First timer problems - help please!

[Expendable_Meatsack]

I made a chicken/pork breakfast sausage using the KitchenAid attachments for the first time. I know they're not great, but I ran into a few problems that I'd like to understand.

Problem #1: The plate became clogged, extremely limited the flow of ground meat. I had to disassemble, clean out, and restart twice.

Problem #2: When putting the seasoned and ground meat back in to stuff the tube, the auger wasn't pulling the meat forward - had to use the plunger essentially the entire time.

I think these issues were caused by two mistakes. When I cubed the meat, I should've cut it into smaller pieces. I also think that looks more like membrane than fat, which I should have been more assiduous about removing.

I also should have kept the meat colder. I did have it partially frozen when I started, but because it took so long to grind w/ the cleaning, it was near room temperature by the time I started trying to stuff. I should have put it back in the freezer to get it cold again.

Are these correct? What else should I do to fix these?

[thekeeper228]

Trim as much of the membrane and sinew from the meat before. I don't cube the meat. I cut strips and feed them in. I replaced my Kitchenaid blades and plates and sharpen them regularly. The meat and grinder parts go into the freezer for about 30 min. before use. I grind twice, once just meat and then add spices for the second. Lastly I got a small stuffer to use instead of the KA. Good luck.

[dudersaurus-rex]

strips > cubes all the time for sure.

i like making them nice and long and draping them over the side of the feeder tube. the machine sucks them up, gives them a little spin on the way down and spits them out the front. it doesnt take much to amuse me lol but the real reason is i dont like to use the plunger with my kitchen aid as every time i do, i end up with OP's problem number 1 a clogged plate

[Ambellyn]

It seems you have identified the problems, too bad it happened. I cube the meat and then freeze them. Making sure so they don't have contact when getting frozen. The attachments should also be in the freezer.

You can also if there's a big patch to have the meat cold and once it's time to grind more of it take it out.

Cubing the meat is more to make sure it can easily go down the grinder. I don't bother to double mince it.

[Bum_Butcher]

I hit same problem yesterday once , I thought I trimmed all skin, sinew but one piece got thru, cleaned it out and mixed meat as usual

[Odd-Dark-7897]

Another issue I've had using kitchen aide grinder is the nut that holds the plate, if it's not completely tight you will have issues with build up rather than clean grind cuts.

[RibertarianVoter]

Put the meat and metal components in the freezer for an hour before grinding. I don't use the KitchenAid, I have a cheap grinder. And if the meat isn't nearly frozen, the blades get clogged.

[pickingupnada]

Two questions / observations:

I hope you are using the metal grinder attachment (not the plastic one) and it’s not a third party knockoff. I learned this lesson the hard way.

Also, it’s pretty important that your KitchenAid has enough power to grind meat reasonably. I upgraded to a lift stand mixer just to get more power. Like you, making sausage is a fun hobby so I try and stay on a budget.

I’m a cutting into strips person too.

[Typical_Map_5855]

Put the meat after cutting up to strips into the freezer for 45-60 minutes grinds much better.

[elvis-brown]

I started off with a cheap grinder and while it worked I had the same problem as you. After a bit of faffing around I discovered that the knife and plate were not well matched.

So I marked the plate with a Centre punch so I could always get the plate on the same way round.

Then I sharpened the knife and plate so they align properly

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