Can I Use Meat Grinder For Vegetables? -

This post contains affiliate links. Read the full disclosure here.

Contents

Vegetables are one of the ingredients that are ever-present in our recipe – be it tomatoes, garlic, onions, we always seem to have the use of vegetables in one way or the other. However, processing vegetables can differ based on the tool you have at your disposal – be it a knife and a chopping board, a power blender, or a mortar and pestle.

If you own a meat grinder and you are wondering if it would do a good job in grinding your vegetables, the answer is YES. Meat grinders (Such as this Heavy Duty Commercial Stainless Steel Meat Grinder) will do a very good job in grinding your vegetables, be it onion, tomatoes, and the likes.

You can as well use a manual hand meat grinder for this purpose but it won’t that effective as an electric grinder. But if you insist on using one, here’s one that is a bit close to an electric grinder you might want to check out. (Huanyu Stainless Steel Manual Meat Grinder)

Having a meat grinder in your kitchen is very profitable as it can carry out so many functions, but before we delve into that, let me walk you through how to grind vegetables with your meat grinder.

How To Grind Vegetables With Your Meat Grinder

Using meat grinders to grind your vegetables is pretty straight forward as you will be finding out shortly. Simply follow the steps outlined below to get the job done in record time.

Materials Needed

Meat grinder
Vegetables
Bowl
Knife

Step 1: Cut The Vegetables Into Tiny Bits

Depending on your meat grinder, your vegetables might not fit in properly if the vegetables aren’t cut into bits. Cutting your vegetables into bits also increases the pace of your grinding. Vegetables like onions would have to pass through your kitchen knife before passing through your meat grinder if you are to make any sort of progress.

Step 2: Get Your Meat Grinder Ready

After cutting your vegetables, you would want to get your meat grinder ready by either plugging it into a power source (for electrical meat grinders) or fixing it to a suitable spot (for manual grinders).

You might also want to casually run water through the engine to aid easy grinding when the vegetables come in contact with the contact plate. Also, use the available time to place a bowl underneath the outlet of your meat grinder to collect the ground vegetables.

Step 3: Pour Your Sliced Vegetables Into The Meat Grinder And Grind

Once your meat grinder has been properly set, pour your vegetable into your meat grinder base on the capacity it can be able to accommodate at a time. Depending on your meat grinder model, you might want to exert some sort of pressure on the vegetables as they pass through the hopper.

Be careful when doing this, so that you don’t push the spoon through the hopper. As you exert the pressure, the vegetables can easily collect vegetables and crush them appropriately.

Simply collect the crushed vegetables and use them appropriately. The next part should involve you washing the grinder to keep it fresh for future use. The simple steps below should see you through the process.

How To Clean Your Meat Grinder After Grinding Vegetables

You will need the following materials to enable a smooth cleaning process of your meat grinder;

Materials Needed

Dish detergent
Bottlebrush
Dry towel
Sponge
Your meat grinder manual (if you have no idea how to dismantle your meat grinder)

Step 1: Pour Water Through The Hopper

After grinding your vegetables, pour water through the hopper to flush off some of the stuck vegetables.

Endeavour to do this immediately you are done with the grinding process – the quicker you clean your meat grinder, the less possibility of having vegetables stick in certain areas of your meat grinder which can cause rust in the long run.

Step 2: Grind Some Slices Of Bread

This might sound very odd, but blending about two to three slices of bread will help absorb any form of oil your vegetables might have left behind in the blades and tunnel sections of your meat grinder.

It also helps in pushing out any lingering vegetable particles that will be present in your meat grinder – what you do with the grounded bread is definitely up to you.

Step 3: Dismantle The Removable Parts Of Your Meat Grinder

To dismantle the removable parts of your meat grinder for thorough washing, you have to know the removable parts – this is where your meat grinder’s manual comes in if you have no idea. You have to be certain you are up to the task so that you don’t start something you can’t finish.

If you have a manual meat grinder, it should consist of a screw that moves the content in your meat grinder to the blades – a hopper, feed tube, and a pusher that form a single piece once it has been assembled – the blades, cover, and the metal plates.

You can always do a video of yourself dismantling the parts so you can be aware of where they fit in should you get confused when fixing it back.

Step 4: Soak The Removable Parts In Water Mixed With Dish Soap

Once you have successfully dismantled the removable parts from your meat grinder, soak them in a bucket of water, or your sink containing dish soap. The soak time should be around 45-minutes or longer for the best result.

Kindly note that electric meat grinders should not have the motor parts soaked as it could completely damage them. Soaking these parts will help to soften the grip of the vegetables on the parts of your meat grinder.

Step 5: Use Your Sponge To Wash The Parts

After soaking the parts, use your sponge to clean the various parts of your meat grinder. Ensure you get every area of the parts, but be mindful of the blade section when scrubbing – you don’t want to injure yourself while cleaning.

Use the bottle brush to thoroughly clean areas your sponge wouldn’t be able to easily access, like the feed tube and plate holes.

