How Many Times to Grind Meat for Sausage?

Have you ever wondered how many times a sausage recipe tells you to grind the sausage meat?

This varies greatly depending on your preference and the type of meat being ground. 

In general, fresh meat needs to be ground several times to ensure a uniform texture. Frozen meat and ground beef only require two grindings.

The most basic answer is to grind meat until it resembles coarse ground beef. 

However, for a sausage that is as fresh and flavorful as possible, it should be ground as fine as possible.

Is it possible that you get different results depending on how many times you grind the meat?

It depends on the number of times you need to grind meat for sausage. Some sausage makers are happy with only grinding once.

It depends on the type of sausage you like to eat and the texture you prefer.

Read this article for more information. 

Why Do You Need to Grind Your Sausage Meat?

When meat is ground in a factory, in your local supermarket, or even in your butcher shop, it isn’t usually freshly grounded.

More often than not, it is ground a few days or even a week beforehand so that businesses maximize productivity to make more sales.

This also means that the meat sits on the meat counter for a long time.

Negative consequences:

  • Increases the likelihood that the meat will be exposed to E.
  • Causes the meat to lose flavor.
  • Reduces the quality of the meat.
  • Reduces the freshness.

The longer the meat is exposed to the air, the more likely it is to be contaminated. If you are grinding your meat at home, it will greatly reduce the risk of E.

You are probably going to use it immediately after grinding or freezing it. The flavor of the meat is lost when it is not in use.

If you grind your meat and immediately transfer it to your stuffer to make sausage, it will have a much more fresh and clean taste.

One of the benefits of grinding your sausage meat is that you can use any combination of different types of meat you want.

You have complete control over the type of fat that goes into your sausage meat, and the ratio of fat to meat.

You can control the amount of salt that goes into your meat and how much of it. If you prefer to avoid nitrates, you don’t have to use curing salt.

You have more control over how much you spend, that’s the last aspect.

Depending on the type of meat you choose to use, grinding your sausage can be a cheaper option.

How Many Times Should You Grind Meat for Making Sausages?

There isn’t a straight answer about how many times you should grind meat for sausage. It is up to individual preferences.

If you prefer a smooth texture or if you like having coarse meat in your sausage, then it’s up to you.

The amount of sausage meat you should grind depends on the type of sausage you are making and how coarse you want the meat to be.

Meat grinding can cause smearing if it is ground too much or too fine.

Most home sausage makers grind the meat twice. You can have a variety of options like:

  • Grind with a coarse, ⅜” plate first, then a smaller ¼” plate or fine ⅛” plate second
  • Grind with a coarse ⅜” plate both times
  • Grind twice with a fine plate, which gives the very smooth texture

Sausage makers will either grind once and only grind twice if the recipe says so, or they will just grind once and prefer that result.

It is really up to you.

Most of the time, you can say: grind once for larger, chunkier pieces of meat, and twice for smaller pieces of meat with a more uniform texture.

Sausage Meat Grinding Tips

  • If you put the meat in the freezer after the first grind, it will get semi-frozen.
  • When you grind the second time, you will be able to move through the grinder much faster and keep the throat of the grinder cleaner.
  • It is possible to freeze the grinder neck for about 30 minutes. It will help the meat push through the grinder quicker if it is cold.
  • If you are grinding a lot of meat, work in small batches and make sure your grinder has time to cool down between batches.
  • If you want to run your meat through the grinder, try cutting your meat into long strips.
  • It is easier and faster for meat to be moved through the grinder. grinding can help with mixing in the seasoning, so some like to season before they grind.
  • Some people don’t think there is a difference between this and seasoning after grinding.
  • If your grinder is also a stuffer, it’s important to remember that you can stuff directly into the casings while grinding.
  • If you are going to grind your meat twice, you should do this on the second grind.

Conclusion

Depending on several different factors, how many times you grind meat for sausage can be different.

I think it comes down to the type of texture you want for the sausage you make. The beauty of making your sausage at home is that there are so many possibilities.

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