Which Quality Grinder up to £300??

[ChickenTurtle]

HI everyone, I've spent a few days reading various older threads where people are also asking what to buy, but many are going down the route of manual vs electric (I'm 80% certain I'll want electric, although the Tre Spade No.10 Classic in Stainless Steel looks tempting at £97 - a tool for life with nothing to go wrong other than your arm dropping off!)

Other are asking whether the Argos cheapie is better than the Anthony Worrall Thompson cheapie, or the Kenwood attachments better than either.

I'm just starting out with the whole sausage shebang (and intend to make burgers and meatballs also) but I also buy a lot of chicken pieces which we cook up and feed to our dog.

I've decided to go for a semi-commercial grade of machine as even if the sausage and burger thing becomes a bit like 'Soda-Stream' or 'Toasties' and ends up losing its appeal, the chicken I can now grind down & make either 'dog sausages' (out of chicken, not dog!) or just make her little slabs of frozen meat to defrost and feed as & when.

Therefore I intend from the off to be throwing chicken wings, maybe the odd neck etc down the hopper, and need something robust.

I first looked at the so-called commercail ones on ebay which ranghe from 120kg/h, 220kg/h through to the 320kg/h giant. They looked good, heavy (the 320 one is 68kg!!) and seemed to be good value in the auctions, selling for a fraction of the (inflated?) Buy It Now price.

I did a bit of digging around and these machines (TC12, TC22, and TC32 are made by a Chinese company and are obviously not quite what they appear at first glance.

My shortlist seems to be centered around models up to & slightly over £300 and include in order of preference:


Tritacarne No.12 Elegant £282

Inox No.8 Stainless Steel £264

Inox No.8 El Young (as above but tinned cast iron & plastic hopper) £204

These are all from here:

https://www.weschenfelder.co.uk/catalog ... ic_mincers

I also considered the larger of the Northern Tool ones

130-150 Kg/h £251.99

http://www.northerntooluk.com/food-prep ... rch=SEARCH

Or possibly this Buffalo one:

Buffalo CD400 Heavy Duty Meat Mincer £319.99

http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Heavy-Duty-Meat-Mincer/CD400
/ProductDetail.raction

I am lucky enough to have a girlfriend who's offered to give me £250 toward this 'venture' by way of my Xmas present.

I want to spend this money wisely to prove it's a worthwhile investment that will open up new controls over what we eat (no more Morrisons/Tesco mystery meat) and also allow me to freeze in a space efficient way the chicken we feed our dog.

P.S. Would I be better off buying the cheapest grinder and using the extra on a decent stuffer and or burger press? I like the one on the Weschenfelder site but it's £48!

Stuffers also seem dear for what they are! Which is best for the money?


Any advise would be welcome, whatever you have to throw in there!

I await the influx of knowledge & opinions!

[wheels]

Welcome.

Sorry to disillusion you, but Nisbets is a trade supplier so prices are without VAT. There's an extra £64 on top of the £320 for the Buffalo machine.

There's also the smaller Reber here:

http://www.sausagemaking.org/acatalog/E ... ncers.html

I have to say that the Inox stainless one from Wesch's appeals, stainless always seems 'nicer' to me. And, with that one you'd at least have some money left towards a good stuffer.

For a stuffer, I'd buy one of the upright ones from here:

http://www.sausagemaking.org/acatalog/P ... ffers.html

HTH

Phil

[ChickenTurtle]

Thanks for your reply and your welcoming words!

I think I've ruled out the Buffalo due to the VAT element.

I liked the look of the small Reber you pointed out, but it seemed a bit lacking in power/features for £225 compared with the cheaper Inox or indeed as you favoured the lovely stainless Inox.

My only concern is, as always with these things, "for £50 more you get..."

And that's how I come to be watching a Torrey M-12FS on ebay with apparently 5 months light use, currently sitting at £360!!

I'm sure it's overkill for what I need, but when's that ever stopped me in the past?

I think I'd get a healthy dose of buyers remorse if I got such a heavy duty mincer for what is essentially home use. Especially with the extra outlay required, wiping out my stuffer/burger press money in one go!

Any thoughts on the Tritacarne No.12 model?

It won a feature on The Gadget Show (for what it's worth) albeit pitted against a Kenwood mincer and a food processor lol!

I know it's not stainless, but it's a 12 rather than an 8 which might make more of 'a joy to use'?

Come on peoples, help me spend my girlfriends money wisely!!

[wheels]

Did you win the Torrey?

The size of mincer you buy would normally depend on the amount of meat that you process. Obviously, if you can pick up a large mincer at a cheap price, that's different (and the reason I have a #22!).

How much meat will you be processing at a time?

phil

[ChickenTurtle]

No I didn't win it, it went for £360 and I just couldn't bring myself to bid £370-80 for the sake of it.

I am only starting out, have a full time job and can't see myself mincing 40kg a day as I'm a home based user with no EHO passing, no outlet and no real business plan.

However I'm ambitious, keen to leave the rat race, a good intuitive chef, and see this as a possible future.

I think I'll start with something like the Inox or Tritacarne, and see how things go.

