No matter how expensive or how strong your stainless-steel meat grinder is, if you do not take good care of it occasionally it may likely get spoilt fast or even reduce the life span of the meat grinder.
Instead of it to last for a couple of years, it may be reduced to just some months. That is if you do not take good care of it. Taking good care of your meat grinder is just like the human body, it needs constant checks and cleaning. Most especially the blades.
The blades are what do most of the grinding, because of that you will notice that the blades will begin to become blunt as you use it continuously.
The blades need constant sharpening, but if you notice that it has gone out of hand, or if the situation is getting beyond repairs, then you may need to replace the blades.
The good thing about stainless-steel meat grinders is that the stainless-steel build makes it quite easy for you to be able to clean it. That is why many people go for the stainless-steel build meat grinders.
Let us take you through the various steps on how to clean your meat grinder. We hope that the steps would be very beneficial for you and for your grinding experience.
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Steps in cleaning a stainless-steel meat grinder
We have laid enough emphasis on cleaning your meat grinder in the introduction of this article. Let us go straight to the steps in how you can clean your stainless-steel meat grinder.
In cleaning your stainless-steel meat grinder, what you need to know is that you should, first of all, prepare the meat grinder for grinding.
How you prepare your meat grinder for cleaning is by first of all unplugging it.
Step 1: Unplug your meat grinder
This is the first thing that you need to do when you want to start to clean your meat grinder. You should, first of all, unplug it. It is not safe if you are cleaning your meat grinder while it is plugged into the socket.
This is quite dangerous as you may risk experiencing an electric shock. To avoid this, what you need to do is that you should unplug it.
This will help to not experience an electric shock. This is the first thing you need to do before cleaning your stainless-steel meat grinder.
Step 2: Disassemble the parts
After unplugging your meat grinder from the socket, you need to do the next thing which is to disassemble the parts. Remove the auger, the cutting blades, the base, the feeding tube etc.
After you are done disassembling the different parts of the meat grinder, it helps you to be able to wash each part comfortably. This will enable you to wash even the hidden parts that are not really visible when it is assembled.
Disassembling it will help to expose all the parts. Many of the meat grinders are not dishwasher safe, so, it is not advisable to wash them in a meat grinder.
Except it was indicated by the manufacturers that the meat grinder is dishwater safe. Then you can make use of a dishwasher to clean the meat grinder.
Cleaning with the dishwasher has some advantage such as saving you the time and energy of manually washing the meat grinder with your hands.
Step 3: Start washing
After unplugging and disassembling the meat grinder the next thing to do is to start washing it properly.
You should soak all the parts of the meat grinder in hot and soapy water for some minutes, this will help you to remove some of the meat residues that have been stuck in the parts of the meat grinder.
If you are not making use of a dishwasher you need to manually wash the parts that you have separated with your hands.
Make sure you wash it and scrub with detergent to remove any form of oil from the meat grinder.
Another thing you need to take note of is the blades, the blades are so sharp that it can cut your hands and cause a major injury.
When you are washing the blades, you need to be very careful so that it does not cut your hands or cause a major injury.
There is a need for you to wash as gently and as carefully as possible. You should also need to take care of the blades based on the fact that the blade does a lot of the movement in terms of grinding.
Sharpening the blades is also important. Cleaning the inside of a meat grinder requires that you use a bottle brush. This will help to clean the inside easily.
Step 4: Dry the meat grinder to prevent water from staying on the stainless steel body
Take note that you do not need to soak the motor inside water, this can damage it as it has some electrical parts in it that should not have contact with water.
You should also not make use of a moist cloth to clean the housing of the motor, it is not advisable at all.
When you are done washing all the parts of the meat grinder you should not put them away to dry by itself, what you should do is that you should make use of a towel to dry it completely.
What this does is that it keeps the meat grinder dry and it reduces the chances of corrosion.
After you are done drying the meat grinders, you should let them dry naturally.
Take note of these while using your stainless-steel meat grinder
Everything should be cold
It is not usually advisable to grind your meat when it is at a warm temperature. The outcome will not be good at all. It will cause the meat to smear after grinding.
This is an important point in storage of your meat grinder that we will address later in this article. You should store the meat grinder for at least an hour before you start grinding your meat.