Step 6: Rinse The Parts, Dry Them, And Store Them Properly

Once you are done washing the disassembled parts, rinse them in clean warm water, then dry them using your towel before air drying on your wire rack, or any other suitable surface.

To properly store your grinder and keep it fresh for future use, ensure the parts are lubricated with oil to prevent any form of rusting during storage – you can also try bagging some of the individual parts with some amount of rice to help absorb any form of moisture that might form during storage.

Storing some parts of your meat grinder is also a good idea since meat grinder parts have been proven to work more efficiently when refrigerated – only if you have enough space in your refrigerator though.

What Else Can I Make With A Meat Grinder?

You would be thoroughly mistaken if you thought a meat grinder could only do the job of grinding meat. Apart from doing a good job at crushing vegetables, here is some selected recipe you can make with your meat grinder.

Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage (Credit To Chef Chang)

Ingredients

¾ teaspoon of salt
16-ounce of pork meat
½ teaspoon of dried parsley
¼ teaspoon of ground sage
¼ teaspoon of ground coriander
¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper
¼ teaspoon of dried thyme
¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of oil
½ teaspoon of MSG (not compulsory)

How To Make Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage – Step By Step Guide

Step 1

Put all the ingredients in one bowl and ensure they are mixed properly – do not leave anything out that is listed above. Remember to crush the pork using your meat grinder.

Step 2

Once the ingredients are properly mixed, you can decide to turn them into sausages or parties depending on your mood or liking. If you decide to go for sausage, grind the already mixed mixture in your meat grinder, then use a stuffing tube to fill up the casing.

Step 3

Heat up your frying pan before adding oil, then put your sausage on it. be present at all times when frying, to turn the sausage back and forth for at least 12-minute. Once it starts becoming brown on both sides, then you are good to go.

Don’t place your patties on top of each other after frying – ensure you place parchment paper between each patty to prevent them from sticking. They can last for up to 3 months. As for the sausages, simply eat the one you can, and put the rest in the freezer.

Ground Beef Jerky (Credit To Chef Chang)

Ingredients

1 pound of lean ground beef
Marinade sauce should consist of the following;
A tablespoon of soy sauce
¼ teaspoon of curing Prague powdered salt
A tablespoon of Worcester sauce
A teaspoon of red curry powder
A teaspoon of ground lemon pepper
A teaspoon of black ground pepper
½ teaspoon of onion powder
½ teaspoon of garlic powder
¼ teaspoon of coriander
A teaspoon of ginger powder

I personally like to increase the amount of black ground pepper because I like my beef spicy – feel free to increase the amount of any of the ingredients, as long as you are comfortable with the outcome.

Ground Beef Jerky – Step By Step

Step 1

After grinding the beef in your meat grinder, mix all the ingredients in a bowl wide enough to accommodate them – including the grounded beef. You must mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

Step 2

If you have a jerky gun (click here for more info), load it with the properly mixed mixture, then create strips on the dehydrator tray (about 4″ long). In the absence of a jerky gun, simply spread the meat on a baking sheet, and ensure it is properly covered with a greaseproof paper.

Step 3

Using a rolling pin, flatten the sheet of meat until you get a very flat size of about ¼ inches thick. The thinner the sheet of meat, the better. After rolling, then use a knife to slice the flattened beef into strips about 4-inches long.

Step 4

Place your dehydrator tray containing your beef slices in a dehydrator and set it at 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Let it dry for about 3 ½ hours, and no longer, else your beef jerky might become too dry as a result of being in the dehydrator for too long.

There are other recipes you can try out such as the turkey burger recipe, Korean ground beef, and rice bowls, among several others – your meat grinder can definitely do more than you think it can.

Is It Healthy To Grind Your Own Meat?

Not only is it healthy, but it is also advisable. If you ever wanted to know what a great burger or meatball tasted like, then start by grinding your own meat. When you grind your own meat, you tend to be in charge of the texture and the quality all around.

You also will not put some additives some pre-grounded meat might have thereby keeping your meat fresh all the way.

Most importantly, grinding at home also drastically reduces the risk of E. coli contamination which is why I strongly advise you grind your own meat if you have to – it’s definitely worth your time.

Is A Meat Grinder Worth It?

Absolutely! Just have you have seen by reading this article, you will notice the importance of meat grinders, and how they make life so easy.

Imagine having an appliance that can aid you in making your favourite snack or breakfast – cool right? Not only that, but you also have the option of having items or ingredients into marshy forms – including bones. It’s definitely worth it, and that’s me speaking from experience.

Does KitchenAid Meat Grinder Grind Bones?

Definitely, yes! But this depends on the type of bones you intend to grind. Grinding small chicken bones, or brisket bones shouldn’t pose a problem, but that should be about as far as you can get.

Anything harder or heavier could be problematic as far as I can tell – better still, I suggest using a bone grinder (click here for more info) for optimum results when it comes to grinding bones.