Meat Mincer

[scottri]

I fancy having a go at making my own mince for posh burgers and sausages etc. But I don't really want to spend £60+ on a electric one just at the moment. So i have been looking on Amazon for metal manual ones - these seem to have mixed reviews tho (rusting, clamp not big enough etc).

Can anyone recommend one please? Ideally £20 ish.

[Mobile Chicane]

The manual cast-iron jobbie is what half of Eastern Europe uses, and they seem to be fine with it.

It is true that these rust if not looked after properly. The secret to preventing this is to wash it up by hand immediately after use and dry it thoroughly before putting away.

It is true about the clamp not fitting some worktops. Mine are 40mm deep and the clamp of the Porkert No 5 only just fits. You'll just have to be creative and find somewhere else.

I've had mine for years and years and it's an extremely useful thing to have for making burgers, patés, and mincing leftovers for shepherd's pies and the like. A food processor does not give the same texture, as it chops rather than minces.

Get one, but get one with a selection of different discs, including a really coarse one. You'll want to experiment with the different textures, I promise you.

[brissleboy]

I'm interested in this too, can you please provide a link to the type of product you recommend as lots out there - many thanks

[RizzoTheRat]

I've got a cheap plastic one from Lakeland that works pretty well, I thought the metal ones cost a fair bit more?

[scottri]

Thanks MC.

Looks like the Porkert brand you mention is the one to buy rather than the £10-20 copies all over Amazon?

Like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mincer-Porkert-Brand-Guara...

Over £40 with postage....

[LaurasOtherHalf]

we got one for our kitchenaid which obviously was stupidly expensive for what it is but in essence it's just a plastic one that attatches to the front & it works really well, the only metal part is the spindle for the spiral feeder, the (not sharp) blade & the sort of filter bit it pushes the ground up whatever through.

if it didn't have the kitchenaid tax i couldn't imagine it costing more than £15 if it came with a manual winder & worktop clamp.

sometimes simple works well i guess

[Mobile Chicane]

scottri said:

Thanks MC.

Looks like the Porkert brand you mention is the one to buy rather than the £10-20 copies all over Amazon?

Like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mincer-Porkert-Brand-Guara...

Over £40 with postage....

They're not exactly the most 'sophisticated' of devices, so probably worth a punt on a cheaper one.

Unfortunately I don't have a link, since my Porkert No 5 was bought from a cookshop - in 1995.

[zbc]

I got mine from the local supermarket one day when they had a promotion, I think it was about €20. It's a traditional cast iron one and I'm sure it won't last long, but me and the oldest son made some lovely rabbit burgers with it. If I see them on offer again I'll buy a few more

[Tumbler]

You can pickup good second hand ones on ebay, a quick glance and I found

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PORKERT-HEAVY-DUTY-HAND-...


And this one if clamping is an issue

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-RETRO-SPONG-305-...

[scottri]

Thanks for the advice folks.

I've taken a punt and gone for this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001HZMNXO/ref=...

[Mobile Chicane]

Tip: put a bit of bread through at the start of mincing to clean it, and also at the end to extract the maximum amount of meat.

I'm sure you'll be fine with it, just take care to seat everything properly when assembling so that the screws don't become cross-threaded in use.

[Bill]

What MC said about bread, it also good for clearing the initial swarf...

[scottri]

Thanks again. I also read its best to mince/grind partly frozen meat? I assumed you'd take normal chilled meat or room temp.

[Mobile Chicane]

I'd imagine partly frozen meat makes easier to 'form' sausages. I can't see why you'd do it otherwise, and I never have. Sounds like hard work.

[scottri]

I'll be starting with burgers so will give that a miss for now then!

[Mobile Chicane]

Mince any onions, herbs, chillies, etc you're thinking of using in with the meat.

[RizzoTheRat]

And use enough fatty meat. For sausages it's best to use about 50% belly pork and 50% of a leaner cut, less on an issue with burgers but don't make them too lean.

[scottri]

What do you think to this recipe?

Marco Pierre White's burgers
'A guaranteed crowd-pleaser, this is the one that is served in my Frankie restaurants.'
Serves 4
Fry one onion, finely chopped, and leave to cool. Grill 8 slices of smoked back bacon.
Mix the onion with 800g rump steak, minced. Season and divide into 4 burgers, 2cm thick. Baste with olive oil and cook under a very hot grill for 3 minutes each side. Toast four hamburger buns on cut side only. Put a burger in each bun, top with a slice of cheese, then the bacon. Serve with ketchup or mayonnaise.