7 Uses of Meat Grinder and It’s Problems

So, you bought a meat grinder and thought, what else can you use a meat grinder for? Well, let me tell you, there are tons of other things to do with a meat grinder. A meat grinder is not a machine that is designed only to grind meat as the multi-purpose meat grinders nowadays are well capable of providing you with other opportunities without causing any damages to the machine. Let me answer; what else can you do with a meat grinder?

What Else Can You Use A Meat Grinder For?

If you are a non-vegetarian, a meat grinder is a must-have, as buying ready-made ground meat isn’t the best option when it comes to living a healthy life. However, make no mistake, there are vegetarian uses for a meat grinder as well. Does that sound surprising? Yes, I will guide you through all the other uses for a meat grinder one by one. Let’s start with the most obvious and primary use of a meat grinder, which is grinding meat. 

Grinding Meat

Although we are discussing what can you do with a meat grinder apart from grinding meat, I thought it would help you if I touched on the basic objective of a meat grinder as the first point. As I said, store-bought ground meat cannot be labelled as healthy compared to the meat that you have ground at your home for obvious reasons. 

In order to get fresh, juicy, and tender ground meat, it is essential to use a meat grinder without a doubt. These days, contemporary meat smashers come with different types of blades to help you get various coarseness to match the recipes. 

Grinding Bones

Grinding bones is another use of meat grinders. These machines have what it takes to do heavy-duty tasks without much problem, and grinding chicken or any other meat bones isn’t something that you don’t have to worry about in terms of the safety of the machine. 

If you have pets in your household, you can make the most out of this ability of a meat grinder. However, it is advisable not to grind meat bones such as beef, pork, and Chevon as they are considered hard compared to chicken, turkey, or rabbit. 

In addition, make sure not to put cooked meat bones in the meat grinder if you do not have a heavy-duty machine. 

Grinding Veggies

Did you know you can use meat grinder for vegetables? If not, know it now. Meat grinders work perfectly with certain types of vegetables, and the recipes you can try are immense. 

The best way to use a grinder for grinding veggies is when you are preparing sauces and pickles. Moreover, vegetable patties are another convenient dish you can try if you have a meat grinder in your kitchen. 

When you are using a meat grinder for veggies, ensure that you don’t cut them into too smaller pieces. If you happen to do so, it will cause the juices of the veggies to lose during the process. Since you have control of coarseness, it won’t be a demanding task to receive the intended texture with a meat grinder. All you have to do is put the thinking hat on; the opportunities are endless.

For Juicing

Generally speaking, it is an expensive job to buy a high-quality juicer nowadays, and this bother can be thrown out of the window if you have a meat grinder in your armory. The different-sized blades of a meat grinder allow you to make juice with little to no effort. 

Although making juice from a meat grinder doesn’t require much effort, the juice it provides might not be clean and consistent compared to a juicer. The juice you get contains pieces and pulp. The point is, a meat grinder is not meant to do the job of a juicer but does the job if you don’t have a juicer. 

However, you can get rid of the pulp and fruit pieces with a strainer. Even though making juice is not one of the things to use a meat grinder for, you can bank on it for more or less similar results. 

Ideal for Making Cookie Dough

This is kind of a secret that is not revealed by bakery chefs. Yes, a heavy-duty meat grinder can help you make cookie dough as well. If you are running behind easy kneading, this is something that you can put into work without much effort. 

The best part of the story is that you can get better results than an ordinary dough mixer if you prefer a heavy-duty meat grinder. That is my personal observation, and I’m sure that it will happen with you as well. 

Making Sausages

Similar to ground meat, store-bought meat sausages also is not the best option if you are concerned about your health, and with a meat grinder, you are entitled to make mouthwatering and fresh sausages at the comfort of your home. 

The customization opportunity you have is the major advantage you get when you make sausage with a meat grinder. The coarseness and seasoning options allow you to produce sausages that are better tasting than ready-made sausages. Yes, sausage is an easy thing to make with a meat grinder.

Cheese Grating

If you are a die-hard lover of burgers, you would know the importance of cheese to make them delicious. In that regard, grating a considerable amount of cheese is a painstaking and time-consuming job that you can place a full stop if you know how to use the meat grinder for the work.

Don’t worry, though; it is not a difficult task. All you have to do is cut the cheese into small cubes and put them into the meat grinder, and let the machine do the rest for you. The drawback of grating cheese in a meat grinder is that usually, you end up leftovers in the machine. 

However, that is not something you need to worry about as cleaning cheese is not troublesome work, or it has no impact on the meat grinder as well. 

Meat Grinder Problems

Now, you have to think about the problems that come when you use meat grinders for purposes other than meat grinding. Here I have compiled a list for you to get a better understanding of common meat grinder problems.

Grinder Teeth Problems

If you utilize the meat grinder for other tasks or you are someone who can’t live a single day without using the machine, the grinder teeth problems are kind of inevitable. In addition, if you push the stuff too forcefully with hard objects, the teeth of the grinder will become vulnerable to problems sooner rather than later.

However, sharpening or replacing it is not that much difficult. You should be able to do it on your own without seeking professional help.

Friction Problems

Friction issues happen when you insert fresh meat types. You know how difficult it is to grind fresh meat without freezing it for a bit of time. So, don’t get discouraged; this is, in fact, a common issue most people face.

The simple solution to this issue is to freeze meat before you put it in the grinder, at least for one hour. As I explained in a separate article, I try to freeze the meat grinder itself to minimize the stress on the machine. Further, you can use olive oil in the interior of the grinder to reduce friction.

Meat Grinder Not Turning On

Well, this issue is not applicable to the ones who are using manual meat grinders but can be a common issue with electric meat grinders. That said, this issue normally has no connection between the stuff you grind unless the machine is already broken. More often than not, it is a problem with the connecting cord or the power supply.

So, without putting the blame on the poor meat grinder, check all the connecting sources in the first place. If nothing works out for you, perhaps it’s time to take the machine to a professional to investigate the issue.

Grinder Head Problems

The grinder head is what pushes the food into the machine. When you are using the meat grinder for various other stuff, the grinder head will wear down over time. If you are noticing inconsistent outputs or constant jamming, most probably, your grinding head is the culprit.

Again, it is not a big deal. Just unscrew the head and give it a thorough clean. Everything should be alright; if not, something has gone horribly wrong inside of the machine.

Conclusion

So, guys, tell me, what will be your answer if someone asks you, “What is the point of a meat masher other than grinding meat”? Now you have a handful of options to answer other uses for a meat grinder. Whatever you do with your meat grinder, be mindful not to put unwanted stress on your machine if you love it. I love my machine, and I think it’s the same with you. Have a great day!