This post contains affiliate links. Read the full disclosure here.
Contents
If your meat grinder clogs very often, then it is certain that you aren’t doing something right on your part. After walking you through the unclogging process of your meat grinder, I will be explaining things you can do to avoid a future occurrence.
Here are cleaning steps you can use to tackle any form of clogging in your meat grinders – just follow them and you will be fine.
Expert Steps To Fixing A Clogged Meat Grinder
Materials Needed
- Dish soap
- Baking soda
- Bottlebrush
- sponge
Step 1: Disassemble Your Meat Grinder
The first thing to do when you discover your meat grinder is clogged is to disassemble it into every part that can be removed.
Doing this will help you gain access to the hopper area where the meat is likely to be clogged. It also allows you to clean the blades and other grinding mechanisms. However, take care when dismantling electrical grinders and ensure the motor part do not come in contact with water.
If you don’t know how to dismantle your meat grinder, kindly make a quick reference to the user manual – it should have a picture illustration of how you can take apart your meat grinder.
Step 2: Remove The Meat Particles Clogging The Hoper Section
After dismantling your meat grinder, remove the particles of meat clogging certain areas of the tool – it should be easier now that the parts are apart – use the bottle brush in certain areas where your finger or sponge is unlikely to reach such as the food channel consisting of the hopper.
Once you have finished removing the particles of meat, proceed to clean your meat grinder.
Step 3: Soak The Parts In Soapy Warm Water
The warmer the water, the better. Soaking the parts in warm water will ensure that the pieces of meat clogging your meat grinder will be softened after a while. The washing liquid in the warm water will also make it easy to get rid of oil residue in the parts. Soak the parts for about 45-minutes.
Read Also: How To Clean Meat Grinder Plates With Steps
Step 4: Clean The Parts With A Sponge And Baking Soda
After soaking the parts, proceed to use your sponge to clean your meat grinder. You can choose to add baking soda to your sponge before scrubbing due to the greasy nature of your meat grinder after grinding meat. Ensure you do a thorough job before rinsing off the soap with clean water.
After rinsing the parts, leave them to air dry for a while to prevent them from rusting. You can choose to reassemble your meat grinder to continue your grinding, but not after you know how to prevent clogging from becoming a common theme anytime you grind meat.
Trending Searches
How Do I Know My Meat Grinder Is Clogged?
You know your meat grinder is clogged when the meat coming out from the outlet is slower than it usually is. Do well to follow the steps above and fix the problem once and for all.
How Do You Keep Meat Grinder From Clogging?
Most persons who experience clogging are homeowners who grind meat on their own. These simple steps will help to eradicate such from happening.
1. Trim Off The Excess Fat From Your Meat
If you have cleaned a clogged meat grinder, then you would agree with me that one of the meaty parts you are likely to notice as you clean your meat grinder is fat and sinew meat.
These parts of the meat – more often than not – are responsible for clogging your meat grinder anytime you grind. These wouldn’t pose a serious challenge for electric meat grinders though, but you must take the necessary precautions.
2. Watch The Kind Of Bones You Grind
Persons with pets are more likely to grind meat with bones; while this isn’t a problem, ensure your meat grinder is well suited to grind bones before doing such.
Read Also: Can You Grind Bones In A Meat Grinder? Find Out Now
Aside from heavy-duty meat grinders, not all meat grinders are designed to grind bones, and even if they are, only weak bones are suitable.
If you feel the need to grind bones, you can grind them separately using a heavy-duty meat grinder or a blender that is suited for such a purpose. speaking from experience, you are better off with a meat grinder clogged with meat, than bones.
3. Maintain And Sharpen The Blades From Time To Time
When you often grind meat in your meat grinder, the blades are likely to be dull due to frequent use which can slow down the grinding process when grinding your meat, thereby making clogging a very possible phenomenon.
Read Also: How To Sharpen Meat Grinder Blades And Plates With Steps
This can be avoided by sharpening the blades, or getting replacement where necessary. The sharper the blades of your meat grinder, the more unlikely you are to experience clogging if you follow the two procedures above.
4. Clean Your Blades Properly And Frequently
Ensure the blades are properly cleaned and dried after every use. A properly dried blade is a healthy blade. Never attempt to reassemble your meat grinder if the blades aren’t properly dried. I don’t know about you, but I clean my meat grinder after every use.
The more often you clean your meat grinder, the fewer sinews and meat particles you get out from critical channels in your meat grinder which can result in clogging. If you happen to be in haste due to some reason, you can always grind slices of bread after grinding your meat.
This will help in absorbing any form of oil left during the grinding process whilst pushing out other particles of ground meat as corrosion has been one of the major factors of blunt grinding blades.
