Ok, the #12 Kitchener grinder is set up and ready to go.
First grind will be through the course (3/8") plate. Then a 2nd grind will be through the fine (3/16") plate.
The meat is still 80% frozen. It's just thawed enough for me to pull it apart into the strips I cut when I de-boned the pork butt. I used two trays to hold the partially thawed meat as I fed it into the grinder. The trays will be used again in a few minutes.
Course grind in progress
Ok, here is what I used the trays for. I did the 7 pounds in two batches. After each batch was course ground, I put the meat back in the pan and flattened it out across the bottom of the pan. I then put the pan of meat back into the freezer to re-chill while I ground the second batch. The second batch also went into the freezer while I changed the plates for the final grind.
When I was ready to do the second grind, I pulled the first tray of course ground pork out of the freezer. It was about 70 to 80% frozen again. I then used a knife to cut the meat into strips not unlike how you would cut brownies in a pan (the first cut only). I then used a fork to lift the strips of meat off the pan (remember it's mostly frozen again). I then could form tubes of almost frozen meat to easily feed into the grinder throat.
Here is the meat cut into strips and one strip taken out of the pan for grinding.
The final grind. Notice the condensation on the body of the grinder. That meat is really cold. No smearing of fat this way. Keep it cold, and keep it clean when working with ground meats is the way to go.
Seven pounds of pork butt after the final grind in the 3/16" plate
Meat is back in the fridge while I clean up the grinder. I'm going to get a bit of supper and will then mix the seasonings in and stuff 5 pounds for kielbasa. It's later than I wanted it to be, so I may make the Jimmy Dean clone with the other 2 pounds tomorrow while I'm smoking the kielbasa.
More to come.....
