And the Winner is the Spiral mixer: https://www.homedepot.com/p/QEP-30-...xing-Paddle-for-Corded-Drills-61230/311174620
Much easier to control, able to use a lower amp rated 1/2" drill and it did a great job of mixing the meat. Here is the link to a video:
Meat load was 12.5 lbs. Not the best video, since I was running the drill with one hand and the phone in the other. I was done mixing at this point and had all the water, cure, milk powder, and protein extraction I needed. It does give you the sense that I was able to mix the meat one handed which I was not able to do with the standard flat mixing paddle. I did not test the round bar "egg beater" concrete mixing paddle. The spiral paddle worked so well - I don't see the round egg beater style bar type working any better.
Note: Pulsing and occasionally lifting the mixing head and running a higher rpm to fling off the meat, helped ensure a good mix.
Pros:
-easy to control
-works well in a bucket or pot - doesn't create a lot of torque - easy to control pot with my feet and easy on the drill
-was easy to clean
-doesn't take a 9-10 high amp drill to operate. The 1/2" drill used during testing is only rated at 4.5 amps. It never ran hot or was overloaded during any of the testing. You do need a drill that is variable speed and that run at lower rpms. So drills that are rated for 0-500 or 0-600 will likely work better. My cordless drill didn't work well with the standard flat style mixing paddle - Wanted to run a higher rpms.
-having a circular design, means it works best in a vessel that his circular, like a bucket or pot. Next time, I will try using a 15 gallon stainless pot versus the aluminum turkey pot. My thought is the stainless is harder than the aluminum and will withstand the wear and tear of the mixing process. I feel I could easily put a 20 or 25 pound meat batch in the 15 gallon pot and the spiral mixer head would work fine.
Cons:
-did want to run around the perimeter of the turkey pot if using one hand. I would just stop or lift and move the drill to the center to continue mixing.
Conclusions:
-any one of the three paddles work. I like the Spiral version the best. For $18 plus the cost of a drill, and easy to clean. It is a no brainer to use this method versus buying a standard meat mixer in my opinion
-the spiral mixer design takes less torque (amps) to run and thus is the easiest to control, or in other words, the most efficient
-it helps if you have a 120V electric drill that is designed to run at lower rpms. My friend's Black and Decker variable speed 1/2" drill is only rated at 4.5 amps and it worked great and never ran hot.
