"Dee Dee" wrote:
> "Nancy2"
> > Sheldon wrote:
> >> "Peter" wrote:
> >> > "Sheldon" wrote:
> >> > > "Peter" wrote:
> >> > >> Received a cuisinart food processor for a wedding gift, a 7 cup
> >> > >> model
> >> > >> (came
> >> > >> with a second mini food processor as well).
>
> >> > >>http://www.cuisinart.com/catalog/pro...=30&item_id=59...
>
> >> > >> I've only had it 3 days but so far made a nice cheese dip and used
> >> > >> to it
> >> > >> fine chop cabbage for chinese dumplings :-)
>
> >> > >> Is it worth my time in effort to grind my own meat with it? I was
> >> > >> thinking
> >> > >> a coarser grind would be nicer compared to the usual store bought
> >> > >> ground
> >> > >> meats for many dishes. Does anyone here do this regularly and can
> >> > >> comment
> >> > >> or
> >> > >> offer advice? I don't envision buying a proper meat grinder anytime
> >> > >> soon.
>
> >> > > A food processor is far better than mystery meat... but you really
> >> > > ought to buy a meat grinder.
>
> >> > > Sheldon
>
> >> > Sheldon, I'll probably give this a go and if it does not satisfy my
> >> > needs I
> >> > may end up doing so. Suggestions for brand names and models? I don't
> >> > want
> >> > to sacrifice an early retirement on one but I would want one that lasts
> >> > for
> >> > life.
>
> >> You can spend a lot more but I bought this Waring as a step up from my
> >> slightly smaller Moulinex and it works
> >> great:http://www.chefscatalog.com/product/...sional-meat-gr...
>
> >> I think if you shop around you can find it for less, I paid $160 two
> >> years ago...
> >> hehttp://www.homeclick.com/web/catalog...x?pid=115252&c...
>
> > You can buy a hand grinder - the kind like grandma used to clamp onto
> > the edge of the kitchen table. They work great; they're easy to
> > clean, and there's nothing that ever breaks, really.
>
> >http://tinyurl.com/ypyfxv
>
> > Lehmans is a great source for old-fashioned, reliable stuff - and
> > grinding meat isn't so hard, even for me. The one I have is probably
> > at least 75 years old - and there's nothing wrong with it at all.
>
> > N.
>
> Be careful (nowadays?) buying a hand-grinder for grinding meat. I bought
> one maybe 7 years ago, and it didn't last but one or two grindings before
> the finish (was it tinned?) came off in tiny pieces. I wasn't even grinding
> meat with it. It wasn't exactly cheap, either, maybe $80 at that time. I
> learned my lesson buying something while traveling; I never returned it, so
> I'm still a little ticked.
>
> Dee Dee
Like anything else hand grinders are made in many quality levels, you
get what you pay for. A quality hand grinder costs just as much as a
quality electric grinder... in fact there are kits available for
converting a quality hand grinder to motorized.
I don't recommend a hand grinder, they don't work nearly as well as a
motorized grinder, the results are not very good because it's near
impossible to maintain constant speed for more than about a minute,
they are slow, and probably won't get used very much if at all because
they require a lot of muscle... most people employ a helper, one
grinds one feeds... there are lots of accidents... never have a helper
when using any grinder, in fact no one else should be in the kitchen,
meat grinders require ones full attention. Hand meat grinders were
once very popular with hunters because they had no electricity at
their lodge, it was plenty cold so they needed no electricity for
refrigeration but they had no choice about the grinder, now they have
lightweight portable generators. Serious hunters don't bring back
the entire animal, they dress, butcher out the prime sections and
grind the remainder... they come home with a manageable sized
package. I have two long time friends I worked with for over 25 years
who at least once a year go elk hunting in Alaska, they're flown in
and picked up ten days later. They need to butcher the meat and leave
all the scrap because of weight limitations with those small planes.
There's more involved with rules about sharing with the natives but
that's the gist of it.
It wasn't all that many years ago that people had no electricity in
their homes either, so hand meat grinders were used. My grand
parents used hand grinders, they cooked with wood and coal, they had
no electric, they used gas lights, and an ice box because a gas fridge
was too costly... and this was in NYC... my parents had a gas stove
but still we had an icebox until I was ten years old, we heated with
coal too. But these days most everyone takes electric for granted,
anyone who is desirous of a hand grinder instead of electric is merely
on a nostalgia trip... you'll use it once and relagate it to the
basement. I can just see yoose finding a place to clamp it where it
won't damage your fancy schmancy furniture... oh, it'll fit nicely on
the end of your granite counter (crack). People can afford mega bucks
designer kitchens and all sorts of expensive appliances but can't
scrape up the few bucks for a decent meat grinder.
You can buy a pretty good little electric meat grinder for home use
for $100, but for a few dollars more you can get one the next size up
that works far better. Not a week goes by I don't use my meat grinder
for something other than grinding meat so it's not money spent on
something that sits around collecting dust. A meat grinder does many
common kitchen chores with much better results than with a food
processor... the beauty of a meat grinder is that everything passes
through the business end just once, nothing can get over processed...
you have total control over the grind from beginning to end, every bit
comes out with the exact same consistancy.
You can't grind meat with a food processor, anyone says they can is
fooling themself... in fact you can't grind anything with a food
processor, not any meats, not nuts, not bread crumbs, nothing... a
meat grinder even does a better job of grating hard vegetables;
potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.
I like my new Waring Pro for many reasons, one being it's taller than
typical home grinders, with my old smaller grinder there was always a
problem with finding a large bowl that was also low enough to fit.
Most times I had to use a platter to catch whatever I was grinding and
then tranfer to a mixing bowl, just created something else to clean...
not a big thing but with the taller grinder I have many more choices
of what to use to catch food plus it's just generally a more
comfortable work height. Of course with the larger grinding head the
grind is a much nicer consistancy... with smaller grinding heads
there's more back pressure, which creates smearing. Even with larger
grinders if you want a finer grind it's usually more preferable to
grind twice than to use a plate with smaller holes.
I'm convinced it's psychological, people are truly embarassed for
anyone to know they need to grind their own meat because they can't
afford the so-called luxury of store ground... there is no other
logical explanation for why people are so adverse to owning a meat
grinder, other than that they are so obstinate that their stubborness
can't be other than construed as a psychological illness.
Sheldon