How to Clean a Meat Grinder [Step-by-Step Guide] – CookingGearLab
Meat grinders are one of the must-have tools you should have in your kitchen. As they help in grinding meat of your now. As a result you won’t have to run to a grocery store for ground meat.
On top of that we are sure that the ground meat we are consuming from the grinder is fresh. And also is of good quality. If you haven’t bought a grinder yet, do invest in one.
We have an article on the best meat grinders which might help you. And there is also a piece where we discuss how to buy a meat grinder. We are very sure these both articles will help you in buying one for your requirements.
So after this if you do buy a meat grinder, learning to use it properly is very important. And we got you here too, check our article on how does a meat grinder work. However only learning to use it is not enough. For a durable grinder and good quality food, cleaning is vital. Hence here we will discuss the way of how to clean a meat grinder.
Why to clean a meat grinder?
For the event of cleaning, we recommend cleaning it after every wash. Although, it will be easier to just let the grinder sit for 2-3 uses and then clean it. So do we recommend doing it after every use? As expected we do have answers for your question.
Firstly, when you do not clean a meat grinder properly it is more prone to corrosion. When you do not clean and dry it properly, the moisture gets exposed to the air. As a result there is oxidation and rust occurs. And if this continues the parts become prone to wear and tear.
Secondly when you grind in a meat grinder, it leaves behind meat residue. And that residue if left for long can fester bacteria and result in contamination and infection. To inform you more about the severity of it, we will explain it to you.
As we grind raw meat in the grinder, the raw meat leaves behind Listeria Monocytogenes. This can cause the disease Listeriosis. And this particular disease can cause immunity problems in infants, pregnant women and older people.
And thirdly, it deteriorates the food quality and taste. So if you grind meat, you will only waster.
Hence to avoid these situations, you will need these instructions.
How to clean a meat grinder?
Further, we will explain all the steps to clean here:
Grinding the bread
Although it does sound weird but after you are done with grinding meat, grind 2-3 bread slices in it. As the bread has absorbent qualities, when you grind it, it takes up the residue and grease in it. And this residue if not cleaned can breed bacteria.
Disassembling the grinder
After bread grinding, you will need to disassemble the parts. Usually the meat grinders are very easy to take apart. As the manual meat grinders do not have any motorized parts, it is pretty easy.
Even in the electric grinders, detach the T-link from the motorized body into smaller. Although some of the electrical ones don’t fully detach themselves. So you shouldn’t really force it to.
Soaking the parts
Then you should soak the disassembled parts into the warm soap water. Although the bread does remove the extra residue and grease from the grinder. But there are still stubborn grease and oil stains left. And soaking it in warm soap water for 15 minutes helps in getting rid of that.
Cleaning every part separately
With the help of a bottle cleaning brush clean the feeding tray, feeding tube, pusher and the grinding plate. And make sure that the holes on the plate are cleaned properly with the bristles of the brush. In place of the bottle brush you can also use a spare toothbrush.
Also the blade should be cleaned with the help of a sponge. And be very careful while cleaning it with the sponge and don’t hurt yourself. Rinse everything after cleaning it.
Drying the parts
Finally, you need to wipe and dry all the parts. And you should never leave it to air dry. When you air dry it, the moisture on the surface comes in contact with air and oxidation may occur. Dry it and store the grinder and its parts away until next use.
These above are the steps which need to be followed to clean the grinder.
Tips
There are some tips which you need to take care of while cleaning:
- First of all never put your meat grinder in the dishwasher as it can damage the parts
- Always go for cold meat straight from the fridge to put into the grinder. If the meat is at room temperature, it makes a lot of mess.
- And sometimes some grinder attachments do not completely detach from the electric grinders. Only submerge the non-motorized parts. And only wipe down the parts which are attached.
- If after the soaking, the stains still stay, soak it in baking soda and water.
We hope you can now make your grinder spick and span.
But if you still need advise about grinders, go to our article on best meat grinders.
