I thought that grinding meat would be a really long and tedious process, but it’s not! In this post, I will walk you through on how to grind your own meat.
I decided I needed to figure out how to grind my own meat last fall when we were processing a deer in our backyard that our neighbor had shot.
We are no stranger to venison, but up until now, someone else has ground our venison meat for us.
I had some misconceptions about how difficult grinding meat would be and what kind of tools were required to grind the meat.
Turns out, it is not that difficult! And I already had several items I needed in my kitchen to be able to grind our own meat. Just one order from the internet is all it took to set me up for our first meat grinding experience.
If you have a Kitchen Aid Mixer like I do, then you only need to order the meat grinding attachment. There are two different styles of attachments. The metal one would be a wise investment if you are planning on grinding a lot of meat and often. Otherwise, the basic Food Grinder attachment will do the job!
If you don’t have a Kitchen Aid, no worries! You can find budget, friendly meat grinders on Amazon that are really efficient.
Start with very cold meat
You want your meat to be very cold when you are ready to start the grinding process.
- The meat will be easier to cut into small chunks to put through the processor.
- Cold meat is easier on the motor of your machine when grinding and will keep it from overheating.
Cut meat into 1 – 1 1/2 inch cubes
Your meat needs to be cut into pieces that will fit into the grinder. I recommend cubes as they are easier to push through and will keep the grinder from becoming overloaded with a large piece of meat.
Securely attach meat grinder.
From experience, I can tell you that if your grinder has not been tightened properly, the meat will be forced through the cracks of the grinder. Not fun to clean!
Create an assembly line
If you can recruit help, DO IT! My husband and I like to team up. One dices the meat into cubes and the other feeds the meat into the grinder.
You absolutely do it by yourself. Just create an assembly line that creates easy flow for you as you cube the meat and feed it into the grinder.
Freeze meat flat in Zip Bags or with a vacuum seal bags.
Once your meat is ground you can divide it to be frozen. I have a digital kitchen scale that makes sectioning the meat into 2-3 lbs easy. Since we have a big family, I almost always freeze in 2.5 lbs for future meals.
I have used a vacuum sealer to package the ground meat, but after running out of the bags, switched to regular gallon size freezer zip bags.
TIP: Flattening the meat to a thin layer in the package allows the meat to thaw much faster than a big ball. And it is also easier to stack in a freezer!
That is it! It’s really simple! And now you know how to grind your own meat!
Once we ground the venison, I started grinding pork shoulder for sausage, and chuck roast for ground beef. Often large cuts of meat are cheaper than the ground meat.
Grinding my own meat is now an easy routine. I am having fun creating new sausage recipes and of course, making a lot of hamburgers, tacos, meatloaf and more!
If you are grinding venison meat then you NEED to try my amazing Venison Chili, Venison Queso, and Venison Meatloaf (They are the most popular recipes on the blog!)
Have you ever ground your own meat before?
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We have never ground our own meat, but, I can see the benefits of owning a meat grinder, especially for those who hunt. These are some great tips on grinding meat.
This is awesome! I have always wanted a Kitchenaid mixer and this certainly adds to list of reasons why I need one!
I’m so lazy. I always buy it already ground up, but it does look pretty easy to do!
I have ground my own meat. However, I do not have a food mill and use a food processor.
I need to get this attachment so that I can do this. I think it would be nice to be able to grind your own meat.
I was grinding meat when I was 9 and did it with a mechanical grinder. This one is nifty and quick.
I prefer having to grind my own meat either. You have control with meat distribution and quality. We all need something like this one.
That sounds awesome! I’d love to try to grind our own meat!
Wow! I need to buy that attachment! Homemade ground beef sounds amazing!
I have not tried grinding meat. I think this is a way better than getting the ones at the grocery or meat shop. I will have to look for a nice, durable meat grinder, or better yet, get a new Kitchenaid mixer with a grinder attachment, just like yours.
When you grind your vension burger, do you add pork fat to help keep it together for making patties?
Yes! I do.
Not a lady, but recently lost my wife to Cancer. Learning to cook, so bought a quality hand grater with mincer attachment. Tried to make chili con carne yesterday, but it turned into a paste with beans. I minced cooked left over beef.