Grinder Q - which grinder plate?

[SmokeOCD]

I've been sitting here happy with a double grind thru the 10mm. I do like the chunkier texture in the sausage and the patties/burgers I make. Used 4.5mm once and wasn't really a fan, thinking about going with a 6mm but maybe that's just because I haven't bought anything in a while.
What do you guys use?

Here are recommended plate sizes:
(1/8") 3mm: Hamburger, bologna, hot dogs, jerky
(3/16") 4.5mm: Coarse Hamburger, regular sausages (polish, german, breakfast)
(1/4") 6mm: Coarse sausages, (summer, salami, pepperoni, snack stick)
(3/8") 10mm: First grind, chili, chorizo, linguisa
(1/2") 12mm: First grind, coarse chili, stew

 

[chadinsc]

I grind alot of wild game for burger and sausages. I typically use a 10mm followed by a 4.5mm for the second grind. I always stack my meat lug totes so i can fill the bottom tote with salted ice to keep the meat cold. Having cold meat is really important for a good grind. I have done a 10mm followed by a 6mm and personally didn’t like the coarseness. I recently bought a 3mm to test the results of a single grind with that ultra fine plate. I don’t think i have been much help because its really all about personal preference and figuring out what you like, kinda like seasonings.

 

[Greg Jones]

I have 8mm, 4.5mm, and 3mm plates for my grinder and I normally just do one pass with the 8mm plate for ground beef and ground pork. Yesterday I ground up an entire 17# brisket with the intent of making a second pass with the 4.5mm plate. After running about half the batch through the 4.5mm plate, I gave up as it was too much of a struggle. I’d like to find a 6mm plate, but I don’t think anyone offers aftermarket plates for the aluminum KitchenAid grinder.

 

[chadinsc]

Thats a good point also. It will depend on your equipment also. When i first started out i used a small #5 grinder and it was a really struggle to do a second pass so i gave up on that with that machine. I now use a cabelas commercial grade #12 that weights over 50lbs and it does a second pass without struggling. It just takes experimenting and learning your equipment much like grilling. Definitely get you a variety of plates and experiment.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Definitely get you a variety of plates and experiment.

I agree with that - there's the 6 and 8 mm out there still for me to try. I'll split a batch 3 or 4 ways, 5lbs each and just do a burger-palooza weekend. I think for me, having a different texture than store-bought is partially to show off that it is home-made. I've had the tiny Oster grinder, a #5 Cabelas, now a #8 BigBite. I really don't think I'll ever outgrow this one - to my regret, I don't hunt.

@Greg Jones if you're looking to upgrade, don't miss out on the dual grind head grinders. You can run two plates in the head and get a double grind in a single pass.

 

[Greg Jones]

@Greg Jones if you're looking to upgrade, don't miss out on the dual grind head grinders. You can run two plates in the head and get a double grind in a single pass.

Good advice-didn’t know they made such a thing. As for upgrading, I took a little different approach about 3 years ago when I just knew that my grinder was going to bring my KA Artisan mixer to an early death, so I donated it to our church and bought a KitchenAid commercial mixer. It has plenty of power, but the grinder itself is the limiting factor. I just don’t have the space or do I grind enough to need the capacity of a dedicated grinder. i’ve heard that there is at least one HD third-party grinder for the KA accessary port, but I haven’t seen it yet.

 

[chadinsc]

The lem big bite is a good grinder! Im just opposite from you, i want my burger to match store bought lol. For my needs im excited to try a single pass with the 3mm plate. If you knife or plate is getting dull you can sharpen them with fine sand paper. They both get dull over time. Do you make ground patty type sausage or summer sausage or both?
I do both but really enjoy making the summer sausage.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Lately it's cevaps (skinless finger size). I do fresh sausage (brats/italian) and I have the patty attachment, so I do burgers or 50/50 moink burgers as well. If you get an assistant - 40lbs of patties goes so quick.
It's easy to get a patty helper; however handling guts is somehow gross - unless it's eating time.
I need a cheap fridge to sacrifice for a drying chamber, then I plan to just go crazy.

 

[rhouser]

I can't believe I found a forum where we are discussing grinders. I went with the LEM 8 pounder back a bunch of years ago and it has worked out well. It was their smallest grinder that would let me hook directly to their meat mixer. Power mixing the sausage for me has worked out great over the years.

I use the LEM vertical stuffers as well. LEM Vacuum sealer is the final piece in my processing stuff.

I grind all my brisket trim into burger with this, also will slice up and run a whole pork butt through when mama needs ground pork. When I was still hunting, my wife and I would process 2 deer a year for sausage and jerky. Lots of meat over the years.

I have considered a new big bite, but my 8 pound is only about 35 pounds, and I am used to it.
v/r r