What size holes in your grinding plate you use?

schmalts

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Been grinding my own for ages. This year I was given a tube of elk to take home and it was the course grind and the fam seemed to like it. I was on the fence because the fat they added was also in as big as pea sized chunks but in the end it seemed like the hamburgers stuck together fine. I also know if I used the bigger holes plate the grinding will take way less time. I always use the fine on my smoked meat products but and considering a change to the burger. What you use for your burger?
 
Largest/coarsest for anything that isn't summer sausage, but I'm no butchery expert. I don't add additional fat to regular ground meat.
 
I’ve been doing coarse plate twice with pork fat. It’s always been perfect for burger. I only use fine if I’m stuffing snack sticks or sausages
 
For basic grinding i use exclusively the 3/8".
Clean meat goes through once, mix in some ground up additive and run it through again, then a third time to stuff patty bags. A meat mixer would eliminate that second grind im guessing.
I would agree, the coarser texture holds together better.
 
Been grinding my own for ages. This year I was given a tube of elk to take home and it was the course grind and the fam seemed to like it. I was on the fence because the fat they added was also in as big as pea sized chunks but in the end it seemed like the hamburgers stuck together fine. I also know if I used the bigger holes plate the grinding will take way less time. I always use the fine on my smoked meat products but and considering a change to the burger. What you use for your burger?

For burgers we do coarse grind, run through 2x
 
I usually run all grind twice using the bigger course plate, any stuffed sauage or hamber patties get fine on second run. I also run a blade infront of stuffing plate and run small good trimmed cuts thru to make real chunky grind perfect for steak sandwiches...

C
 
I started going to that big plate grind. Run it through, mix in the fat that's already been been run through the big plate, then run it through one more time. We call it steak burger.
 
I started going to that big plate grind. Run it through, mix in the fat that's already been been run through the big plate, then run it through one more time. We call it steak burger.
Have you found this to be faster than running once through a fine plate once?
 
BTW, I started using the burger tubes instead of vacuum sealing bags. WAY faster. Not worried about freezer burn either because no matter what I do I always seem to run out of burger first every year. I bought a bigger diameter stuffing tube and one of the auto tape machines from amazon too, time saver
 
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BTW, I started using the burger tubes instead of vacuum sealing bags. WAY faster. Not worried about freezer burn either because no matter what I do I always seem to run out of burger first every year. I bought a bigger diameter stuffing tube and one of the auto tape machines from amazon too, time saver
This.^
But I would be dead in the water without the foot pedal for power on and off.
 
I’ve always used the course plate on the first grind and then the fine plate on the second grind. Maybe I’ll use just the course plate next time. I’ll still double grind.
 
I use 3/8 inch plate first to grind both meat and fat. I mix that together by hand then grind using 1/8 inch plate.

However, if I am preparing ground meat for tacos, burritos, etc, I do not add fat but grind the meat first with 3/8 then follow it with 1/8.

I add fat only for burgers and meat for meatloaf or spagetti or stuff like that.
 
Our burger we do 3/8" followed up with 1/8".

On a side note I've got to doing some meat through the 3/8" plate 1 time and then bag it up. It's coarse enough it makes good cheesesteaks and running some meat through the grinder is alot quicker then slicing it thin.
 
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