Meat Grinder recommendations

[shanew]

Evening all,

It's been quite some time since I've been here but it's time to get making sausages again.
I'm tired of messing around with the little £80 hobby mincers so I'm looking to buy something substantial to make life a little easier. I've been looking at #22 machines but would like some advice. I'm now in the position where I have a full kitchen at work with as much work surface as I desire so I can bolt down my stuffer and make sausages and mince with ease

[crustyo44]

Hi Shanew,
I bought a # 22 all stainless Chinese meat mincer Model TK22 800 Watt with some extra plates and spare knives some 6 years ago. I use it a lot without any trouble. Have a look on Ebay UK. They are for sale there by : factorydirectitems and others.
Hopes this helps.
Cheers,
Jan.

[wheels]

It all depends on how much meat you process at a time.

HTH

[RodinBangkok]

Yes balance your requirement with the size of machine, a large capacity machine for small batches means you'll probably spend three times the time cleaning than you do grinding, if your in a commercial kitchen perhaps not a big deal.
And don't forget whats left in the auger, the larger the machine the more waste you may have depending on your process.
Years ago I happened on a large commercial unit cheap, but did not use it for quite a while as it was too much hassle to clean based on the size of our batches at that time.
If you go with a chinese unit off eBay make sure you understand if something goes wrong or you need a replacement part you may not have a source for it, we use a lot of Chinese equipment, but we have a local rep that keeps part stock and will do service if we need it.

[shanew]

Cheers for the replys,

I wont be doing massive batches, usually 4 - 5kg at a time but i'm working on the idea that a larger machine will process the meat quicker and cooler as by the time I've got a kilo through the little hobby machine the motor is starting to get warm. I always put a hand full of mince back through the machine to push and remaining diced meat through the plate so all that's left in the auger is minced which can be taken out and added to the rest of the meat so there's no wastage. I was looking o spend up to £700 but from what i can see, the extra money will get me the same machine with a different sticker on it. Looking at the TK22 that crustyo44 recommended, i can get it from Germany cheaper than direct from China and this seems to be the common machine that most companies have re branded. I think i'm going to go for this machine http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/800W-Commerci ... 1a2e2d30b1 unless anyone would suggest otherwise?

[RodinBangkok]

Well IMHO thats overkill if your doing 4-5kg batches, its rated at 250kg and hour and thats probably close to being right. The other issue may be available sizes of plates, I know we have one machine from China that we made plates for as it only came with one. You might check that if you go for that unit, it only shows one plate in the picture.

[wheels]

I'd go for a smaller machine. Personally, I'd opt for an Italian made one. Maybe a Trespade or Reber.

The site shop has Reber, but the #12 is out of stock. The Trespade Inox No.12 Stainless Steel takes my fancy and is available in the UK.

HTH

[shanew]

I had the Reber #8 but had no end of problems with the motor eating brushes so I got a refund and went with the cheap one from the shop a good few years back when Oddley was around. I'm hoping to turn my hobby into a part time job as a couple of friends run eateries. One has a cafe and the other an american diner. My hotdogs go down a treat and i do around a 4kg batch ever other day which has pretty much put my little mincer into its grave but i'd like to try and expand on this and do other things. With this in mind, it may be over kills for now but i'll have the equipment to expand if the opportunity arises.

I looked at the Trespade Inox 22 but was unsure of the quality as i've found not reviews on them. I worried how stable the folded steel base would be. As i said in my last post, i'm happy to spend what I need to so that i get a quality machine that will do the job and last.

I'm no expert and that's why I've asked the question so i'm grateful for all the replies so thank you.

[crustyo44]

Shanew,
If you do decide on the TK 22 model mincer, I bought spare stainless plates and knives to suit from the USA. Shipped by post in a flat pack at a very economical price. There are slight differences in the plate O.D sizes but a friend of mine rectified that in about 5 minutes, I bought extra plates from 12mm to 18 mm and knives to suit. Now I have every plate needed with a dedicated knife.
After about 6 years now, no sharpening yet and I am still pleased with my TK 22. Chinese or not. Cleaning is simplyfied by easy removal of the complete mincing unit by one lever.
My batches vary from 6 to 50 kg.
Good luck. Keep us all informed with recipes and procedures. I'm never too old to learn something new!!

[shanew]

Well I thought i'd pop back and say I bought the Tre Spade Pro Inox Delux TC-22 with 6mm plate and got a spare knife and both 4.5mm and 8mm plates chucked in for free. I made my first batch of sausages yesterday. It took all of a few minutes to mince an 6.5kg shoulder. I'm really happy with the machine. This brings me onto my new issue. The trust old northern tools stuffer i've had for years gave up on my as i was just finishing stuffing. The nylon part the handle mounts to has all but twisted off. Has anyone had experience with the stuffers franco sells?

[wdabrowski]

It is difficult to evaluate the best meat grinder on the market for home cooks based on the quality, cleanliness and texture of meats they prepare. Some meat grinders are very expensive because of accessories and high-wattage motors.
Meat with bones can cause the device to jam though many grinders can handle boiled or hard bone pieces. You can cut meat into small chunks and get your meat grinder to perform at normal speed and performance to get the best result.

[wheels]

His grinder is performing well - as we expected it would, it's his stuffer that's broken.

It may be worth checking whether Northern tools supply parts for the stuffer. They use too, but I notice that they no longer sell food equipment in the UK.

I have no experience of Franco's, but assuming they are like most of the equipment he sells, they are likely to be good quality.

Phil