So it is time for a good belly laugh at your Fearless Leader. I sat down to read the KA manual and discovered that I failed to insert the cutting knife behind the plate. No wonder it was clogging up!
So maybe I need to give it another try. Still, I think we need to test some grinders to recommend to readers who don't have a KA.
The gear on my KA chipped somehow and I was contemplating buying another attachment or a stand alone one ~ that budget. This thread gave me some ideas. I was a bit surprised that I could not find a lot of comprehensive reviews out there on meat grinders.
JJD, that gear failure is fairly common, it's a brass/bronze gear and is readily available from KA. You'll also need the food grade grease to pack in the housing once cleaned out from the metal contaminated old grease. Sadly it failed likely because of the load from the grinder as those who use it for "normal" mixing rarely, if ever, have that failure.
Meathead , I have an STX International Megaforce 3000. It was recommended to me by a very close family friend who owns a very large and successful meat processing and distribution company in Green Bay. I have been very impressed by its capabilities! It has eaten everything I have thrown at it without so much as a hiccup. They are very reasonably priced, I’ve seen them between $150 and $200. The only thing that I noticed with it was when trying to stuff sausage that has a very fine grind, like bratwurst, it doesn’t perform very well. The auger just seems to spin inside the meat rather than push it through. I had no problems at all stuffing sausages with a coarser grind. This wasn’t a big issue for me anyway since I have a Weston vertical stuffer anyway.
I’m interested to see if your KA works better for you now or if you decide to get another grinder which one you will pick. I like the idea of reviewing grinders, too!
2020 will have brought us the N2019 CoV coronavirus and also potentially MGS! (More grinder syndrome!)
Last edited by RickyBobby; February 5, 2020, 08:36 PM.
Reason: Correcting the auto correct fails.
I have the same model and also love mine. It grinds everything I throw at it. I didn't like the way it worked for stuffing so I bought one of the manual, "upright" style stuffers.
Retired high school teacher and principal
Dr ROK - Rider of Kawasaki &/or rock and roll fan
Yoder 640 on Husker themed comp cart
Cookshack Smokette smoker
Antique refrigerator smoker
Weber 22 1/2" kettle w/ GrillGrates AND Slow and Sear
Rec Tec Mini Portable Tailgater w/ GrillGrates
Plenty of GrillGrates
Uuni wood pellet oven, first generation
Roccbox Pizza Oven
Meater Block
"Go Big Red" Thermopen instant read thermometer
Ultrafast instant read thermometer
CDN quick read thermometer
Maverick ET-732 thermometer
Maverick ET-735 thermometer
Tru-Temp wireless thermometer
Infrared thermometer (Mainly use for pizza on the Uuni and Roccbox)
Beverages - Is there really anything other than Guinness? Oh yeah, I forgot about tequila!
I have a kitchenaide and a larger Cabla's grinder. I use the kitcheaide for small batches and the Cabela's for large batches. I have found both to be very effective. I'm assuming you are partially freezing your meat cubes before grinding? This will help almost as much as putting your blade in correctly
Equipment
Primo Oval xl
Slow n Sear (two)
Drip n Griddle
22" Weber Kettle
26" Weber Kettle one touch
Blackstone 36†Pro Series
Sous vide machine
Kitchen Aid
Meat grinder
sausage stuffer
5 Crock Pots Akootrimonts
Two chimneys (was 3 but rivets finally popped, down to 1)
cast iron pans,
Dutch ovens
Signals 4 probe, thermapens, chef alarms, Dots, thermapop and maverick T-732, RTC-600, pro needle and various pocket instareads. The help and preferences
1 extra fridge and a deep chest freezer in the garage
KBB
FOGO
A 9 year old princess foster child
Patience and old patio furniture
"Baby Girl" The cat
Pork butt can be very challenging due to all the gristle. A few years ago I was in the same place as you, hating the KA grinder and ready to pull the trigger on a new LEM Big Bite model. However, with more practice and an upgrade to the grinder I'm now grinding pork butt through my KA with few problems. Here are a few tips to help you manage the KA grinder:
1. Upgrade the grinder. The knife that comes with it isn't very good and they only give you two plates. I upgraded the knife and got a bunch of different plates with this kit and it helped quite a bit.
2. Tighten the front ring nut really well before you start. A tight nut will ensure a tight fit between the knife and the plate. If ever the nut is a bit loose, I notice the gristle evading the knife and causing smear. With a tight fit, the gristle has nowhere else to go and is more likely to be cut cleanly.
3. Butcher the meat well. You're correct that you can't ever get all the gristle out of a pork butt, but if you can get the larger pieces it will help a bunch. And for the stuff you can't or won't remove, even cutting it with your knife into smaller pieces before grinding will help.
4. Freeze the meat first. I've found that it works best when the meat is starting to firm up but not yet frozen solid, typically ~45 min in my freezer. This step is also critical for keeping the fat cool so that it is cut rather than smeared.
5. Grind it twice. For my bratwurst, I now start with a 1/2" plate then grind everything a second time with the 3/16" plate. For large batches or game processing this step would be too time consuming. If you're only grinding a butt or two, which is typical for most folks using the KA grinder, it doesn't take very long and makes the process go very smoothly.
Finally, forget about the stuffing attachments for the grinder. A dedicated stuffer is a worthwhile investment, I like my LEM 5 lb model with the stainless tubes.
Thanks for the tips. I seem to have a nice selection of plates already and 2 blades. The look sturdy, not sure if they are sharp enough. I'll soon find out! And yes, the stuffer sucks, and that is not human error. I have a big hand crank stuffer. Awesome.
Comment