Dough hook?

[wdpd57]

Has anyone ever tried using a heavy duty stand mixer like a kitchenaid with a dough hook on low speed to mix meat or blend in spices? I think I could do approximately 8 lb at a time, in a 5 quart mixer bowl.

[YooperDog]

wdpd57 are you looking at making fresh or cured sausage? I hand mix both, but I know others have used mixers to mix their cured meats for protein extraction. I suspect either will work but I think the paddle will give you better extraction than the dough hook.

[John Belvedere]

I have used my KitchenAid mixer a few times doing 5-8 lbs. of meat. The bowl on the mixer I have has a 6 qt. capacity. When I used it to mix meat I used the paddle not the dough hook and I’ve had good results. Like you stated in your question it was on a slow speed.

[wdpd57]

I’m just making fresh sausage at this point, usually 15 lb or less at a time. Thanks for the idea about the paddle, I thought it might be too much. I think I will try before investing in a meat mixer.

[John Belvedere]

wdpd57 said in Dough hook?:

I’m just making fresh sausage at this point, usually 15 lb or less at a time. Thanks for the idea about the paddle, I thought it might be too much. I think I will try before investing in a meat mixer.

I’ve only KitchenAid for a few small batches. Any time I have a larger batch (10-20 lbs.) I use a meat mixer. If you break up your 15 lb. batch into 2-3 batches and mix them in your KitchenAid you will still need to mix them all together to make sure you have the proper disbursement of spices in the 15 lbs. if you are doing 15 lbs. at a time I would highly recommend a meat mixer. Small batch KitchenAid, Large batch meat mixer.

[processhead]

You can split large batches like John Belvedere describes and not have to worry about spice disbursement if you accurately weigh your blended spices as well as the meat so that proportional amounts of each are combined in the mixer. No need to combine and remix the two sub-batches that way.

[bocephus]

wdpd57 I have used the paddle in my wife’s but not the dough hook. I think 8 lbs in a 5 quart bowl might be a bit much.

[smokinbubba]

I have done it with the paddle, but only for small test batches. Medium sized batches go in the 15lb manual mixer. Large batches (over 15lbs go in the 50lb hooked to my #22 carnivore grinder motor. These old shoulders cant hand crank like they used to…

[bocephus]

smokinbubba I do a 5 lb batch in my wife’s 6 qt kitchen aide mixer, anything over that I move to my 20 lb meat mixer. I am thinking about getting a bigger one to hook into my grinder.

[shoprat53]

Yes I use A hand mixer with A dough hook and A paddle do between 5-8 pounds at A time. I always have good luck, have never had A fat out.

[Deepwoodsbutcher]

wdpd57 Yep. Mine has a 6 quart bowl. I use it to mix 5 pound batches of meatballs (taking care not to over mix) and snacksticks. I use the paddle attachment, not the dough hook. Works great.

[craigrice]

I have used my kitchen aid with some batches that were over the size of the mixer I hand mix to get the seasoning distributed then split the amt. in half mix with the paddle on both till protein extraction ,then combine and a short hand mix to blend before stuffing