grinding deer

[dairyman]

any body got any hints for grinding deer for hamburger. I did some fresh this afternoon and it took just about all afternoon to do it grind,plug,grind,plug---what a pain in the back side

[picksbigwagon]

I have always heard that you want the meat and the grinder to stay cool....did you start with cold meat????

[eyeguy 54]

make sure the attachment is very tight. then it grinds best. I have an old oster than grinds like crazy but it has to be tight.

[mskyfshntchr]

Was the meat clean or was there a lot of fat, sinew and ligaments there? That stuff will plug up a grinder.

When we grind it takes about 30 minutes. That is usually 2-3 deer, so normally grinding 40-60 of meat and tallow.

Maybe need a new grinder?

[paul pachowicz]

What kind of grinder are you using? Could be a number of things. Lot of gristle, dull or unmatched blades and plates, warm meat, too big of chunks, too small of a plate, feeding too fast. Hard to say without seeing the operation.

[Tom7227]

Years ago when we had two moose to grind up we rented a commercial grinder. I remember that it had a number of different blades or jobberdos with holes in them or something and it took some screwing around to get the correct setup. We also were adding a lot of pork to make it a bit more tasty cause the moose meat was pretty lean.

[BobT]

Start with well trimmed meat. Trim off most of the silver skin you see. That stuff does not cut well. If you partially freeze the meat it will help too.

You could always take it to a local meat shop where they can grind it for you. The last time I had it done I think it was very inexpensive and took less than five minutes to get done.

[Cheetah]

I spend a lot of time trimming off fat, sinew and silver skin off the meat before grinding. Cut into chunks/strips about 1" diameter to go down into the auger better. Sharp blades and a powerful grinder make it go much faster. I gave up on using my Kitchen Aid mixer with grinder attachment, it took forever with that thing.

[BobT]

I do mine by hand with one of those old cast-iron kitchen hand grinders. Because I trim my meat well, it's an easy task and I rather enjoy it.

[CANOPY SAM]

Couple tips:

1) Age your meat a little. Fresh meat, especially lean fresh meat, doesn't grind easily. A deer that's hung for a couple days tenderizes, and cuts and grinds easier.

2) Always start with your "coarse" cut attachments. That would be the cutting plates with the largest holes in them. Make sure your blade is sharp as well. A dull blade essentially just smashes the meat thru the grinder - not a pretty product. Trying to first cut grind with fine finish attachments will plug er' up quick and repeatedly.

3) Before grinding, cut the meat into smaller pieces, as stated above. 1-inch cubes are nice, but long slender strips will work fine as well, and they tend to "pull" themselves into the grinder easier than small chunks. I like 1 to 1/2-inch thick strips for grinding - almost like jerky strips.

4) The meat should be chilled and aged.

5) If all the above are done, you should have much better success. Trimming excess fat, connective tissue, and silver skin shouldn't be necessary if your grinder blades are sharp. This stuff "should" grind up easily and disappear in the mix.

6) Of course, the really small "starter" grinders are not made to process lots of meat quickly. Perhaps your grinder is not designed to handle the quantity of product you were running thru it?

[BobT]

Aging is definitely a plus! I age mine in a controlled environment for a minimum 7 days and I have noticed considerable difference in gringing, taste, and texture. So much so that I don't mix my venison with any other meat anymore.

[dairyman]

its an older cast iron model--will definitely try the suggestions next year

[TruthWalleyes]

Here's a tip...

Cut up your meat into 2-3" chunck and put in the freezer. You want your meat to be stiff, but not completely frozen. You can still put cool meat through the grinder, but accompany it with some frozen pieces...It helps push the stuff through.

[dairyman]

great---thanks for the heads up

[CANOPY SAM]

Not to be contrary, but I'd be a little careful about freezing, then re-freezing meat. It can get kinda mushy. I'm sure if it's just chilled well, and aged, it'll grind up just fine.

Dairyman. Did you check the blades and grinding plates carefully? Were they worn down, or dull?

[dairyman]

Yes ---I did some checking and redid the clearances on the blades and grinding plate--------will see how that works out

[Code-Man]

We usually follow the previous tip about cutting into 2 or 3 inch chunks then put on a cookie sheet (metal) put in freezer for a few minutes just to get it firm not solid then throw it in the grinder. Wow does that make a difference...found it out by accident putting the sheets outside to keep it cool two years ago and it slightly froze. But like someone else said if you freeze unthaw freeze unthaw the meat will get very mushy. We try to only freeze unthaw once at the most.

[Meat-Run]

This post couldn't have come at a better time as last night I did what someone on here stated and i cubed the meat and it went perfectly through my grinder. I look forward to making jerky tonight with it.

mr