The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Food & crafts => Food processing => Topic started by: Birdie Wife on December 09, 2009, 09:49:08 am

Title: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Birdie Wife on December 09, 2009, 09:49:08 am
Following on from my sausage making attempts over the last few days, I am feeling that my budget mincer from Lidls just isn't up to the task.  Any little bits of connective tissue or sinew result in a clogged machine, very quickly.  It's done us not too badly over the last couple of years, and at £25 I'm not going to complain too loud, but I think it's time for something with a bit more grunt. Budget/Santa would probably stretch up to £150.

Any suggestions?
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Birdie Wife on December 10, 2009, 11:41:01 am
Bumping this up.. because my mincer blew a fuse last night while we were stuffing our sausage casings! It was really hard work... I think it just wasn't up to the job.  We may well get a separate sausage stuffer.

I'd really like to hear about what machines you've got out there that work, even if they are much less than what I've got budgeted!
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: shetlandpaul on December 10, 2009, 03:43:53 pm
we bought the one from ascotts and even that struggles try a hand one it may be more work but it should last a lot longer.
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Hilarysmum on December 11, 2009, 09:26:26 am
I had a big almost industrial one, which I managed to blow up before it set itself on fire.  Go for a good hand one unless you are doing more than a couple of pigs at a time.
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Birdie Wife on December 11, 2009, 11:40:12 am
I had a big almost industrial one, which I managed to blow up before it set itself on fire.  Go for a good hand one unless you are doing more than a couple of pigs at a time.

 :o thanks!!
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Lord Summerisle on December 12, 2009, 12:45:10 pm
The Tre Spade ones from Weschenfelder's are very good. Just keep clonking and grinding away - I've done a whole pig or red deer before now with one.
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Birdie Wife on December 14, 2009, 11:36:07 am
Brilliant, just the job  :) weschenfelder page now bookmarked and mincers page printed out for DH's perusal (he's still wondering what to get me for Christmas ::))
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: r+lchick on December 14, 2009, 01:12:27 pm
I got a brilliant one from Northern Tools.  It is nearly industrial and has all the gubbings for making sausage making. 
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Rollicker on December 14, 2009, 08:20:18 pm
You can't beat a Kitchenaid bit of kit. We've got the food processor which will chop, slice, shred, mince etc no problem. Also have the food mixer to which you can fit loads of extras i.e mincer and sausage stuffer. Not cheap but will last a lifetime!
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Lord Summerisle on December 15, 2009, 08:14:58 am
The mixer attachment types are OK for smaller amounts, but you need to pitch your choice of mincer at the volume you're going to use, or you just end up wasting money on the thing. We always do a session on choice of machinery at our pork butchery weekends for this very reason.

My own recommendations for more than making a few pounds here and there are, at the lower end of volume, a Porkert manual mincer - you can shift a hell of a lot through that. Then you have the Tre Spade types, basically a scaled-down commercial machine. Then the big jobs. We paid £1500 for ours second-hand from Windsor Food Machinery (superb service), it will mince 20kg of pork in about 38 seconds on the 10mm plate. It's a Sirman no. 32, which my missus has named Stephen Fry, because it's a huge great mincer.
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: JulieS on December 15, 2009, 10:29:19 am
Could you let me know details of your pork butchery weekends please?  Just what I'm looking for at the moment.

Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Lord Summerisle on December 15, 2009, 11:02:16 am
We're not doing another until April 23-25th, taking a gap as we're moving our operations from Devon to Wales. As that will be the first in the new location, we'll probably be doing a discount.

If you PM me your email, I'll send you all the details.
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Wizard on December 24, 2009, 04:48:07 pm
A good place to look is Nisbetts .co.uk a very good tool and its a mid price machine.Its on page 507 in the catalogue and there is a horizontal stuffer on the same page.Hope this helps :)
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Crofter on December 25, 2009, 10:45:08 pm
I'd also recommend Northern Tools for butchery kit.  We have the 1Kw electric mincer and it is great.  We minced over 100 lbs of beef mince last weekend and it never missed a beat.  It comes with sausage stuffing attatchments but we later bought a vertical sausage stuffer from them too and it is SO much quicker.
http://www.northerntooluk.com/food-preparation/electric-meat-grinders/80kg-per-hr-electric-meat-grinder-and-free-tenderiser-.html
http://www.northerntooluk.com/food-preparation/manual-grinders-and-mills/vertical-sausage-stuffer_604005E.html?fhsearchterm=Sausage&search=SEARCH