5. Cut Your Meat Into Smaller Parts
The time spent cutting your meat is recovered when grinding. When you chop your meat into smaller parts, it makes it easier for the blades to grind your meats compared to when you simply toss them in their large size. Big chunks of meat are more likely to cause clogging than smaller chunks of meat.
Most importantly, clean your meat grinder as often as time permits. People who are most likely to complain of clogging are most likely to be at fault when it comes to cleaning their meat grinder. A neat and well-dried meat grinder is likely to get clogged as long as you follow the simple steps I outlined above.
How Do You Reset A Meat Grinder?
Supposing you purchased a manual meat grinder from a yard purchase or wherever, you must carry out a “reset” on the grinder to give it a sparkling look regardless of its appearance.
The following steps below should help you in resetting your meat grinder. Note that the step below is fitted for manual meat grinders and not the electric version.
Materials Needed
- Bowl
- Vinegar
- Wire brush
- Paint
- Used newspaper
- Masking tape
- Sandpaper
Step 1: Disassemble Your Meat Grinder
The first step you have to take in the illustrious journey of resetting or refurbishing your meat grinder is to disassemble your grinder into various parts. Ensure every part that can be removed is disassembled before anything else. The next step will tell you why this is necessary.
Step 2: Soak The Meat Grinder Parts In Household Vinegar
After disassembling the meat grinder into parts, get a bowl large enough to contain the parts, then pour in homemade vinegar. Put the parts into the bowl containing homemade vinegar and allow it to soak for between five to seven days.
This time duration will allow the vinegar to get a hold of any form of bacteria that might be hidden in any area of the meat grinder – that’s why you must disassemble the meat grinder down to the tiniest part available.
Step 3: Brush The Parts
Once the days for the soaking elapse, use your wire brush and brush the parts with all seriousness. Getting out the dirt wouldn’t be a problem since the parts have been immersed in liquid for some days.
Use a bottle brush to get to narrow areas of the meat grinder such as the hopper. You can rinse the parts with fresh clean water when you are done.
Step 4: Get The Parts Ready For Painting
Next up is to prep the parts for painting. You can do this by covering certain areas of the grinder with used paper or old newspaper, such as the food section and the blade section to avoid raw paint getting access to them. once these parts are secured, then you can proceed with the next step below.
Step 5: Prime The Metal Surface
For those of you who don’t know what it means to prime a metal surface or its importance, please take note; a metal surface is said to be primed when a primer (click here for more info), or undercoat is applied to a metal surface before the actual painting takes place.
Priming is important because it helps the paint to stick effectively on the metal surface when it is applied. It also helps to prevent future corrosion and generally improves the life expectancy of the steel.
Once you get the parts ready for painting, ensure you prime the metal surface to make the paint more effective and durable.
Step 6: Spray The Grinder With Paint
I suggest you go for spray paint over regular paint as it helps to save time and also does a better job in bringing out the beauty in your meat grinder. Spray the paint on the exposed areas, and ensure it gets to all the parts. Leave to dry for some hours before proceeding to the next step below.
Step 7: Use Sandpaper On The Wooden Handle
After spraying the metallic section of the paint, use sandpaper on the wooden handle of the meat grinder. Ensure you get every aspect of the handle until it sparkles. Using sandpaper on the meat grinder will also help to improve the grip properties of the handle, and also make it ready for the next step below.
Step 8: Stain The Handle
After using sandpaper on the handle, proceed to stain the handle by using finishing oil. Staining is very important, especially in such instances because it helps to protect the wood from further or future damage. Note that the colour of the wood will be altered once you carry out the process, but it doesn’t imply any form of distortion. Use this wood stain for a good result (click here for more info).
Step 9: Replace The Grinding Plate And Knife
Replacing the grinding plates and knife should set you back some few quid, but it’s really worth it if you want the new appearance of your new meat grinder to match the performance. You can even get other grinding attachments that serve unique purposes, such as sausage attachments.
Step 10: Reassemble Your New Look Meat Grinder
After doing everything as directed so far, reassemble your meat grinder, then mount it on the stand. Don’t proceed to use it immediately until you run garlic and sprouts through the new blades and refurbished engines.
This will help eliminate any sort of lingering chemical smell or residue that might have remained during the “resetting” process. Once you have grounded some amounts of garlic and sprouts through the engines, you are definitely good to go.
Are Old Meat Grinders Worth Anything?
Sure, they do! Although, not as expensive as the new ones, the price can vary based on the functionality or appearance of the meat grinder in question. If you happen to get a used meat grinder with a dull appearance, ensure you “reset” it with the steps I outlined above, and you can even end up selling it for a higher amount!
My Meat Grinder Keeps Clogging – Final Words
You don’t need to be handy with tools to fix your clogged meat grinder or other DIYs explained in this article – a strong will and resolve is enough. I wish you the very best in your meat grinding endeavour, and let me know if you have any questions or observations in the comment section. Cheers!!!