The guy selling the Torrey was clearing out the entire contents of a butchers shop in Wolverhampton, not far from me, which makes me think "well if he had a shop in a metropolis, and all the gear, and HE couldn't make a living...maybe I'm stupid to invest £400 on a mincer just for my own use, and potential future commercial use"


I think I need to lower my sights and be a bit more realistic. However having used some nice John Lewis/Waitrose vouchers I was lucky enough to receive for Xmas today I was checking out the meat products with innate scrutiny. I am now determined my family & pets will not eat 'mystery meat' from when I get my mincer onwards!



I'm thinking the Tritacarne12 or the SSInox No8.

Is Stainless better than throughput? How long does 'tinning' last on Cast iron?

Help?

[wheels]

I can't answer that from a technical point of view - but my choice would be the stainless.

Phil

[ChickenTurtle]

Ok, just to mix things up a bit, I'm beginning to favour the Buffalo CD400 purely on productivity rate.

Does anyone use/know anything about this brand/model??

I see a lot of people here seem to have their slicers, but don't know where they're made of if they're any good.

Looks and sounds pretty heavy duty !

[ChickenTurtle]

Update, I've just ordered the Buffalo, want to get the ball rolling so I took the plunge!

Will let you know how it seems when it comes!!

Thanks for your help!!

[wheels]

I don't know, but I just felt that you'd do that in the end!

You'd better get to like our hobby or your 'significant other' is really going to give you what for!

Nice one.

Phil

[ChickenTurtle]

Hi Phil,

Lol, you seem to know me better than I know myself!



At least having done what I've done I won't look back the first time a bit of meat jams & think "I should have spent a bit more for that Buffalo".

I'll just have to think "God, if this is bad, the cheaper ones would have REALLY struggled!"

Thanks for all your help & prompt replies.

I think you're right, I'll need to be using the thing on a daily basis to justify the cost! I mentioned to an acquaintance before Xmas what I was getting for my main present & he looked horrified and said "Don't do it mate, I wouldn't have one in the house!" When I asked why he said "Because if you do something wrong your d***'ll be in it, gone!"

(I think I either have a less tempestuous relationship, or am better behaved)


I've got a freezer full of various meat which hasn't seen the light of day for months, that's all going to end up as some kind of burger or meatball until I can get hold of some sausage casings!

I know it's slightly off-topic. But where can I get these casings, and what's the best type to buy?

I've read that some types are harder to use than others but can't remember much else. This is for standard "sausage & mash" style sausages, nothing flashy.

Also, ingredients wise for beef & pork, where do you guys get your meat from? Supermarkets, friendly local butcher (if any still exist) or somewhere else, and what are the cheapest/most suitable cuts for general mincing duties?

Rich

[onewheeler]

I know it's slightly off-topic. But where can I get these casings, and what's the best type to buy?

I've read that some types are harder to use than others but can't remember much else. This is for standard "sausage & mash" style sausages, nothing flashy.

Hog casing would be what you need. Try www.sausagemaking.org

You could use collagen casings, but they're not the real thing and you'll want to do it properly with that nice new mincer!

You might as well order sheep casings while you're spending on postage, useful for chipolate and merguez although they're a bit more delicate to handle. Hog casings are pretty strong, collagen casings stronger still and don't need soaking.

Oh, and welcome!

Martin/

[ChickenTurtle]

Fantastic, thanks Martin. (is it Phil's night off?

I'll order some up when my machine arrives (and I've been paid )

I'm really looking forward to this now. I was in Tesco earlier looking at all the sausages on display with contempt since I feel that for all the nice packaging they're bound to be all cows eyebrows and dog lips!

Nobody has given their tuppence worth about where they source their meats and what cuts are best/how much I should look to pay yet...but the evening's young!!

[Gill]

Hi CT

I notice you're in Worcestershire. If that means you're anywhere near Bromsgrove perhaps it might be worthwhile touching base with Partridge's butchers who are happy to help out home sausage makers. They also price their pork very competitively for bulk orders and sometimes offer regular customers even further discounts.

I've no connection with the firm other than being a satisfied customer who gets my hog casings there.

[wheels]

Guys on here buy from a variety of places from supermarkets to direct from the farmer. I buy from the shop attached to my local abattoir and also direct from a local pig farmer. However, I'm also not adverse to deals from elsewhere!

Phil

[onewheeler]

For pork, you won't go far wrong with shoulder and it's often cheap in supermarkets (either whole joint or steaks). I like to think my sausages were happy pigs so I always try to buy outdoor reared either from a butcher or supermarket. If you want extra fat, add some belly pork (but it's more expensive than shoulder as it's become trendy). I have been known to use packs of pork mince from the supermarket when in a rush but don't tell anyone. Make sure whatever you buy is as fresh as possible, don't go for reduced to clear stuff unless it's for immediate consumption.

For merguez I use minced lamb from the supermarket, that's the only type of lamb sausage I've made.

Turkey thigh is tasty and makes great sausages (try a Lincolnshire seasoning with prunes). It's often cheap in our local butchers.

Martin/