Snack stick temps stall.

[SmokinEdge]

Ok, after a day postponement I just ground the beef for tomorrows sticks. Two grinds, big plate than small. LEM #8 Big Bite. I froze all the parts first, and perhaps didn't have the beef frozen 'quite' enough. First time through, no ram needed, all the pieces fell into the machine. But second time through, I had to stuff the coarse grind through to run the fine plate.

Keep the meat cold. I run the same grinder and will say that a single pass is fine and a double grind is not needed.

Also, do not freeze the grinder head and parts. This will just cause the meat to stick to the metal, just like your tongue on a flag pole in winter. Instead make sure the meat is cold ~32* BUT most importantly make sure you lubricate the flange on the back of the auger before assembling. There is a nylon bushing in the grinder body that the grinder rides on in the back, nylon and steel equals friction and obviously heat. You can lube with Crisco but grinder assembly lube is best.

 

[BugHunter]

Yes... The second time through the grinder you will always have to use the pusher to stuff it down into the auger...

Myself... I just run the cut up chunks through the fine plate right away... Meat partially frozen (very cold) ...

As for mixing... Yes you do want to try to keep as cold as possible... I then put it in the fridge (after mixing) overnight to let the cure do it's thing... Take out of fridge and set on counter at least a couple of hours (or more) to come up to room temp before stuffing... Give it another mix before putting in the stuffer...

Watched the 2 Guys video I was told to look at and he put his grindings back in the freezer and ran them again, and made a point to say, "don't use that pusher". Well, his has a bigger throat so ok, I had to use it. But if I'd had it at a colder temp, maybe it would have been fluffy enough to go through without help. Idk.

I've been taking it out of the fridge and just starting on stuffing as soon as I can get things set up. Mixing limited to me making balls of meat out of it so there's no air pockets. I'll give it another mix tomorrow then which will also help loosen it some. Not that the new Lem stuffer cares, it'll stuff it through that tube like a fire hose.

Keep the meat cold. I run the same grinder and will say that a single pass is fine and a double grind is not needed.

Also, do not freeze the grinder head and parts. This will just cause the meat to stick to the metal, just like your tongue on a flag pole in winter. Instead make sure the meat is cold ~32* BUT most importantly make sure you lubricate the flange on the back of the auger before assembling. There is a nylon bushing in the grinder body that the grinder rides on in the back, nylon and steel equals friction and obviously heat. You can lube with Crisco but grinder assembly lube is best.
View attachment 736116

I have CIP film for that sitting here in the kitchen. It's a synthetic food grade grease for brewing stuff, but I'm sure it'll work fine. Mine came apart virtually spotless. I stopped it before it quit pushing just because I'd put more grindings back through to make sure everything had gone through the small plate. But, only about 1-1/2" at the front of the auger had meat in there, and the rest of the auger and body were spotless. Not so much as a speck of meat in there. I thought it was pretty cool that it came apart that clean. Had I left it run, it would have warmed that last meat that was in it and I"m sure made a mess.

I saw that bushing before I began and I figured it looked like Delrin to me. Typically that's supposed to be considered self lubricating. I use that for bearing material at work on some things. Also have Nylatron there I could make a replacement out of and that'll never wear out. But it sure won't hurt to lube it before assembling that auger. Thanks.

I got tied up for a while and left the meat in the freezer a little longer than I should, so it definitely will need the mix tomorrow as some hunks are so frozen I had a hard time breaking them up. Holy cow that was cold.

Can I just use the dough hook and stand mixer for that? If not, I might make a mixer... This freezing stuff is not so fun. lol.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Can I just use the dough hook and stand mixer for that? If not, I might make a mixer... This freezing stuff is not so fun. lol.

You can use the stand mixer. The paddle works best but give it all a go.
For the cold hand mixing, use knit cotton gloves on your hands covered with latex gloves. This stops the cold getting to your hands and stops the heat from your hands warming the meat. There are reasons for the cold,

 

[Fueling Around]

If my first grind gets too warm, I roll it into logs and send to the freezer. I keep them about the same size as the grinder throat. they drop right in and self feed unless in the freezer too long.

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I saw that bushing before I began and I figured it looked like Delrin to me. Typically that's supposed to be considered self lubricating. I use that for bearing material at work on some things. Also have Nylatron there I could make a replacement out of and that'll never wear out. But it sure won't hurt to lube it before assembling that auger. Thanks.
...

Both Delrin and Nylatron are self lubing to save themselves, not the metal they contact. They will eat metal without adding additional lubricant. Food grade silicone greases the metal parts and saves them from the plastic. There are better lubes, but alas not food rated.