Blade size for grinding beef

[Hugh]

Want to grind a chuck roast to make burgers for tomorrow. My wife found an old Porkert #10 in her Dad's garage. It only has what looks like a fine blade to me. Do you folks think this size would be ok for making hamburger?

[mnavarre]

Looks too small to me. I would probably be hard to get the chuck through a die that small as a primary grind, and you'd get really dense patties also. If you have a food processor you can get a pretty good burger consistency using that, just prep the meat like you would to grind and then pulse in the FP until you're happy with the chop.

[Backroadmeats]

That would probably work for the coarse grind but you want a finer like 1/8 inch plate for the fine grinds or you will have hard fat Chunks in tour burger.

[Hugh]

I'm guessing those are 1/16 inch holes in the plate. Maybe too fine?

[Backroadmeats]

It is hard to tell from the pictures.. heck give it a go and see how it turns out. Just try a few pounds .

[Jerod Broussard]

I'm just hopjng that CLR wasn't used to clean it.

I do nothing but fine on everything, I let the electric motor do the cranking. I have some already ground I'm going to mix with bacon ends. Burgers will probably lose 50% weight from raw to cooked.

[Hugh]

I take no blame for the CLR. My wife wanted it CLEAN. It promptly went in the dishwasher after and came out rusty AGAIN! A vicious cycle.

[jerrybell]

I'd give it a try. If you don't like the result, you'll know to try something different next time. If you have a Cabela's near you, they typically have universal plates in stock and they're only about 20 bucks.

[Hugh]

Got one close by Jerrybell. Thanks.

[Bighorn Dave]

In an effort to put the actual size of the plate in perspective by looking at the other objects in the photo, I think I would give it a try. Not the end of the world if the grind turns out a little too small as you can form your patties with that in mind to cure a little of the problem if there is one. What jerybell suggested is a great suggestion. The cutting plates are not that costly and for the most part have a universal fit with other grinder heads that are available.

[johnec00]

Hugh - Actually looks about right to me, but desired coarseness is a matter of opinion. Chuck costs what, about $5/lb? Give it a try. On a more serious note, sharpness of the blade and flatness of the plate have more to do with a good grind than size of the plate.

[Bighorn Dave]

Hugh - Actually looks about right to me, but desired coarseness is a matter of opinion. Chuck costs what, about $5/lb? Give it a try. On a more serious note, sharpness of the blade and flatness of the plate have more to do with a good grind than size of the plate.

Excellent advice. I have been told it is a good idea to mate your blade with your plate and do not vary. Helps with better grinds and helps extend the over all life cycle of the pieces. One more suggestion is to make sure the meat is chilled almost to the point of starting to freeze and if possible keep the grinder auger and associated parts as cold as you can. I have an ice gel pack that wraps around the auger housing which in turn helps keep the binding to a minimum when doing larger amount grinds.