Grinding meat has grown quite popular, with an increasing number of individuals preferring to grind their meat and meat products at home rather than purchasing professionally ground meat from the market. Home-ground beef has the extra benefit of being the most sanitary since you can control your fat intake and have your meat processed precisely as you want it.
While a meat grinder isn’t necessary for every chef, I was interested in whether the Cuisinart Electric Meat Grinder would be useful enough in the kitchen to warrant a Wishlist item. I’d previously used meat grinders, so I knew I’d need to stock up on meat to grind and research sausage recipes for more extensive testing.
Then I got imaginative. After several burgers, meatballs, and sausages, I’ve figured out how this item works and if you actually need it for your new meal prep ideas, recipes, and party food brainstorming. Continue reading to get to the meat of the matter.
Cuisinart Electric Meat Grinder Setup is simple
The assembly of the grinder was straightforward. Pieces don’t fit well if they’re not oriented correctly, so it’s more an issue of determining which components are necessary for which function.
I required the cutter and one of the two grinding dies for grinding, in addition to the feed screw and the screw-on ring that keeps it all together. I substituted the plastic sausage spacer and one of the two plastic sausage tubes for the cutter and die while producing sausage.
It was simple to recall how all the pieces fit after building it a few times, but if you only use it a few times a year, keep the instructions nearby to ensure everything is in its appropriate spot.
Design
While it isn’t quite ready for the runway, the brushed metal body, gleaming grinding attachment, and black pusher and accents offer it a high-end style that can work in almost any kitchen. If grinding is going to happen multiple days in a row, it appears decent enough to leave out.
When it comes to countertop appliances, this one is quite tiny, which is nice because it will most likely spend a significant amount of time in storage. After all, it’s not like a coffee machine is used every day.
The pusher, which is constructed of solid plastic and meant to keep the loose parts when the grinder is in storage, is one of the nicest features of this grinder. You’ll like how it keeps all of the pieces nicely organized and how the cover keeps everything dust-free in storage.
Where high-end materials are not required, the grinder and its attachments are built from a range of less expensive materials. The plastic gear on the feed screw was one of the first things I noticed. After considerable consideration, I concluded that the plastic equipment would self-destruct rather than burn out the pricey motor. The gear is held in place by a screw, so it should be simple to repair if necessary.
The cutter and grinding plates are the only pieces that will wear down over time, although they should last a long time before any maintenance is required. You may be able to sharpen the cutter manually with the proper equipment, but replacing it may be easier.
However, if you enjoy experimenting in the kitchen and use this grinder enough to dull the cutter and cause it to die, it may be time to change to a more heavy-duty piece of equipment for your extensive meat-prepping needs.
This appliance’s cable storage is one of the finest I’ve seen. The rope is wrapped around the machine. There’s also a slot where the cable may be securely stored out of the way so it doesn’t flop about and become tangled with other goods in the pantry.
Features:
So the pusher is also one of the grinder’s drawbacks. The pusher lid gives a large, smooth surface to push down on while grinding meat or creating sausage, and it functions well enough that it didn’t take much pushing when grinding meat.
However, the pusher and my hands were oily as I was cooking sausage. Because everything was so slick, the pusher lid eventually fell off and wouldn’t stay on. When that happened, I had to use the pusher without the lid, which wasn’t ideal. It would have been far better if the lid had been bolted on rather than pushed on.
Because foods can become trapped within the grinder while you’re grinding, the on/off switch includes a reverse function. It moves forward again after turning the feed screw the other way to free the jam. I’ve never had to use it, but it’s nice to know it’s there if you do.
Performance
While it isn’t the most powerful grinder on the market, and it did struggle a little when presented with a really cold chunk of thick fat, it never stalled or overheated. It could keep up with the rate at which we fed the machine, and it was frequently ahead of me when I had to grab the pusher to feed meat into the screw.
I used ground beef cubes to create meatballs and pig strips to make sausages. The grinder performed admirably with both types of meat. I was extremely delighted that there was very little meat left in the grinder, so there was little waste. When I created the sausages, I had a little extra meat left over, but it wasn’t wasted because I had enough to make a little burger for excellent sampling.
If you want to prepare a large number of meats at once, you’re in excellent hands. I was able to grind 12 pounds of beef in one session with no problems. I separated the meat into two batches after the initial grind to produce two sorts of sausage. I inserted the sausages into their casings one at a time, only stopping to clean the machine so the flavors didn’t mingle.
Stuffing sausages into casings took a little more effort than grinding them, but it wasn’t too difficult. The process might be easier if there were two people here, one to feed the machine and the other to make sure the sausages were filled correctly, but you can do it on your own.
One thing to keep in mind is that this grinder is rather noisy, comparable to the noise made by certain blenders or juicers. It was quieter when it was working and louder when it was first turned on but no food was being broken down.
A meat grinder is obviously meant to prepare meat, but I wanted to discover what more the Cuisinart Electric Meat Grinder could do to improve its use in the kitchen. I began by inserting cheese into its maw.
I chopped the cheese into sticks, and the grinder had no issue taking them in and reshaping them—I didn’t even need to use the pusher. The final ground cheese wasn’t as pretty as standard grated or shredded cheese, but it was good for melting on top of pizzas or burgers, and it was quick and simple to make.
I then tried veggies. Onions had a lot of liquid with shattered parts of onion and some tiny chunks, but potatoes had very small chunks, some smashed fragments, and less fluid.
While the results weren’t as lovely as diced veggies, everything that went through the grinder would be ideal for dishes that don’t require exact cuts, such as salsa, sefirot, relish, fritters, hash, or being incorporated into meatballs or meatloaf. While I enjoyed the meat grinder for only meat, the idea that it could be used for other items pushes it closer to the must-have level.
Cleaning is simple enough.
The Cuisinart Electric Meat Grinder disassembles easily enough to check and clean every nook and cranny of all the parts. The feed tube is large enough to insert a sponge and turn the corner into the grinding region, leaving no site undisturbed, so you can be certain that nothing is left behind.
Because the cutting plates are made of steel, corrosion is a possibility. To avoid this look, handwasher, dry, and oil-coat them. Other items can be hand cleaned and air dried. The plastic pusher is top-rack dishwasher safe, but it’s just as simple to hand-wash with the other pieces.
Price is reasonable.
There are dozens of more costly meat grinders, but for a little under $100, the Cuisinart Electric Meat Grinder is surprisingly reasonable. It’s an excellent beginner grinder for cooks who are unsure if they want to invest in something larger and more expensive, and it’s easier to use than a manual grinder.
