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The LEM #10 Hand-Cranked Stainless Steel Meat Grinder

 Copyright © April 16, 2010 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.

Introduction

Meat Grinder Meat grinders can be either electric or manually operated. During a hard times event electricity may not be available when you really need it so I suggest you consider a manually operated meat grinder instead of an electric one. Although it does require some physical energy to grind meat by hand, the amount of effort required is not exhaustive or significantly fatiguing.

Meat grinders are usually made of either plated metal or stainless steel. The plated grinders are made of cheaper metal and the plating will gradually chip off the grinder and rust will attack the grinder. Therefore, I recommend that you avoid any type of plated metal meat grinder. Instead, I suggest that you invest in a stainless steel meat grinder. A stainless steel meat grinder is the type of equipment you could pass on as a kitchen "heirloom" to one of your children or grandchildren, if you take care of it during your lifetime.

The LEM #10 Stainless Steel Hand Meat Grinder shown in the picture on the right is the meat grinder I recommend for the following reasons:
  1. In February of 2011 this meat grinder is available for approximately $83 on "Amazon.com" with an additional $10 shipping fee. Therefore the total delivered cost is approximately $93.
  2. It comes with two grinding plates so you can select between a coarse grind or a fine grind.
  3. It comes with a plastic stuffing tube flange, three plastic stuffing tubes, and a metal stuffing star.
  4. It comes with two white rubber protective feet instead of the two black rubber feet shown in the box illustration.
  5. It can quickly and easily be temporarily mounted to the edge of any solid wood surface as shown in the picture. Therefore, after you are finished using it, you can remove it, disassemble it, and wash the entire unit in some hot soapy dish water. Then you can rinse and dry the entire unit and store it out of the way until the next time you need it.
  6. Since the handle is made of wood, you need to be careful when you clean it. In other words, do not let it soak for an extended period of time in the dish water or you will ruin the wood handle. Wash the wood handle quickly but thoroughly and then immediately rinse and dry the handle to protect the wood from water damage.
Caution: LEM makes a #10 Stainless Steel Meat Grinder and a #10 Plated Metal Meat Grinder. The plated metal grinder sells for about one-half the price of the stainless steel grinder. Please verify that you are getting the stainless steel grinder before you make your purchase.

Advantages of a Meat Grinder

Following are some of the reasons why you might wish to consider making an investment in one of these stainless steel meat grinders.

A hand turned meat grinder has the following advantages:
  1. Converts tough cuts of meat and wild game meat into hamburger consistency.
  2. All red ground meat looks approximately the same.
  3. Ground meat will minimize the number of future complaints you will hear from your family.
  4. Ground meat is easier to use in a wider variety of recipes.
  5. Ground meat more easily and completely absorbs any seasonings you may have.
  6. Ground meat cooks faster and more thoroughly than thicker cuts of meat.
  7. Ground meat is easier for most people to chew and it is easier for most people to digest.
You will also need some meat seasoning tenderizer, some chili seasoning, some taco seasoning, some sloppy joe seasoning, and any other seasonings that your family normally enjoys.

A Few Tips on How to Grind Meat

Cut the meat into cubes between one-half inch up to one-inch in size.
If the meat does not contain much fat and you are adding fat from another source, then cut the meat into one-half inch cubes.
If you are blending two or more different types of meat together then cut the meat into one-half inch cubes.

Tender meat should be coarse ground.
Tough meat or meat with lots of sinews should be fine ground.

A coarse grind is preferred for hamburgers because it helps the meat hold together while cooking.
A fine grind helps the meat absorb the meat seasonings and to blend more evenly with other recipe ingredients.

Chill the meat before grinding. Cold meat is easier to grind than meat at room temperature.
If the meat is still too tough after grinding, then put the ground meat through the meat grinder a second time.

Respectfully,
Grandpappy.

Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com

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