Cleaning and using old iron crank meat grinder

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kshama2001
kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
edited March 2020 in Food and Nutrition
Some time ago, my Mom was going to get rid of her old meat grinder, so I brought it home. I recently ended up with too much chuck stew beef, so am going to grind some of it for a recipe calling for ground beef.

It's a little rusty - any suggestions for cleaning it? And then tips for using it? I've read the parts and meat should be in the freezer for a while first, and to run a piece of bread or two through it when done to help clean it.

I've read I should use food grade mineral oil on it after cleaning - where is this sold? If I can buy it in the supermarket, would it be in with the regular oil? Do you feel this step is essential?

If you've used both something like this and a food processor, and prefer one over the other, please discuss.

TIA!

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Replies

  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    edited March 2020
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    For cleaning the rust off, maybe steel wool like for cast iron pans/skillets.
    I don’t know anything about food grade mineral oil though, sorry. Just looked it up. Says you can get it at Walmart or Menards.
    My mom had one like that too.
    I use my food processor for grinding meat.
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,449 Member
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    Vinegar
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,988 Member
    edited March 2020
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    I use a hand crank meat grinder like yours that I bought new, because I don't grind meat very often and couldn't justify the space/cost of an electric one.

    Given the low cost of such grinders, you may want to consider just buying a new one, instead of spending the time and $ trying to restore the one you've (which you can keep as is as a keepsake).

    That said, for rust removal, there is nothing better than "Naval Jelly," which you can buy at any hardware store. Just apply w/a brush in a well ventilated space and leave on overnight and then wash off. Reapply if there is still visible rust present and then let dry and brush off any debris w/a wire brush, emery cloth and/or steel wool. Pay the greatest attention to the interior of the grinder; the exterior is cosmetic but your meat touches the interior.

    You can buy food grade mineral oil on Amazon and at most kitchen supply specialty stores. It's mainly used to season wooden cutting boards. However, I've never used it on any of my eooden cutting boards or my grinder.

    I just use spray on cooking oil to coat the cutting blade and plate (which are bare steel) which I wrap in food wrap and place in a ziplock for storage, which I throughly wash and then freeze (along w/the grinder body) before use.

    Because bought it new and dry it throughly after each use, the body of my grinder is not rusty, in or out. I just place it in the freezer, along w/the grinder blade/plate b4 use. So, I don't apply any cooking oil to the body but you should (at least) to the inside if it was rusty because that means the tin used to prevent rust on/in the grinder body has worn off. Just wash it throughly along w/the cutting blade/plate b4 use.

    Lastly, you should precut your meat and freeze before use. When ready to start grinding, remove the meat 1st and allow it to thaw until it is just barely pliable. Then set up your grinder and go for it. I use a standard oven pan 11x16 to catch the meat, which is easier to use than a bowl.

    Hope you find this info helpful.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,088 Member
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    Wow... are you a sadists? 🤣 i have one, no longer use it, but you will get an arm workout.
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
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    psychod787 wrote: »
    Wow... are you a sadists? 🤣 i have one, no longer use it, but you will get an arm workout.

    She'd only be a sadist if she were forcing her SO to do the cranking.
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
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    Food grade mineral oil - I can’t tell you how long I searched for this stuff a few years ago then came across it by accident in the ‘Market Place’ section of IKEA.

    I use it to protect my end grain chopping boards after I’ve deep cleaned them with salt, lemon and mustard powder.

    So if you have an IKEA nearby, give that a try.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    Thanks all! Everything has been in the freezer for a while. Going to mess around on here for 10 minutes and then get started.
    psychod787 wrote: »
    Wow... are you a sadists? 🤣 i have one, no longer use it, but you will get an arm workout.

    The word you wanted was masochist ;)

    We ground wheat berries into flour when I was a kid. This will bring back memories. :lol:
  • MrsSylvie
    MrsSylvie Posts: 301 Member
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    that will be a lot of work trying to get rust out of crevices, if not sentimental than you are better off just buying “ Weston #10 Manual Tinned Meat Grinder and Sausage Stuffer (36-1001-W)” same thing and only $23 on A.. works well with fresh or partially frozen meats. my MIL has one too and she uses it for grinding nuts.. i prefer it over processor, makes ground hamburger meat that is more airy instead of compact so it makes it taste less rubbery..
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    Well, that was a flop :(

    As the meat started coming out I saw I'd failed to clean it thoroughly enough. Also, it wasn't coming out in ribbons like in Pink Floyd's "The Wall" which was part of the reason I wanted to try it. I can grind meat adequately in the food processor, but it doesn't really look like ground beef.

    So I'm going to move on and list this on freecycle. Hopefully it will make someone with more patience for rust removal happy.

    Thanks all!

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