Care and Feeding of a Northern Grinder - xx Pics QView - Good for Rookies

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princess

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Jul 28, 2010
420
25
Lafayette, Indiana
Maybe you think you want a new meat grinder and aren't sure if it is worth the cost to have one instead of having your butcher do it. (It's SO worth it! They are so easy to use and clean!)

Maybe you got a second-hand grinder and have no idea how to use it or take care of it? (eBay is a popular place, after all)

Maybe you just like looking at posts that have lots of pictures of cool kitchen equipment in them?
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 (Yeah... me too!)

Anyway you look at it, I'm glad you're here. We're going to talk about Meat Grinders.  Many people own a grinder (and yes, you CAN use a grinder for stuffing, but I don't recommend it). True sausage enthusiasts own both a grinder and a stuffer.

*~*~*~*

I am the proud owner of a Northern Industrial Electric Grinder. I own the #12, which can be found here: http://www2.northerntool.com/food-processing/grinders/item-168620.htm   I got mine on sale for $99 (as a birthday present)

So let's get dirty:

Why grind your own meat at all? Well... I like to know what I am getting in my meat. If you intend to eat/serve anything below the USDA minimum temperatures, you absolutely 100% need to grind your own. I like to pick out blood clots, extra fat and small bone chips:

88c1253e_1whycutmeat.jpg


Regardless, any grinder out there needs what I like to call "Rough Chop" to be able to accept meat properly. Rough Chop is generally 1" or 2" squares, trimmed of greasy, slippery fat, blood clots chunk-ed out.

7004f8a3_2roughchop.jpg


After careful consideration, I chose my Northern. I love that my box was not only strong enough to ship in, but sturdy enough to store in:

05a223f9_3northerngrinder.jpg


Once you pop it out of the box, it looks like this:

c086ccd0_4grinder.jpg


Yay! The box itself is compact and easy to clean. If I have one complaint, it is only that the cord (tucked in the back) is kinda... short. I had to buy an extension cord.

e55db1f7_5cord.jpg


My Northern came with three grinder plates (aka die) small, medium and large. it also came with a knife. As a precaution: I bought two extra knives when I placed my order. I did this because they were included with the free shipping and because it is nearly impossible to get grinder blades sharpened. It was $20 for both.

To be fair, my grinder blades had been used several times before I took this picture. I will talk about the care of the blades themselves later..

cf0e2e3c_6platesandblade.jpg


There are four other parts we need to concern ourselves with. The hopper:

5a5d2090_7hopper.jpg


And of course, the nut, the neck and the screw:

49467bcb_8nutneckandscrew.jpg


You may notice my parts look "funny."  Frankly there are two reasons for this. Reason #1: I store ALL metal parts in my freezer. The freezer is an excellent place to keep things cold *and* most modern freezers are excellent dehumidifiers.

Also? I clean my parts in bleach and high temperatures. THIS MAY GO AGAINST YOUR MANUFACTURERS RECOMMENDATIONS. Many of my parts are discoloured due to oxidation. I prefer my cleaning methods to having "pretty metal."  Please do what makes you the most comfortable.

The neck of my grinder has a notch that matches the notch on the grinder itself.

a88a57e8_9notchtohole.jpg


To keep the neck in place, there is a screw to tighten on the side. This feature is pretty consistent on most grinders:

71b10679_10tighten.jpg


Next step is to add the screw to the grinder. Base goes in first.

0ce2d9dd_11screwbaseinfirst.jpg


The knife, or blade, goes in next. For this grinder, the blade itself goes toward the front, as shown below. I have found this "order" to be consisent with every grinder I have owned. ALWAYS consult your owner's manual first.

0847d3be_12bladesout.jpg


Next step is to select your die (or grinder plate).  A "rough grind" is a large die, a "fine grind" is a small die. I have sleceted my smallest die and am pointing out my die has a notch. This notch lines up with the tiny post on the grinder's neck.

17577a0b_13dienotch.jpg


The notch:

a232d5b8_14diepeg.jpg


All lined up:

df4f33be_15dieinplce.jpg


To hold all of this in place, you just need to slide the nut on and tighten:

1b510c70_16nuttighten.jpg


The hopper goes on top and we are almost ready to go:

923ba3b5_16hopperontop.jpg


The hopper only holds so much meat:

dc38f393_18loadedhopper.jpg


I like to grind my meat into a bowl kept in ice (sausage = EVERYTHING COLD)

ced049e0_19cleanmeat.jpg


It is so important to clean the meat before you grinf it. Large chunks of fat will cause a fatal error we sausage enthusiasts call "smear."  Smear is when fat begins to clog the die itself. Often you can tell when this is about to happen as the meat becomes FAR lighter in color and appears "softer."

d8526f27_20fattypieces.jpg


So... You grind!

(Part Two to be edit/finished early tomorrow morning....)
 
I have been using this grinder for over a year and have run nearly 2,000 pounds of meat through it. Chicken, pork, and beef, it does it all. Make sure you clean the plate and the auger soon after using it or it will rust. I spray mine with Pam and it seems to keep the rust off. Also, no need to cube the meat. It will eat long strips of meat with no problem. I can't recall the last time I used the hopper. Less parts to clean after the grind.

Congrats on the purchase! Take care of it and it will serve you for many years to come.
 
The cleaning parts post will be up next.  I've never done long strips pf emat... may need to try that next!! Great idea! 

This post is (as of 10.24.10, 10:00 am EST) still a work in progress. I got busy last night and am having less time today than I thought, but I will get it all up here soon! Today, I hope. 

Cheers!

-P
I have been using this grinder for over a year and have run nearly 2,000 pounds of meat through it. Chicken, pork, and beef, it does it all. Make sure you clean the plate and the auger soon after using it or it will rust. I spray mine with Pam and it seems to keep the rust off. Also, no need to cube the meat. It will eat long strips of meat with no problem. I can't recall the last time I used the hopper. Less parts to clean after the grind.

Congrats on the purchase! Take care of it and it will serve you for many years to come.
 
Nice post Princess, that will be my next grinder if my harbor freight grinder decides to die, all kitchen appliances only have a 3 foot cord on them that's a code issue not the grinder makers fault, look at all your appliances they should all have a short cord, it supposed to keep stupid people from draping it over the stove top, probably in older houses where the codes didn't make you have as many receptacles as it does now.
 
I've had mine (similar, not same)  for well over a year and I can second the cutting meat into long strips, about not much more than 1 1/2 inch square, as long as you like, generally not much more than 6 inches.  The advantage of long strips is that the augur will pull the meat into and through the cutter head. One less time (or two or three) of having to use the pusher stick.

Haven't ventured into the sausage arena yet, but there's nothing like home ground beef, especially when you know what's in it.  I know that my daughter's kitchen aid grinder is getting a lot of use after a visit from us last August.
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Congrats on what is turning out to be another home run. 
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Nice thread great subject. I have a 1.5 hp #32 LEM grinder and its pretty much the same process.
 
I've had that same grinder for over a year now, and it works like a champ without ever heating up. Thanks for an informative post. It's all good my friend.
 
I can't believe I missed this for almost a week !

Great post Princess!

Very informative!

Keep them coming!

Thank You Very Much,

Bear
 
This is a great post Princess. I tell folks I'm self trained, but in truth I'm trained by SMF and other sites. If it weren't for posts like these I'd be missing a finger and have a slightly used grinder for sale.

Thanks
 
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