As for the meat, you should note that the meat should be at a chilled temperature until the moment that you are ready to grind it.
Your Blade should remain sharp
The blade is what does most of the work when you are grinding your meat. How sharp the blade is will determine the outcome of the meat after grinding.
One of the major causes of a blunt blade is when you continuously grind for a very long time without sharpening the blade. This contributes to the bluntness of the blades.
To ensure that you always have an excellent result after grinding with your meat grinder, you need to always sharpen your meat grinder consistently.
If you notice that the blade has gone so bad, what you should do is that you should consider replacing it with a new one.
Everything should be clean
You are dealing with edibles, that is something that is going into the mouth and then into the body system. It is important that everything should be clean.
Ranging from your hands, the meat grinder and your working area. Doing this will help to prevent germs and maybe bacteria from contaminating the meat and thereby cause damage to those that will consume it.
For those that may have a long hair, what you should do before grinding your meat is that you should pack or cover the hair so that you do not have strands of hair in the meat after grinding.
Your grinding plate should be clean
You do not need to let your meat stick to the meat grinder while you are grinding, to avoid this, what you need to do is that the grinding plate of your meat grinder should be kept clean always.
One of the best practices is to soak the parts of your meat grinder in hot soapy water so that it can remove all the oil, excess dirt and meat that has been stuck for long in the meat grinder.
Remember to add salt to the meat for sausages
If you want to make sausage with your ground meat, for you to achieve the best texture, what you need to do is that you should add some salt to the meat.
This will help you achieve the exact kind of texture that you need for making the sausage. Doing this will help to dissolve some of the protein on the meat and will give you that sausage-like texture.
Make sure you trim the meat well
Chopping your meat before you grind it is not a good practice at all instead what you need to do is that you should trim it. This is because trimming it will help you to prevent you from having a chewed-up meat after grinding.
Bonus Tip
There is a bonus tip we will give, not so many people know about it. When you are done grinding, before you disassemble the meat grinder, try to take a towel and then pass it through the grinder as if you want to grind.
This is an alternative way of removing the meat that has been stuck in the meat grinder. Clean both the inside and the outside of the meat grinder to enable you to have a complete clean meat grinder.
These are the important things that you need to take note of while using your meat grinder. We would also talk about some storage tips that you need to know about and will help keep your meat grinder safe.
Best way to store your meat grinder after grinding
What is the importance of storage?
To make your meat grinder last long, washing is not the only thing you need to do. After washing you also need to properly store your meat grinder so that it increases the chances of the meat grinder lasting and serving you even better.
Storing your meat grinder in a right way will help it to prevent the metal parts from rust and corrosion, thereby increasing the lifespan of the meat grinder.
Store meat grinder in the freezer
When you store the meat grinder in the freezer, it is an alternate way to prevent it from coming in contact with germs and bacteria.
Another good reason for storing the meat grinder in the freezer is that it stays clean, not exposed to dust and dirt, so you do not have to start cleaning it all over again when you want to grind with the meat grinder.
Oil the metal and moving parts
It is best to keep all the moving parts of the meat grinder oiled or lubricated. This will help to reduce friction in all the moving parts, and then on the metal parts it will help to prevent rust and corrosion.
Remember you should also take note of the parts that do come in contact with the meat. These parts need to be clean as well.
Sterilize the parts you have oiled
After you are done oiling the parts of the meat grinder, you need to sterilize it with bleach. Doing this will help to remove any form of germs completely.
If you want to manually make as a sterilizer, you can mix one tablespoon of bleach in 3.8 litres of water, put it in a spray gun and then spray it on the parts of the meat grinder you have oiled.
Doing this will keep the meat grinder in a better clean condition and germ-free.
Benefits of cleaning a stainless-steel meat grinder
Cleaning the meat grinder does a whole lot to the meat grinder. Look at it as if you are cleaning your body. It is very beneficial. In fact, how you clean and maintain your meat grinder will determine how long it will last for you.
So, do not think the you can make use of the meat grinder for a very long time without cleaning it and expect it to last long. It does not work that way.
Not cleaning the meat grinder occasionally is dangerous to the meat grinder and it may likely reduce the life span of it. Take a look at some of the benefits of cleaning your meat grinder.
