Hand Crank Meat Grinders

[palladini]

I ground up some peanuts again today. This time I tightened the wing nut onto the blade and it turned out much better. I used cocktail peanuts because they're roasted in peanut oil and I figured would help out. It did. The result was more like peanut paste flakes but then once you mash it together it's very close to peanut butter. During the grinding you could see the oil coming out of the wing nut and would probably have been perfect to mix into the end product for perfect peanut butter except that it was dark grey/black in color because the wingnut/screw was oiled by the previous owner, I suppose I need to clean that better....

I then took a few handfuls of honey roasted peanuts and made a honey roasted peanut butter...amazing! a little more like regular peanut butter than the first one but a few drops of oil work really well!

I can see . Great pork recipes, can't wait to get started. Cleanup is a pain for a small amount of grinding so I can really see how large batches make much more sense! Thanks for the help/info Warden. I can take some good action shots of the peanut butter making process with my Universal #2 if any are interested.

If grinding peanuts is your thing, did you know, if your in Canada, Nuts to You, a company in Paris Ontario makes all kinds of nut only products, ground to a paste.  You can find their products in the health food/vegamatic section of your local grocery store.  They ship these products all over Canada and possibly the USA

 

[tjkoko]

 
Hey folks, just taking my first look in this section, I found it by searching for CHOP-RITE because I have this #10 from the 1950s

It belonged to my late parents; I remember trying to turn that crank when I was 6 years old. They gave it to me when they got the Kitchen-Aid and now I have that, too, if I'm feeling lazy.

It always had only the "hamburger" plate until I ventured to an Amish hardware and got coarser and finer plates, also a new blade

I suspect it needs a new auger - look how that center pin is off-center, and that's a new plate. Either that pin has worn in half a century, or the plate was not made to the spec for that auger.

Here's is the current website for Chop Rite parts.   It's now known as Chop Rite Two.  You may need only a new stud and washer.  The stud itself screws into the end of the feed screw.  And just the other day I ordered a few parts from them.  And I might suspect that either the pin has worn (is there a groove worn into it or is the diameter uneven??) or there needs to be a bit of play between the pin and center hole of the plate to allow the knife blade to align and set properly.   Get yourself a hard copy of AlliedKenco.com catalog.  In the meat grinder section they offer lots of good information for diagnosing problems associated with manual meat grinders.

 

[tjkoko]

And also, for a small fee Chop Rite will resurface your plate and sharpen the knife.

 

[bluewhisper]

I see that #10 described as a meat and vegetable chopper - when i was growing up, the only thing we ever ground with it was beef for hamburgers.

Since then I've also used it for pork and lamb. But I never tried vegetables, only meat.

Then once in a middle eastern grocery, I watched them grinding koefta to order, putting chunks of beef and bunches of fresh parsley into the grinder. It came out nicely mixed.

So, I've done that with onion and with jalapeno, chunk it and grind it along with the meat. I did this yesterday with lamb and onion.

But I've never tried grinding only vegetables. I'm guessing that it might be a fast way to chop something like peppers and onions to make a relish. Less work than using a knife, and more uniform results than using a food processor. But that's just guessing, until I try it.

 

[tjkoko]

 
I see that #10 described as a meat and vegetable chopper -...

Not true if you visit Chop Rite's website.  It's their #3 that's described as a food chopper, kinda' like the smallest unit that Universal used to offer.  (EDIT)  I reread the info a Chop Rite and it's true, their #10 is considered "...to chop Meat and Vegetables."  Sheesh.

 

[markviduk86]

You are using manual meat grinder

But if you spend a little more money, you can buy a fully electric meat grinder. It uses the convenient and faster.

 

[tjkoko]

My previous post has been edited.

 

[jtotman719]

I have been using a hand crank grinder ever since I have been making sausage and they work fine for home use. The only thing I found that really helps is to have meat almost frozen and this will stop the clogging of the cutting blade from the fat in the meat. I love mine, and as stated, somewhere in the $20 - $30 dollar range. What I would like to see is someone in this forum buy casings in bulk where we could get the price down. I make alot of sausage sticks. I like to use real sheep castings and they run about $1 per pound. I feel this is high, but that is about the cheapest I have been able to fine them. I have been buying the "Home Pak" from the sausage maker. Just a thought.

As for the grinder, it does everything that I want it to do.

