Opinions on Kitchenaid meat grinder attachment

A lot of reviews claim it shaves metal into the grinds. What do you guys use? The brats thread got me re-thinking about this. Also really want to grind meat for burgers, not a fan of the food processor texture for that.

If your going to use it for a lb or 2 a few times a year, and already have the base, it's not terrible.

If your going to grind something once a week, then there are much better options. From my experience cheap grinders (sub 200) just don't hold up well. Or perform well. The cabellas pro model in .5 HP. Is what I use and I suspect it will last my lifetime.

for the occasional burger (or four)..i just use my food processor. i partially freeze inch sized chunks of skirt and short rib meat..and BRRRRPPPPPP! pulse it until perfect.

i cant make sausage in bulk..but for small batch stuff, it kicks buttee.

Maybe I should stick with the food pro but that's no fun. So where do you guys get your sausage casings?

http://www.butcher-packer.com

http://www.sausagemaker.com

Brian, I've got both the metal and the plastic grinding attachments for my KA. I've not had any problems with the plastic one but would not want to run it all day. The metal one is fairly robust for my residential (prob 3 lbs max at a time) use. The plastic is an extra, pm me a shipping addy and it's yours.

In my experience, if one wants to make professional level sausage, there are two choices

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ZHUZ0S/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


Or

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004DE35RY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Both have served me well but the hand crank gets ten times more use. It's light, easy to set up and break down. The Weston weighs 70lbs when all set up. The box even says "Team Lift"

I should have qualified my recommendation. If I set up to run sausage, I run 25 lbs at a time. I have a 100 lb smoker and make this an all day thing....I just freeze it in 5 lb packs and sell some to my co workers or friends for the food cost. I just enjoy making it in the winter.

I think the hand grinder above maybe a good choice for you to start with. While it's not hard by any means it's a lot of work with the prep and clean up....so you may want to see how much you really like it before buying expensive gear.

Jeez Dave, I owe you one! Thank you!

Silly name, but it does a good job for me.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012KJBR0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

If you really get into the sausage making thing, you'll probably want to get a vertical stuffer. Makes life a whole lot easier.

Thanks again, Dave! There's a pound each of chuck roast and boneless short ribs in the fridge as we speak, waiting to become burgers.