Dave
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Kirsten on January 22, 2010, 11:20:03 pm
Following on from my sausage making attempts over the last few days, I am feeling that my budget mincer from Lidls just isn't up to the task.  Any little bits of connective tissue or sinew result in a clogged machine, very quickly.  It's done us not too badly over the last couple of years, and at £25 I'm not going to complain too loud, but I think it's time for something with a bit more grunt. Budget/Santa would probably stretch up to £150.

Any suggestions?
I use an attachment for my very old Kenwood chef.  It has the mincer and sausage stuffing attachments.  Brilliant.  I can easily make 10lb of sausages using this.  But if you are looking at larger bulk than definately go for a more commercial level one.
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Wizard on January 23, 2010, 03:27:31 pm
Hello Kirsten I am Kenwood Chefs biggest supporter I currently have a Chef EXCEL its a good tool.Before this when we lived at the farm we minced and made 136lbs of sausage from one of our pigs.We removed and made two hams and two shoulders.Other than the offal we made all the rest into sausages.With a 902 Chef and mincer/stuffer.When it got warm we stopped and had a cup pa.These folk who tell me do it with a man propelled one hasn't done any quantity.10lbs yes 10 stones I don't believe not these days lol You need a man outta tree to wind it that much.I have all the Chef attachments bar the pasta makers I HATE pizza and pasta I eat macaroni cheese for supper though.George :farmer:
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Kirsten on January 24, 2010, 03:38:54 pm
I have all the Chef attachments bar the pasta makers I HATE pizza and pasta I eat macaroni cheese for supper though.George :farmer:
George you don't know what you're missing with the homemade pasta.  It is lovely and cooks in about a minute and.....brilliant for maccy cheese!  I have almost everything for my Kenwood.  In fact, I have 2 Kenwoods.  One is was my mothers that she bought when she got married in 1954!  It is still going strong though does now have a bit of a funny smell when it is used for any lengh of time LOL!
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Birdie Wife on January 25, 2010, 11:40:53 am
Hello Kirsten I am Kenwood Chefs biggest supporter I currently have a Chef EXCEL its a good tool.Before this when we lived at the farm we minced and made 136lbs of sausage from one of our pigs.We removed and made two hams and two shoulders.Other than the offal we made all the rest into sausages.With a 902 Chef and mincer/stuffer.When it got warm we stopped and had a cup pa.These folk who tell me do it with a man propelled one hasn't done any quantity.10lbs yes 10 stones I don't believe not these days lol You need a man outta tree to wind it that much.I have all the Chef attachments bar the pasta makers I HATE pizza and pasta I eat macaroni cheese for supper though.George :farmer:

ROFL good thing my hubbie's a TREE SURGEON then!!  ;D ;D

(though I have been thinking about getting a pasta maker recently - never thought I'd get much use from one but having fresh pasta in the freezer seems more appealling now!)
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Wizard on January 25, 2010, 05:06:21 pm
I see there is a large Kinrick Hand wound Mincer on Ebay now Its big and will last a lifetime.But as I have already said they need a lot of turning. :farmer:
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: mr.pitt on April 25, 2010, 12:25:48 am
if your mincer is struggling your blades maybe blunt and need sharpening, there are companys that cann do this. Also if it struggles with connective tissue and sinue try a coarser mincer plate.

Also may sound silly but the mincer i used to use at work if you hadnt tightened the assembly up properly (the worm, blade and mincer plate etc...) it would clog and come through as mush.

Hope this helps
Title: Re: Recommend a decent mincing machine please!
Post by: Wizard on April 25, 2010, 08:08:01 am
Another tip look if you have put the cutting side of the blade next to the plate I know there are some blades that cut both side but there are some that don't it turns every thing to paste given time.I know I'm not that silly but I've done it and wondered what the L is up wi it nah ??? ;D :farmer: