Is it financially worth it to buy a meat grinder

[THEFAN]

It's a good idea I think to have one even if your not sure if it will come in handy or not. Even if it may or may not save you money. It's an item that someday we all just might need on a daily bases. As to what type there have been a lot of good refs above. Oster is nice and where to get them , well again there have been some great ideas above. I personally if it matters off ebay. I also picked up an extra at an antique shop. Just doesn't hurt to have extras for the what if. I think ,just my thought is there are many types of kitchan aids like this that we all should have for the coming what if. Good luck and keep your powder dry.

 

[moolie]

... It is also useful for other grinding, not just meat. In some old cookbooks it is called a food grinder, not a meat grinder. I use it to chop up cranberries for my special relish. A lot of things that we might use a food processor for now used to be done with the food grinder.

I use mine for meat as well as making relishes as well, my Sweet Pickle Relish and Zucchini Relish recipes actually say to use a meat grinder

A bit of trivia - in German the device is called a Fleischwolf - a meat wolf

I knew this once upon a time, but had forgotten--thank you for reminding me

 

[the funny farm6]

i have 2, 1 is an old cast iron type that my grandma gave me to make rabbit burger. it attatches to the side of a table and is heavy. the other is an electric one with the attachments to make sausage- we use it for large game, deer and hogs. both are nice and get a lot of use.

i never thought about grinding cheaper meat into hamb. dont know why... but thanks!

 

[Wannabefree]

moolie I am soooooo interested in that relish recipe now....hint hint

sorry OP, to thread jack, but I can't help it!! I NEED to know!

Moolie could ya post that in the kitchen section perhaps?

 

[moolie]

moolie I am soooooo interested in that relish recipe now....hint hint

sorry OP, to thread jack, but I can't help it!! I NEED to know!

Moolie could ya post that in the kitchen section perhaps?

Oh, absolutely, I'll just grab my book and head over there...

 

[Wannabefree]

 

[stubbornhillfarm]

We purchased a very nice meat grinder two years ago from Cabelas. Normally $599.00, but it was on sale, we had some Cabelas points and a coupon. I believe it ended up being about $299.00. Still a lot of money, but we also grind between 4-10 deer each year for ourselves and friends and have ground part of one of our beef cows with it. It is much easier for us with a high grade, heavy duty piece of equipment and has been well worth it.

As far as buying a roast at the store because it is less expensive then burger. Just ask them to grind it for you. Hubby was a meat cutter for years at Hannaford supermarkets and although it is added work for the employee, they will normally do this for you as long as they are not in the process of grinding something esle.

Personally though, buying a grinder and "knowing" what is actually in your burger is worth every penny to me.

 

[Beekissed]

They are worth every penny and more. There are more things to be done with a meat grinder than grind some store bought chuck roast! You may get a deer given to you. You may have a tough ol' hen or roo that needs culling...just debone the raw bird and grind the meat. Then you don't have to worry about how to cook the tough old bird and it will cut down on your cooking time~also won't have to cook all the nutrients and flavor out of it just to make a meal of it.

As mentioned, you can make relish or hot pepper butter with it, grind pork for sausage and some even have a sausage attachment.

I've never tried it, but it seems to me that one could even grate a good bit of soap with one.

 

[texas75563]

I would definitely get 1. I have 4. I have the small cast iron manual grind. It works fine but requires much manual energy. I have an attachment that goes on my meat band saw. Poorly constructed and cheaply made. It broke after a few uses. I repaired it. I have 2 electric grinders. 4 years ago I bought 1 and also received 1 as a Christmas or birthday gift. Both are cheap ones $70 to $100. The band saw(cheap 1 little over $200) and electric meat grinder are 2 of best purchases I have ever made. Both have paid for themselves many times over.

 

[usedteabag]

This is not quite a meat grinder but related: do you already own a food processor? I ask because if you are into the idea of making your own sausage patties or ground sausage, you can do something quite similar to ground meat just with your food processor.

I buy a pork shoulder, boneless or bone-in, separate it into 1 pound portions, roughly chop each portion into big pieces, and put it in the food processor along with some spices (your choice). I've made spicy sausage as well as apple & sage. It works like a charm.

Once done, I roll each portion of ground sausage into logs and wrap in wax or parchment paper. It is especially cheaper for me since I buy locally (somewhat more expensive than grocery store) to do it this way. Eventually I might look into owning a sausage caser as well, but for now, this does me well!

You can either let the whole thing defrost and crumble it into sauces for pasta, or let defrost part-way and slice the logs with a sharp knife, which make lovely sausage patties for frying up in the morning. Mmmmm...