 1/4-5/8". Hotdogs, Brats, Bockwurst, White Wurst, and alike are a fine grind… 1/16-1/4" maybe double grind. I don’t double grind. For me 1/8" mixed well w/100gm water and 1 egg white for a binder per kg for stuffing and texture is the way i like it. Remember the history of sausage… The Romans didn’t carry around a grinder into battle, on horseback. Many countries after wwI, wwII were just happy to have meat, and spices dominate in their country/location. I saw many Great tasting sausages hand cut and stuffed by hand with thumb in horn. What did the great world-wide sausage makers do before electricity? This is your sausage, and you have the great privilege of also eating all your mistakes. To each their own Sausage Warrior… Cheers
-
Mschmidt it depends on the type of sausage I am making. I have sausage recipes that take three types of grind. A portion coarse, fine and emulsified. As JoeB Has said, make it like you remember it and your taste. The second grind is going to take longer, keep the meat really cold, bordering on frozen, freeze your grinder head and plates and refrigerate anything else in the process. That will improve your grind time and grind. Don’t overfeed your grinder throat, the plunger should only needed to be used sparingly.
YooperDog Thank you for the mention, hope all is well w/you and yours… Be safe Warrior
-
Mschmidt I have reverse feature on my grinder but I do not remember ever using it.
-
But what about needing the reverse for attaching the mixer? We are supposed to mix one way and they the other, so reverse would be needed, correct
Mschmidt Jonathan, commented on this as not needing to mix in both directions. Might do a search on this, can’t remember if it was a post or podcast.
-
But what about needing the reverse for attaching the mixer? We are supposed to mix one way and they the other, so reverse would be needed, correct
Mschmidt Jon did state that the paddles in the new 50lb mixer do not require reverse. I have the #22 cabelas carnivore and the matching 50lb mixer. I purchased these solely due to the reverse feature. I have never used the new waltons mixer so I dont have a comparison but I like having reverse in my mixing process.
-
Kind of bummed as customer service just said that the Weston 44lb mixer we bought from Waltons won’t work on the #32 grinder.
Mschmidt sounds like you need to find a #12 or #22 weston butcher series or cabelas pre carnivore grinder to power your mixer! Thats what I have. I power the mixer with the #22 carnivore and do most of my grinding with the #12 cabelas pre carnivore (weston butcher series) grinder. I got a deal on the #12 grinder used for $40 only missing the top feed tray, so I could not pass it up.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register LoginSponsored By:
