If you are thinking of buying an electric meat grinder, you can save a lot of money if you have any of the KitchenAid stand mixers, by buying a KitchenAid meat grinder instead. Good quality electric meat grinders are around $100 but you can pick up a KitchenAid attachment which is very likely to do everything you need (and probably more) for around half that cost. It will grind meat, no problem at all, and if you buy the optional sausage stuffer attachment, you can also create your own wonderful tasting sausage links too.
Of course, you will already save money by buying any kind of meat grinder, as this means you can produce better quality ground meat using the larger cuts of meat that are normally on sale at the store instead of relying on shop bought ground meat, which usually does not usually attract such great discounts.
And once you have your KitchenAid grinder (KitchenAid FGA Food Grinder attachment to give it its full name), no doubt you will be tempted to make many more products yourself rather than buy processed foods full of junk.
KitchenAid Meat Grinder Attachment for Stand Mixers (Click Image for Details)
That is because you can use a KitchenAid food grinder attachment to grind a lot more than just meat. You can create breadcrumbs from stale bread, grate cheese without grating yourself in the process, and puree vegetables and baby food too. You can also easily make dips, sauces and spreads saving you a fortune on ready made products. You can even get additional options for your grinder, which will allow you to shred vegetables and make pasta too.
The grinder includes recipes and both coarse and fine grinding plates to suit most purposes and you will find a wooden stomper or pusher for pushing food down the hopper towards the plates.
One bonus is that most parts can be easily cleaned in the dishwasher, although it is a good idea to run some bread through the grinder after grinding meat to pick up any remnants left behind and to wash the wooden stomper and cutting blades by hand rather than machine. If you have used your grinder for raw meat, it makes sense to be extra scrupulous about cleaning. I advise that you wash your KitchenAid meat grinder right away in hot soapy water to avoid any meat drying onto the grinder, then give any parts, which can be washed in the dishwasher an extra clean there.
For best results make sure your meat is very cold or partially frozen before putting it through the meat grinder in 1″ pieces. This advice holds true for all meat grinders as it helps avoid clogging the blades. Use the larger holed plate for meat processing. You may find that some tendon or gristle clogs the blade at some point but, if it does, all you need to do is stop and release it. (Same happens with other grinders too, even commercial ones).
Two plastic tubes are included if you buy the KitchenAid sausage stuffer attachment, one for larger and one for smaller links. They are well worth including in your purchase at around $10, to increase the versatility of your machine. It will be well worth it to taste the difference between shop bought and your quality home made sausages without unnatural additives or fillers.
If you would like see KitchenAid Meat Grinder reviews you will see many right here singing the praises of the machine and you can also buy a KitchenAid meat grinder there with a very generous discount.