291553 Mon Jan 13 12:40:15 -0800 2003 13 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1587359 I recently received a meat grinder attachment to my kitchenaid as a gift. I have yet to try it out. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should use it for? By the way, I do not have the separate sausage stuffer attachment. Thanks Mon Jan 13 12:40:15 -0800 2003 0 Danielle 1 1587363 I use mine principally for two things: grinding fish together with onions and matzoh for making gefilte fish, and grinding pork together with pork fat for making sausage. In both cases blend directly into the KitchenAid bowl. Then use the paddle to blend in additional ingredients, spices, and herbs. Although I have the sausage making attachment, I have only used it once or twice. Most of my sausage making is to be used as stuffing for goose. The rest I turn into patties. If you have a copy of Julia vol1 (or of The Right Way to Cook), she has an excellent herb blend for breakfast-type sausage. If you don't have it and want it, I'll look it up and post it. Once you have a batch made, it will be enough for many sausage recipes (hint: if you want lower-fat sausage, just buy already ground pork from the supermarket and add salt and spices). Pat G. Mon Jan 13 13:23:47 -0800 2003 1587359 0 Pat Goldberg 2 1587381 I hear Kosher folks screaming... :-) Mon Jan 13 15:29:48 -0800 2003 1587363 0 SLRossi 3 1587412 People who keep kosher don't have a monopoly on great dishes like gefilte fish. But I didn't intend to offend. Mon Jan 13 17:16:35 -0800 2003 1587381 0 Pat Goldberg 4 1587435 T'was a joke! No offense. Sorry for any alarm. Mon Jan 13 18:16:24 -0800 2003 1587412 0 SLRossi 2 1587396 I had to laugh when I read your post, Pat. Gefilte fish AND pork sausage??? I use mine for chopped liver - grinding the liver, eggs, onion, and celery together. Mon Jan 13 16:27:51 -0800 2003 1587363 0 LBQT 3 1587410 The humor was intentional. Mon Jan 13 17:14:32 -0800 2003 1587396 0 Pat Goldberg 1 1587369 Grind potatoes and onions together for latkes. Mon Jan 13 14:20:11 -0800 2003 1587359 0 dude 1 1587374 Good for making meatballs or meatloaf - you can put all of the solid, including vegetables, bread etc through along with the meat; grinding up the fruits for a west indian style black cake grinding your own ground beef, pork and lamb, of course. Mon Jan 13 14:53:35 -0800 2003 1587359 0 jen kalb 1 1587375 I knew a lady that made killer meatballs. She said the secret was to grind the meat twice. Mon Jan 13 14:53:45 -0800 2003 1587359 0 Bobfrmia 1 1587393 We use ours all the time to grind beef for burgers. Watch for roasts on sale, cut them into 1 lb chunks, and freeze. Pull out as many as we need, defrost, and run through the coarse plate twice. Great burgers. As others mentioned, meatloaf. Everything, beef, veal, pork, veggies, bread go through the grinder. Mon Jan 13 16:23:51 -0800 2003 1587359 0 rjl 1 1587399 All the suggestions so far have sounded great for your meat grinder. I'll offer a non-PC suggestion. The secret to my grandmother's absolutely fantastic chicken salad was, afer she had poached the chicken, to remove the skin and grind it to put in the salad. She shred the chicken with forks, though, only grinding the skin. She used a manual grinder, but your electric will make quick work of it. It will send the fat police into the stratosphere, of course, but it adds a great flavor and richness to chicken salad, and you can use less mayonnaise. Also -- never buy ground beef again! Lessen any occurrence of e coli and other scary bacteria -- it's much less likely to get to you if you buy a piece of chuck and grind it yourself, rather than buying pre-ground meat. Also, you can do it the Judy Rodgers Zuni Cafe way and salt the meat the day before, refrigerate, and then grind it. And, of course, grinding at home just plain tastes better. Enjoy this wonderful tool. Mon Jan 13 16:32:41 -0800 2003 1587359 0 Mrs. Smith 1 1587473 You don't need a sausage stuffer to make sausage: You can cook it as patties or saute it into a sauce. For lighter sausages, like fish sausages, you can roll links inside plastic wrap and poach it in boiling water. And of course pate is functionally identical to sausage forcemeat. Tue Jan 14 00:53:55 -0800 2003 1587359 0 Josh Mittleman 2 1587487 The "sausage stuffer" is just a little funnel with a long stem that fits under the threaded piece on the end. It should be available for a few dollars from KitchenAid if you ever decide to make sausages. Tue Jan 14 08:15:57 -0800 2003 1587473 0 ironmom