It prolongs the Lifespan
We have said it times without number that cleaning your meat grinder helps to elongate the lifespan. This is because if you leave dirt to accumulate, it could cause further damage that may result in permanent damage of the meat grinder which may cause you to buy a new one entirely.
If you want your meat grinder to last for you, what you need to do is that you should clean it occasionally. This will help you a whole lot.
It helps to reduce rust
When you clean and oil the meat grinder, it reduces the risk of it attracting rust and corrosion. Rust can render the meat grinder totally useless.
Take note that rust can be cleaned, but it is much safer to prevent the rust than for you to allow it to happen and then you start cleaning it all over again, if you let this happen, you are likely to lose your meat grinder to rust and corrosion.
I am sure you will not want to spend a lot on a meat grinder, hoping for it to last long for you, only for it to last a few months due to rust.
It saves you money
When you consistently clean your meat grinder, it saves you the stress of having to spend extra money on repairs and replacements of parts.
The parts could get worn out due to continuous usage or due to old age. But when the parts get worn out or damaged because of lack of proper care, you will have to spend more money to fix or repair it.
If you want to save yourself that stress of unnecessary spending, then you should diligently clean your meat grinder consistently.
Occurring meat grinders problems and their possible solution
Blunt blade
A blunt blade occurs as a result of using the meat grinder for a very long time without constantly sharpening it. When this happens, the blade tends to get blunt.
Possible Solution
What you need to do is to constantly sharpen your blade after grinding. If you are grinding for a long time, you should turn off the meat grinder for about ten minutes to enable it to cool down a little before you start using it again.
Rusting
Rusting happens to the meat grinder when it has been exposed to water and moist for a very long time.
Possible Solution: What you need to do is to oil the parts of the meat grinder. Another option is to store your machine in a freezer before you start grinding.
Grinder teeth problem
What causes the grinder teeth to wear down is due to continuous usage. Grinding bones with meat grinders that cannot carry the meat grinder will also increase the rate at which the grinder teeth wears down.
Possible Solution
The possible solution is that you should disassemble the parts and sharpen it. If you discover that the situation has gone out of hand, then you should consider replacing it with a new one.
Friction problem
Most times you get this friction when you are grinding fresh meat. That is why we do advise that you let the meat be a cold a little before you grind it in the meat grinder.
Possible Solution
The possible solution for this meat grinder is that you should lubricate the moving parts of the meat grinder, another option is to store the meat grinder in the freezer for up to an hour until the moment you want to make use of it.
Problem with turning on
This could be as a result of a problem with the main outlet or the cord of the meat grinder.
Possible Solution
What you need to do if you find yourself in this situation is that you should confirm the power supply.
If the cord is spoilt, you should consider fixing it.
Grinder Head Issues
The grinder head is what pushes the meat down to the blade so that it can be ground by the meat grinder. If you experience this problem you should try this possible solution.
Possible Solution
You may be experiencing this issue as a result of continuous usage of the meat grinder, what you should try doing is that you should remove the grinder head and insert it back.
When you are done, check if you notice any change.
These are the occurring meat grinder faults and the possible situations that we just listed. We hope it has been of great help and that you were able to find a solution to a problem you have been facing with your meat grinder.
Conclusion – How to clean a stainless-steel meat grinder
We cannot overemphasize the importance of cleaning your stainless-steel meat grinder. If you have a meat grinder in your possession and you are not taking good care of it, you are endangering the meat grinder and you may be possibly reducing how long the meat grinder will last in your hands.
The stainless-steel meat grinder makes cleaning very easy. We made mention of it earlier that the good thing about stainless-steel meat grinders is that the stainless-steel build makes it quite easy for you to be able to clean it.
That is why many people go for the stainless-steel build meat grinders. We also mentioned it that in cleaning your stainless-steel meat grinder, what you need to know is that you should, first of all, prepare the meat grinder for grinding.
How you prepare your meat grinder for cleaning is by first of all unplugging it, after then you disassemble all the parts, wash it thoroughly but gently.
After washing all the parts, you should not leave it dry, you should dry it with a towel. Then after drying with the towel you should let it dry manually.
After washing and drying the next thing to do is to assemble it back and then store it, preferably store it in the freezer so that it continues to stay clean.