 

[bluewhisper]

I've never worked with casings (yet). I just make patties, or loose grind like for a pasta sauce, etc., sometimes meatballs.

 

[motown-n00b]

I just got a Universal #10 (same plate/blade size as #12) for my birthday. It's old but has the majority of the tinning in tact. It has the 3/16 plate. I'd like to get some larger size plates some stuffing tubes and start making sausage. I also picked up an AMZNTS which I'd like to use for cold smoking sausage, jerky, etc.

Anyway, I see tons of #10/12 size blades and plates out there. Some of the plates have a collar for the auger shaft. Is this necessary? The plate my grinder came with has it, but it doesn't appear to be crucial. Also, I do not have a washer. Not sure if it was lost before I bought it or if it's necessary. Any info/help would be appreciated. I don't want to break it on my first go round. Thanks.

 

[tjkoko]

 
I just got a Universal #10 (same plate/blade size as #12) for my birthday. It's old but has the majority of the tinning in tact. It has the 3/16 plate. I'd like to get some larger size plates some stuffing tubes and start making sausage. I also picked up an AMZNTS which I'd like to use for cold smoking sausage, jerky, etc.

Anyway, I see tons of #10/12 size blades and plates out there. Some of the plates have a collar for the auger shaft. Is this necessary? The plate my grinder came with has it, but it doesn't appear to be crucial. Also, I do not have a washer. Not sure if it was lost before I bought it or if it's necessary. Any info/help would be appreciated. I don't want to break it on my first go round. Thanks.

The collar is actually a fiber washer that prevents the augur from digging into the metal boss that it butts up against.  With the kind of wear that this metal-on-metal rubbing can lead to, the resulting depression would shift the augurs position within the housing, pulling your knife away from the plate thus causing smearing and clogging.  Always use the fiber washer to prevent metal-on-metal wear.  (EDIT)  You can always replace the fiber washer but not the ground out metal.

 

[motown-n00b]

Thanks. Clearly I need to get the washer.

 

[tjkoko]

 
Thanks. Clearly I need to get the washer.

You can order them directly from Chop-Rite.com but I'm uncertain if they'll fit the Universal model.  You may need to trim it or whatever.

 

[mt elk hunter]

I would enjoy viewing your Hand Crank Meat Grinder review.  Please consider including tips about what to look for in purchasing a used grinder and how on may recondition some of the parts. My past experience is that most used grinders are too loose and parts are hard to find.

 

[tjkoko]

 
I would enjoy viewing your Hand Crank Meat Grinder review.  Please consider including tips about what to look for in purchasing a used grinder and how on may recondition some of the parts. My past experience is that most used grinders are too loose and parts are hard to find.

Get yourself a new one and be done with it.  When it comes to a manual grinder, get it directly from Chop-Rite; and electric, well, you'll need to do the research yourself or read what others have posted in these forums.  If it's 10# of meat or less a month, it shouldn't take more than 5 minutes to manually grind IF the meat has been frozen firm and not solid.  I've experienced and read too many reviews where the asian manually made ones often don't fit properly.  Me, I had to return one since the fit was sooooo poor and got a Chop-Rite instead.  And you can order directly from Chop-Rite.

 

[bluewhisper]

You guys are teasing me. I am so ready to find a good price on beef and bring out the CR #10.

 

[joe hoskins]

i just bought a used enterprise #10 meat chopper at a flea market for $5 ...its in great shape but needs a little T L C.. got it to try to make some home made sausage with tame rabbit to try it to see if it b good.. i figure i couldnt go wrong for $5.00..

 

[shoneyboy]

 

[supersillyus]

What a great thread.  Can anyone with either a #12 or #22 enterprise/chop-rite grinder measure the dimensions between the mounting bolt holes?  This information is surprisingly impossible to find on the internet.  Thanks!

 

[hdflame]

Over the past few months, I've picked up a few small hand grinders for making sausage. Not good for a guy wanting to process whole deer or hogs, but certainly doable for grinding a few pork butts into sausage or brats. Turns out you can get a really good one for around $20 to $30. If there is interest, I'll put together a summary of them.....how they work and what to look for in used equipment. If not, I'll just quietly use them myself.

What ya think?

I remember when I was little, that's what my job was....turning the handle, at least till I gave out! lol

My grandparents killed multiple hogs each year and everything that was ground, including liver pudding, went through the hand grinder attached to the kitchen table.  Back then, we didn't know anything about an electric grinder.