Meat grinder rec?

[Howie Hart]

Currently I have two meat grinders, one inherited from my grandmother, one from my mother. Both are hand crank and neither has attachments for stuffing sausage. So, I'd like to buy an electric one that can stuff sausage yet not spend a fortune. Any recommendataions?

[Mike Filigenzi]

Currently I have two meat grinders, one inherited from my grandmother, one from my mother. Both are hand crank and neither has attachments for stuffing sausage. So, I'd like to buy an electric one that can stuff sausage yet not spend a fortune. Any recommendataions?

We use one that's an attachment for our Kitchenaid. Works great, if you have the Kitchenaid.

Mike

[Howie Hart]

We use one that's an attachment for our Kitchenaid. Works great, if you have the Kitchenaid.

Mike

I do not have a Kitchenaid (mixer I assume - I have smaller Kitchenaid food processor), but that's a thought, as my mixer is a 30-year old Hamilton Beach.

[Mike Filigenzi]

We use one that's an attachment for our Kitchenaid. Works great, if you have the Kitchenaid.

Mike

I do not have a Kitchenaid (mixer I assume - I have smaller Kitchenaid food processor), but that's a thought, as my mixer is a 30-year old Hamilton Beach.

If you're up for the investment, I'd recommend it. Our Kitchenaid is a really fine piece of equipment. My wife's owned it for at least fifteen years and she's put a lot of miles on it - we use it probably 5 days out of seven. There's never been a hint of a problem with it. It's possible the newer ones aren't built as well, but based on our experience I'd recommend it without reservation.

The meat grinder works well for the sausage and such that we do, and you can get funnels to go with it that make for pretty easy stuffing.

Mike

[Christina Georgina]

I also use the attachment on the Kitchenaid. It works well. My only criticism relates to the grinder-specifically, I would like to have an even larger holed plate for grinding. It comes with two -coarse and fine but it is not coarse enough for some sausages. I get around this somewhat my making sure the meat and fat are well chilled but it is not quite the right texture.

[Bill Spohn]

Geez - from the title I thought this would be a primer on dating and marriage.....

I am not sold on the electric versions. I still have an old mechanical hand cranked version with an attachment that fits over the output for stuffing sausages, and it offers better control (especially if you happen to be sausage stuffing with your mate, and you know what they say, the couple that....well never mind).

I also like the way the old mechanical grinders break down for cleaning - quick and easy - better than many electric grinders.

I guess electric meat grinders are right up there with elkectric knives and electric pepper grinders - sure, they work, but aside from a few limited functions (the electric knife can cut jelly like foods without squashing them), I just don't see the point in all this new-fangled frippery.

Bill
(who still uses a manual toothbrush, a manual whisk, various hand saws, and has a brace and bit somewhere around here.....)

[Christina Georgina]

Having the meat grinder/sausage stuffer attachment on my Kitchen Aid is only a little frou-frou. My badge of un-gadgetry is that I have never owned a microwave and probably never will. Nevertheless...I agree that the manual grinders are more flexible in terms of consistency of grind but when it comes to stuffing, the motorized ones allow for a single hand[ed] job.

[ScottD]

I've got a Porkert hand crank that I really like. And you can buy various plates and stuffing tubes online, fairly inexpensively too. I did find a manual stuffer at a sale though and have to admit that it's a ton more efficient than trying to use the grinder as the stuffer. But the tubes I bought for the grinder actually work for it also. The right tool for the job, as they say.

[Niki (Dayton OH)]

I've never tried a manual meat grinder, but I adore my KitchenAide. I have the meat grinder, sausage stuffer, plus the ice cream maker and the pasta roller. I don't bake much and didn't think I'd use the machine enough to make it worthwhile, but I was oh so wrong....the attachments really make it versatile!