How Long Do Meat Grinders Blades Last? -

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How Long Do Meat Grinders Blades Last? A typical meat grinder blade should last about a year or two, depending on how often you use the meat grinder.

The stainless steel blade of a meat grinder is built to last, it is super sturdy and durable. No matter how tough the meat is, with the right meat grinder, you can grind almost any kind of meat.

However, there are some factors you should consider that may affect the duration of your meat grinder, when these external factors come into play, your meat grinder blades can fail after just a couple of uses. Here are some of those aforementioned factors—

Factors that determine the longevity of meat grinder blades

Sometimes no matter how carefully you may be with the device, there are unforeseen circumstances that may affect the meat grinder, such as;

How you use it

When you purchase a meat grinder or if you’re borrowing from a friend, it is important to know how exactly it works in order to use it efficiently.

For a new meat grinder, it comes with an instruction manual on how to properly operate to get the work done, or you can just watch videos on the internet on the workings of the model of your meat grinder.

Operating the meat grinder wrong may lead to the meat grinder failing, as you may not assemble it correctly or it can even lead to serious injuries.

Also, if you end up cutting up the meat with bone, especially beef and pork, if your meat grinder isn’t powerful enough to grind bones, the blade of the meat grinder will eventually become dull.

Therefore, ensure you know how to properly use a meat grinder, and always use gloves for safety and hygienic purposes.

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How often do you use it?

The rate at which you use your meat grinder may also determine how long the meat grinder will serve you for, say you work in a restaurant or a butcher’s shop where you have to grind meat constantly, and you have to grind different cuts of meat.

At this regular and frequent usage, the blades of the meat grinder will gradually start to become blunt.

If you use your meat grinder every day, then you need to get one with a powerful motor, and also ensure to sharpen the blades monthly to increase efficiency and get more work done faster, at that rate of usage the blades will become dull, don’t worry about it much.

Quality

The quality of the parts of the meat grinder also affects the longevity of the blade, when you purchase a cheap meat grinder you shouldn’t expect that it would serve for as long as the more expensive meat grinders would.

Also, if your meat grinder is top notch and you end up changing the blades after a couple of years for one of lesser quality than the initial blade, don’t expect it to last as long as the first one did.

Quality items give you the best results, they also have a longer shelf life because the materials used to manufacture them are usually well-sourced.

Not cleaning

Ensure you always clean your meat grinder after every use, when you don’t clean your meat grinder the meat dries up after a while, and this will cause the gears to clog.

When you use the now clogged meat grinder, the gears will turn with difficulty which will strain the blades of your meat grinder. You get where I’m going with this?

It is super unhygienic to not clean your meat grinder, it will lead to food poisoning and if you run a restaurant, that is a Class A health code violation. For the safety of you and your customers, always clean up after yourself.

How to sharpen meat grinder blades

Sharpening stone— There are specialized stones that have been cut and designed to sharpen the blades of a meat grinder, they are round and have orifices that allow them to fit into your meat grinder. When you disassemble the meat grinder, you put in the sharpening stone which is ideal for the particular blade you need to sharpen (meat grinders are equipped with up to 3 blades, depending on the texture of ground meat you need)— you run the meat grinder for about 5-10 seconds as the blade rubs on the stone, it sharpens it.
Sandpaper — This is the manual version which requires you to “put your back into it”, after disassembling the meat grinder and figuring out which parts need sharpening, you place the sandpaper on the tabletop and gradually run the blades against the sandpaper. Do it slowly so you don’t chip the blade, it is a bit labour intensive, but it gets the job done.
Give it to a professional— If you are unclear about the methods mentioned above, in order not to ruin the blades completely, the best move would be to give the blades to a professional to get it done properly. If you don’t know who a professional is, I suggest you begin with the closest butcher store near you. You should get a link up there.

FAQS

Can I replace the blades of my meat grinder?

Yes, you can, there are replacement blades for meat grinders. Some brands even go as far as providing extra blades for your meat grinder when you purchase it.

Most models of meat grinder blades can be found in the market if yours have become dull, rusted or brittle for any reason. All you gotta do is locate the closest store near you and search for a replacement.

A brand like Weston provides blades for their Pro series models— Here is an example of a meat grinder blade replacement that can be easily purchased on Amazon; 2 Size #12 Stainless steel meat grinder blades.

How do you store meat grinder blades?

After using your meat grinder, you dismantle it and clean it properly to ensure no meat residue remains. If you are going to be using it again the next day, then it’s best you assemble it after cleaning and leave it on the countertop.

If you don’t use your meat grinder often, then disassemble after use, clean properly and store the blades with the other components in a box, a well-padded box, so the parts don’t move about when somebody tries to carry the box.

Do meat grinder blades get dull?

Yes, they do, as mentioned earlier, when you don’t use your meat grinder properly or misuse it. For example, using it to grind strong bones when it doesn’t state that the meat grinder can be used to grind bones, it will inevitably cause the meat grinder blades to become dull after a while.

If you absolutely need to grind bones, it should be soft bones like Chicken or Rabbit, and ensure you get a powerful enough meat grinder that can get the job done. An example of a meat grinder that can grind bones is the; LEM Stainless steel meat grinder.

Should I chill the blades of my meat grinder?

Yes, you should, although it isn’t completely necessary, however, it is a hack that is constantly used to grind meat more effectively.

It’s no secret that you need to chill your meat before grinding to ensure it does not clog and it comes out smoothly, while your meat grinder is grinding the meat, the motion causes friction which will eventually thaw the meat.

By chilling the blades of your meat grinder, you prolong the cooling effect because the blades and meat are equally cool which makes the work easier.

What else can I use to grind meat?

You can use a household blender to grind meat, quite easily and effectively if I may add. All you need to do is get a powerful enough blender with sharp and sturdy blades.

Make sure you cut the meat into small chunks so they fit in the blender and cutting the meat also makes it easier to break down. After cutting, chill the meat in the fridge so it firms up a little bit so as not to clog the blender.

Do not add water to the meat while blending, doing so will inevitably make the blender clog. Just blend the meat as is, blend in pulses until it reaches the desired texture.

Is a meat grinder dangerous?

It is usually safe for the most part, however, if you do not know how to operate it, then it’s best to learn properly before attempting to use one of these.

There are sharp blades in there which are moving at high speeds, if it’s sharp enough to break down meat then it’s probably sharp enough to cause injury. Even if you know how to work one of these, make sure you wear gloves while working.