You have bought your meat grinder, but the only challenge now is how to assemble it so that you can start using it; don’t worry; I have developed some steps through which you can easily assemble your meat grinder without any issue.
Meat grinders are normally used for grinding, chopping, or slicing meat. You can find most of them in the restaurant and other commercial based settings that will help the merchant cut meat to make various food items such as burger, pizza, and the rest.
The meat grinders are highly adopted in restaurants because as research reveals, it cuts food costs and as result favors both the seller and the buyers. I didn’t forget that you are trying to learn how to assemble your meat grinder. This is the reason why you need to keep reading while I reveal the steps in a minute.
Table of Contents
The Steps to Assembling your Meat Grinder
Assembling your meat grinder requires that you ensure that the entire component secured tightly. Another thing you should consider is that meat grinders are made by different brands, so their configurations is different but there are always similarities in the assembly of every machine with similar characteristic.
The similarities in the assembly in the article context mean the general assembly method.
First Step – Sanitize all parts of the grinder
In the first step, you should start assembling your meat grinder, wash, rinse, and then sanitize the whole parts, and then allow the parts air dry.
Second Step – Disconnect from power source if you have connected
Disconnect the power cord before assembly.
Third Step – Push the T link into the grinder
Pick the T link and place it into the grinder’s enclosure located at the front. Then tighten the T link appropriately using the provided lock screw to secure the head.
Fourth Step – Place the Screw Pushing bar into the T-link
Pick up the screw pushing bar and insert it in the T link. To ensure that the bar is well fixed, rotate it so that it gets all the way into the back.
Fifth Step – Add the Four-leaf blad into the screw pushing bar
The next step is to add the four-leaf blade to the screw pushing bar ensuring that the flat side faces out.
Then pick the round knife provided and place it on the screw pushing bar but should be on the end side.
Sixth Step – Screw the handle cap on the T-link
Come up with the handle cap and then attach it to the T-link, then tighten it.
Seventh Step – Place the Square plare stainless steel on the t-link
Lastly, add the square plate made of stainless steel to the top of your grinder’s T link and then you are done. You can now start grinding meat with your meat grinder.
How does a meat grinder work
Can we learn how a meat grinder works? It is very important to understand the mechanisms of meat grinders so that we can use them properly.
I will touch on the mechanism on which the meat grinders work, the important component, and the principle the functionality based upon.
As we all know that a meat grinder is a very important tool in the kitchen, it can be used to make a lot of delicious meals such as pizza and burgers and so on.
I assumed that you have successfully assembled your meat grinder, so the next step is to learn how to use your newly purchased meat grinder. I am sure you are already warming up, so don’t worry, you will get to make your tool useful to you in a minute time.
Step One
You already have bought your meat from the butcher; the next step to take now is to remove the skin of the meat, including the bone, and the silver skin along. Cut the meat into small chunks so that they fit into your meat grinder’s feeding hole.
Step Two
Feed the meat into the grinder using the provided feed bar.
Step Three
Get a bow or pan and place it under the blades of the meat grinder so that it can catch the ground meat as it drops.
Step Four
As soon as you are done grinding the meat, you can now disconnect the cord from the wall. You can always repeat the same steps if you have more batches of meat to grind, then disconnect the grinder from the electricity when done.
Step Five
Rinse and sanitize the entire components and allow them air dry.
Step Six
Clean the body of your meat grinder using a clean damp sanitizing cloth.
Step Seven
The last step is to lubricate the oil seal of the machine’s gearbox from the screw-hole. It is ideal to lubricate your meat grinder every 5 or 6 months.
Maintenance Tips for Meat Grinders
Meat grinders are very important tools at home and in commercial settings, so, it is very important to learn the vital tips to keep them working well and last long.
- Keep the meat in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it so that it will be well preserved.
- To prevent your machine from damage or malfunction, do not grind frozen meat in it.
- You are advised to submerge the T link prior to grinding the meat, the screw pushing bar, blade, and other parts of the machine should equally be submerged in cool water. You may also want to place these said components in the freezer to make them remain cool.
- Ensure that the meat grinder is moderately loaded so that it doesn’t cause jams while grinding. This can cause your grinder motor to quickly wear out.
The Important Components of Meat Grinders
The Meat Tray: This is the component at the topmost part of your meat grinder.
Feeding Tube: This is the second topmost component of a meat grinder, it is immediately below the meat tray having a lower part with small parts attached to it.
Screw Ring: This is the most exposed small part of the feeding tube.
The Cutting Blade: There is a cutting blade at the end of the extruder that is attached to it so it can cut the meats into smaller pieces.
The Extruder: The motor of a meat grinder has an extruder that is attached to it and then place in the feed tube. It is like a navigator that helps push the meat in the outer direction.
The Grinder Plate: The grinder plate is made to have some small holes that allow the coarse meats to pass through them after the meats are ground. The holes can be set in different sizes depending on the texture you want at a time.
