I used my Cabelas 1/2 hp/#8 neck commercial grinder for the first time a couple days ago. Wow, what an improvement over the Kitchenaid mixer attachment. I ran 12.5 lb of summer sausage meat thru it in 5 minutes, and it ground up the meat real nice. No need to use the plunger—just drop the meat into the neck, and let it gravity feed. I used the 7mm plate, since that’s the size I always used w/ the Kitchenaid. But the fat is left in fairly big chunks (about 7mm in diameter

) so I’m thinking about using the smaller plate.
Can I run the meat thru the 4.5mm (.177 inch) plate the first time? Or do I need to run it thru the 7mm first, then regrind thru the 4.5mm plate? OK, I’ll admit I’m lazy, and like one grind. And I let the grinder do the mixing too—I cut the meat, mix it w/ the spice/water, put it in the fridge to get good and cold, then run it thru the grinder. Meat is ground and mixed in one operation, and ready for the stuffer.
If anyone who has a Cablas commercial grinder, or equivalent, that can provide an input on using the 4.5mm plate for the first grind, I’d appreciate it for my New Years batch of snack sticks.
Thanks
drano