Sausage Making — 2nd grind smear

[scottranda]

What am I doing wrong? I put all the components of the LEM .35 HP meat grinder in the freezer. I also put the meat in the freezer (all for almost an hour). I get the first coarse grind done quickly and it’s quite easy. Then I immediately put the coarse ground meat through a second (smaller grinding plate) but it barely gets through the smaller holes. If it does come out, it’s smeared pretty good, but it pretty much just clogs up in the Big Bite grinder.

Any tips/hints?

Do I need to refreeze the ground meat and components after the first grind? When I watch YouTube, nobody does that. So frustrating!

[ComfortablyNumb]

I've had that happen. Lesson learned was to use the same plate for both grinds. If you want a fine grind, start with a fine plate.

[scottranda]

Thanks for this advice! i’m going to try the smaller plate first next time! (It’s these little tips/hints that pays for the AR membership!)

[johnec00]

Getting the second grind partially frozen may help, but more likely one of several things . . .

• The spanner nut that holds the knife and the plate together needs to be very tight, I use a small strap wrench to tighten.
• There was some foreign material between the knife and the plate as you set up for the second grind. The knife blade must be absolutely flush with the plate.
• The plate with the smaller holes is distorted somehow.
• Knife needs to be sharpened (actually both the knife and the plate should be sharpened). There are hand sharpening methods on the web. I use a glass plate with 320 grit wet paper followed by 600 grit and rub the knife and plate around in sort of a flower petal pattern.

[scottranda]

My LEM is brand new (only my 3rd time using), but I’m going to have to remember getting my knife sharpened in the future. My fitting is very tight, but perhaps my other issue what I didn’t clean out the blade in between grinds.

[Willy]

I've found that cutting as much gristle/silverskin/"weird-looking stuff/etc. off before the first grind is a big help. I "think" that just meat and fat will not smear, especially if cold.

[scottranda]

I’m going to have to pay more attention to this. I had a piece of sausage and it was delicious, but I found a foreign tiny "piece" of bone in there. I was surprised, but I’ll pay even MORE close attention! Thanks!

[Jerod Broussard]

I have a 1/2 horse and just start with the fine grind.

I am able to observe a commercial grinder that does thousands of pounds of lean product. It has both the course plate and fine plate working at the same time. Occasionally the fine gets clogged, and as Willy mentioned, "extra curricular" matter other than meat is what does it in.

[scottranda]

Starting with fine grind it is!! Yeah, and my comment above to Willy also confirms I may have had a foreign substance in there.

[JimLinebarger]

Did you clean out the auger between grinds when you changed blades or did you just change the blades? I have the #8 Lem and I went from coarse to fine with no issues and cleaned out the auger. It was beef, though, and that may be the difference.

[scottranda]

I didn’t clean it out, but next time I will. Or, I’ll just start with the fine grind like others have mentioned. But, yeah, I probably need to be more careful around cleaning in between grinds.

[MattTheGR8]

It could be that re-chilling the meat after the first grind would help. Also, it would help to keep it cool during the first grind by making sure that the bowl catching the ground meat is sitting in a larger bowl full of ice water.

Also, johnec00 makes some great points about the fit between the knife and the plate. I've had smearing issues in the past if there is any gristle between the knife and the plate when I change plates. The two must be absolutely flush with one another and held tightly together in order for the meat and fat to be properly cut as they pass through. You might try cleaning off and re-installing the knife before you put on the new smaller plate.

[scottranda]

Yeah, I think I’m going to have to clean in between grinds. The plate was for sure flush on the coarse grind, but since I didn’t clean on the finer grind, that’s probably my downfall. I need more practice I guess!

[ComfortablyNumb]

Here is another tip regarding your knife and plate. Get a knife for each plate you have and use the same side of the plate each time. The knife and the plate will wear together.

Auger does not have to be cleaned between grinds, but if you find that the meat isn't coming out the plate during a grind it may be due to fat buildup. Check for fat on the auger, clean by removing and melting off with hot water. The knife should be 'cleaned' between grinds though. Pull it off and remove sinew wrapped around it.

[scottranda]

Thanks $1 million!!!!

[HouseHomey]

I got nothing after All the great advice above. This thread alone is worth the annual fee for any that want to grind.