The Motor: This is the part of the meat grinder that will determine the durability and sturdiness of your meat grinder. The grinder motor should be at least 300 to 500 wattages for better functionality.
The Meat Pusher: It is normally a stick made of plastic, used in pushing the meat inside the feeding tube to avoid you using your hand to do so.
Sausage Stuffer: This is normally attached to the screw ring in case a user is willing to prepare sausage. It is another important part of a meat grinder that shouldn’t be missing.
Common Problems Associated with Meat Grinder
There is a need for you to know about the common issues that may arise while using a meat grinder. I have prepared the means to observe them on your own.
The Head Issue of Grinder
The head of a meat grinder is expected to push the meat to the blades so that they can grind it, but if it doesn’t do so accurately, it means there is a problem and the meat will not be consistently ground and as well will jam.
The Solution:
Open the head of the grinder and clean it and then place it back properly. This problem may arise due to continuous usage, so the head might have loosened up in the process. You can take it to the nearest engineer for repair if the problem persists.
The teeth Issue
Sometimes, the teeth of the grinder might wear down as a result of continuous usage. This may quickly occur when you grind the bones together with the meat. This is why it is always advisable to remove the bones from the meat before grinding. This issue will lead to bad grinding and performance.
The Solution:
Remove the casing and separate the teeth. The teeth can be detached by unscrewing it, and then you can now check the condition of the teeth again. You may need to replace the teeth if it is necessary. If you don’t want to replace the teeth, you can sharpen them and then put them back in place.
Issue of Friction
Meat grinders can develop friction issues while grinding is on – this is a common issue with them; especially when grinding frozen meat.
The Solution:
Put the meat in the freezer and leave it there for 30 minutes before you start grinding it. You can apply olive oil to the inner parts to help reduce the friction so that the grinding will be smooth. The application of the olive oil will take care of the drying of ground meat.
Refused to Switch on
This problem is associated with electric meat grinders only. The problem may arise from the main outlet or the cord that connects your meat grinder to the current supply.
The Solution:
Sometimes, this issue may arise as a result of a low battery or issue of a faulty charger if you are sure that the battery was charged. You need to do some troubleshooting to know the actual source of the issue. Try a different battery to see if it will work or change the outlet. If none of this works, you can now take it for repair. The wrong power supply can also be an issue.
Positives of owning a meat grinder
Cooks, butchers, and hunters are the ones popularly known for using meat grinders. But in this modern-day, things have metamorphosed so people are beginning to understand the benefit so it is now common at home.
You may have once tried to grind your meat but get discouraged because you don’t want to grind it using mortar and pestle probably due to the stress involve and perhaps you may have to cook or smoke it first before grinding. It may be that you have known the benefit of meat grinders. This article will serve as an eye-opener to the reason why you should get one now.
Affordable in the long term
Minced meats are always expensive to afford. To avoid this issue, it better that you have your own meat grinder which you can use to grind or mince your purchased meat to prepare the desired food.
One of the benefits of meat grinders is that you will comfortably grind the meats without having to purchase the already ground ones that are expensive and still may not be as healthy as you presume.
You have absolute control
Unlike when you go to the meat store to get ground meat, you don’t have control over the texture you actually want until you pay for it. The reverse is the case when you have your own meat grinder. You have control over how you want your meat to look for a particular food item.
Being the owner of a meat grinder, you will be more creative with it due to the attachments that come with it, apart from this, you will be able to separate the bones, silver skins, and cartilages from the meat so that you can get it right while grinding.
You will also have fresh meat. You will not buy meat that has overstayed in the store. This means you are going to be eating fresh meat after grinding it. Grinding meat by yourself gives you the chance to select the best quality.
You will get a freshly Ground Meat
You already know that freshly ground meat will definitely taste better than meat that has overstayed. Meat that has overstayed will not only lose its taste but is no longer healthy to eat.
So, it means if you are planning to buy ground meat in the store, you are risking your health intentionally, so that’s a bargain.
Healthy Move
When you grind meat at home, you have activated a good health move, so it is important for someone to consider this as a good reason for having a meat grinder at home. Your meat grinder could be manual or electric.
Coming from the angle of already ground meat, you will realize that there is a high risk of contracting bacteria. In the case of the meat, when you freshly ground and use immediately at home, the risk of contracting bacterial is extremely low which lead to the consumption of healthy food.
The already ground meats are collected from large food processing plants that are assorted from various types of animals, so there is an increased risk of spreading germs easily.
To stay healthy, it is better you have your own meat grinding device so that you can rest assured that the meat you are using for a meal is fresh and healthy.
Conclusion on How to Assemble A Meat Grinder
Meat grinders are useful tools at home. They come in different types either the manual or electric type, all is ideal for home use. Industries, restaurants, and butchers use meat grinders to ease their job.
You can also enjoy the benefit of these wonderful tools so that your cooking experience will become more comfortable for you.