grind once or twice ?

[cal1956]

i have seen some videos where they grind once using a med plate and then run the same meat through the grinder a 2nd time with the fine plate
i have never found it necessary to do that , i always just use the fine plate , i get the texture that i like without doing twice the work
your thoughts ?

 

[oddegan]

If you're making it for yourself do what you like. I've never cared if the " rules" said something was supposed to be a particular way. I'm making it for me. Cooking is subjective. Anyone who says that it's not "real" if you didn't make it the way they think it should be made doesn't understand food in my opinion. All the food Nazi's can all go take a flying leap!

 

[sharryn]

The only reason that I can see is if you're stuffing it into casings. I made some kielbasa out of pork and hamburger, but didn't grind it a 2nd time. It was like stuffing a meatball through a straw. I will double-grind anything like that from now on, but if it works for you doing it the way you have been, I would say if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Rings Я Us]

Some sausage is better when packed in more dense using fine grind.

 

[cal1956]

well one thing i always do before grinding is to resurface my grinding plate and sharpen the blade
i just always kinda wondered why anyone would do twice the work when they didn't have to

 

[idahopz]

This is not exactly about sausage, but is likely relevant to the topic. I saw a Michael Simon program in which he recommended grinding twice through a 1/4 inch plate for the best burger meat. I tried it and the missus did not like the final product - too mushy she claimed, and I tend to agree. She suggested that I grind 1/3 of the meat through the plate twice to give the proper fine texture, and then mixing with the first grind. The result was very good - plenty of coarse meat held together by the finer second grind meat. To me (and the boss), it has created the perfect burger grind.

 

[buzzy]

I almost always grind twice. I believe it helps get a more consistent fat & lean mixture. Depends on what I’m making on the plates size. When butchering hogs we mix seasoning in before grinding. Helps mix the seasoning

 

[Rings Я Us]

I would do whatever that guy on YouTube does to make sausage. "The German Butcher" . :D

 

[browneyesvictim]

For me, I prefer to let the grinder help with mixing in the spices and distribute the fat and lean. I find it is easier and less messy doing it by hand (big spatula) in the meat lug after coarse grind. After coarse grind I then add spices, then a quick incorporation mix by hand. If the meat is as cold as it is supposed to be, your hands will feel like they are going to explode within seconds it is so cold! The heat of my hands is not good either, so I use a large wooden or plastic spatula. Lastly I will run it through again for whatever desired coarseness blade to the consistency I want. I HATE that sensation of freezing sticky hands. Some day I might get an actual meat mixer, but I know that comes with ONE MORE THING TO CLEAN!

Now if I was just grinding beef for burger or something that doesn't have a spices or a mix added to, then yeah- I will grind right away to the plate size I want the consiste

 

[SmokinAl]

I grind my sausage twice too.
After the first grind I add the seasoning then grind again.
However I grind the first time with the coarse plate, and the second grind with the med plate.
I very seldom use the small plate unless I'm making bologna or hot dogs.
For burgers I use the coarse plate & grind only one time.
Al

 

[bluewhisper]

I usually grind twice, too, with the medium plate. First I cube the meat into stewing chunks, add the seasonings and mix. Then a first grind, another mix and taste test/adjust, and a second grind.

I agree that the second grind helps to distribute the fat/meat. When hand-cranking, the coarser plate passes the meat through with much less effort than a finer plate.

 

[cal1956]

when i 1st bought my grinder i used the med plate and did a 2nd grind with the fine , for 1 thing it was hard to cram the ground meat into the hole , 2nd it was mushy , ( i preferred ground meat not mush ) so after that i i just use the fine plate and ( to me the texture i get is perfect ) and yea the grinder might have to work a ( little ) harder but thats what i am paying that sucker to do , if you think about it , pushing a chunk of meat thru a 1/8 hole results in a tiny piece of meat
i don't use my grinder for seasoning , after i mixed a couple of 50 lb batches by hand i decided a meat mixer was in order , it does the job better than i ever could , its faster and your hands don't get frozen , as far as clean up ...not a problem wife does that ...lol

 

[tallbm]

i have seen some videos where they grind once using a med plate and then run the same meat through the grinder a 2nd time with the fine plate
i have never found it necessary to do that , i always just use the fine plate , i get the texture that i like without doing twice the work
your thoughts ?

I grind once and have never had an issue. I must say though that I also don't use a large plate or the finest plate. I think I do a 3/16" or 1/4" grind, but I can't remember unless I go look at the exact plate.

I find that mixing the meat tends to break it down even more so no need to grind it again. Heck if anything I would grind with a larger plate to avoid breaking the meat down more since a lot of TX style sausage has more texture to it caused by a larger grind.

Also if I need to get more of an emulsified texture I just mix more. My mixing setup now consists of a corded 10amp drill and a steel/aluminum sheet rock mud mixing paddle in a 7gallon food grade bucket :)

Moral of the story, try a grind once and if it works stick with it to save time, headache, and avoid more cleaning!

 

[chopsaw]

I just do once thru the medium plate .

 

[forvols]

I grind twice using a med plate. I like that texture for most all sausages/snack sticks I make.

 

[cal1956]

looks like the consensus is......... that there is no consensus hahaha

 

[browneyesvictim]

looks like the consensus is......... that there is no consensus hahaha

Aren't you glad you asked? Hahaa!

One last thing I have learned is the importance of keeping the meat a LOT colder than I thought was "cold". I chill in mine chest freezer now to the point of the meat starting to form ice crystals. Especially for when the mix is in and nearly eliminates the troubles of stuffing the sticky-goey emulsified ground meat in the grinder tube. It just doesn't stick to everything as bad and feeds a whole lot nicer in semi-frozen chunks than a paste.

 

[chopsaw]

I've also done it grind / stuff in one move . Cube and season the meat the night before . Hold in cold fridge . Next day set up grinder with medium plate and the stuffing tube with casings . Grind right into the casing .
Saw a guy do it like that on triple D for Italian .

 

[forvols]

True words right there...its what you like or how you want to create it. Book gives you a starting point..then take it where you want. What I have learned with making sausage.

looks like the consensus is......... that there is no consensus hahaha

 

[dward51]

If you decide to do a 2nd grind. Try this....

Take the meat from the first grind and press it flat on a large cookie sheet or rimmed 1/2 sheet pan (press out to about 1" thick). It helps to line the sheet pan with wax paper or use a teflon liner. Pop it into the freezer for about 20-30 minutes. You want to almost freeze it, but not freeze it solid. Take a pizza cutter or knife and cut long 1" wide strips out of the firm meat (wider and thicker if you grinder will handle it). Then you can either grind right away or if it's going to be a while, pop these strips back in the freezer. The semi-frozen strips are a breeze to handle and grind just fine. You most likely will not touch the stomper using this method.