How to Clean a Meat Grinder

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“I can’t take it anymore!” and at other times, you say, “Not again!” Well! This is your reaction when you find either your meat grinder is not grinding properly.

Or the problem is bigger! You have spotted fungus at its various parts. And when you passed your meat through it, it changed its color and started giving a foul odor!

The problem is simple, but the solution is tedious. If you are in a dilemma of how to clean your meat grinder and prevent such gross condition of your meat grinder, you need to clean your meat grinder and store it in a better way. Read the tutorial for a comprehensive guide.

Why does my meat grinder get clogged?

This is not a million dollars question, but its answer is! Because if you know the reason, you can avoid it in the future.

You are feeding warm meat:

Though, you might have hardly thought about this aspect. But believe it or not grinding a freshly made, warm meat brings in more mess and workload on your grinder than the cold one. Even the cold machine serves a better purpose of grinding and prevents clogging!

The sinew and fat get impacted and makes a crust:

The layer of sinew and fat on your meat pieces that you are feeding in it is damaging your machine. This sinew gets stuck in the different parts of the passage from the feeding tube to the screw, grinders, blades, and outlets finally.

As a result of this slow movement and tendency of sticking to the parts. When you are done with the grinding, these form a crust over a while.

Now this layering plus any level of moisture and humidity that this fat is exposed results in what? Yes, you have started spotting the problem from its core. Thus, this serves as a source of bacterial growth and fungus increase. You will get stinky smell too.

So, it is not the problem of just clogging and being slow. Improper cleaning is contaminating everything. Not your machine, but your inability to clean correctly is costing you your family health problems. Don’t worry; just read the next step below for a straightforward approach.

Low maintenance results in dull blades:

Yes, the incomplete cleaning results in the dullness of the blades. These blades can become slow and thus clog the meat pieces in it.

Another thing is washing your machine in the dishwasher when certain parts are not meant for this purpose. Hence, to avoid clogging and all other problems, you need to follow the following.

How to clean my meat grinder

How to clean my meat grinder?

Yes, this is pertinent to learn and implement. Once this guide is apprehended, all other problems will start to sort out. We will divide the process into simple steps for a more detailed picture:

Bread is not just for eating, today we will explore its cleaning property:

Yes, to date, you have been enjoying bread and butter. But from today onward, you will not unplug your machine after finishing meat grinding unless you have passed a few pieces of bread through it one at a time.

Unplug, and dis-assemble all the parts:

Now unplug your machine. Put your appliance on a shelf with space. Now start disassembling its various components. You will see the blades, feeding tube, augers, screws, different types of grinders and blades, etc. Count them and put them all in one place.

Dealing with power supplied parts:

Moving on to parts with motor or electric supply, you have to treat them separately as compared to simple mechanical components. Take a wet towel, clean all the sides and parts thoroughly.

Don’t soak it in water. You can put it aside by winding its cable into proper folds and clipping it in a wire clipper. This will help to keep it aside without damaging the grinder and its cable.

Immersing the non-electric parts!

Take a bucket of warm water and put either vinegar or detergent or washing soda in it. Keep them soaked for a good one hour or so.

After that, take a bottle brush and start washing each part individually. Give due attention to every nook and corner. Don’t leave anything.

When it comes to the blade, be extra vigilant. Treat them with a wire brush in the direction of its cutting edge. As if you move in the opposite direction, it may cause a cut.

Make it as dry as a bone with a drying towel and treat each part. Storing it or freezing it! Take either mineral oil to apply on all the parts. Or you can make a spray of one tablespoon of bleach in a gallon of water.

The last step is storing. Do it either by keeping them in air sealed bags with rice. The rice will absorb extra moisture and humidity.

How to clean meat grinder plates

How to clean meat grinder plates?

The process is the same as described above. You have to unplug the machine, separate all the parts. Put them aside carefully.

Now since you are dealing with the meat grinder plates in this step specifically. So, put aside these plates. They have different sizes of holes.

They have two sides, one facing the machine. This inner side is responsible for putting in the meat to its grinding action, once it is fed through the feeding tube.

The inner side grinds the meat and pushes it forward to the outer part. Mostly this is a metal made. So, you can’t deal with a bottle brush.

You have to use a brush with stiff bristles after cleaning with water and drying with a towel. The direction of the brush is essential. It should be along the blade; the reverse may result in damage.

Another way of cleaning the grinder plate is, you get covers with teeth. These teeth pass through the holes in the grinder plate.

Thus, you insert from the side; you were feeding the meat. It will help to move all the mince on the opposite side. Hence, this is one easy way of pushing the last pool of mince out.

Is the Kitchen Aid meat grinder dishwasher safe

Is the Kitchen Aid meat grinder dishwasher safe?

Yes, it is safe for the appliances and accessories that it claims for in its manual. The user manual gives a detailed layout of proper maintenance and cleanliness measures.

Some parts of the grinder are dishwasher friendly. Let us take a quick look at the parts that are for dishwasher wash. They include almost all the plastic parts.

The sausage stuffer tubes, either of small or big sizes, can be put in the dishwasher for a quick wash. You can wash some accessories too.

They include the nylon or stainless-steel bristles brush. You can set your handles in them also. Not to forget any other plastic supplies.

Most of the metallic parts, as well as the blades, are not advisable to wash in the Kitchen Aid dishwasher. Now a list of these parts.

The grinder itself and all other aluminum pieces i.e., such as a tray, collar, and screws. The grinder has three plates composed up of stainless steel. They are available in three different sizes according to the grinding texture of your meat.

They can be subtle, medium, and coarse grinding. So, they should all be taken out for a manual wash. Drying them could be a hassle with towels.

So, after a thorough scrub, you can air dry them. Since it is metal, so moisture doesn’t seep in; instead, it stays on the surface.

The problem comes when you have to use it for blades. So, though you can wash them, it is always advisable to hand wash for safer and sharper blades.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can you put a meat grinder in the dishwasher?

Yes, you can, depending on the model and manual instructions of the machine. Some are dishwasher safe, and some are not. However, it is recommended to wash them with hand.

How do you clean an aluminum meat grinder?

You should take an equal amount of water and vinegar. This solution is used to treat aluminum meat grinder. You can repeat it twice as the need may be.

How to clean an old metal meat grinder?

The method is similar to the ones described above. The only trouble with an old grinder is that you need to treat it with water or other cleaning agents for a bit longer.

How do you get rust out of an old meat grinder?

The rust from the old grinder can be removed by treating it with lukewarm for half an hour, then try to remove as much rust as you can with the old towel after this use a metal brush to scrub away the rust from metallic parts.

Conclusive words:

To cut it short, you have to clean it as soon as you have used it. After grinding the meat, pass bread slices through it. It will cut down half your job. Then, wash it vigorously after submerging it in lukewarm water for half an hour or so.

Dry it as much as you can. Apply mineral oil. Now store it in airtight packs with rice in them. You can freeze it too if you have ample space.

So, you can enjoy many benefits of your grinder healthily for longer than their claimed shelf life by taking reasonable maintenance measures.

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