08/28/2026
One crucial detail will make or break your ground meat recipe:
Temperature
This is a #22 grinder. 1.5 HP, the hopper and auger alone are 25 pounds. It’ll grind 50 pounds of meat in 4 minutes—I’ve seen it. It’s one of those “buy once, cry once” machines.
Pretty simple use: plug in, connect parts, put meat in big hole, meat comes out of smaller holes. Anyone can use it. But the fun thing about creating meat products, is that every single step has a nuanced technique that will take your recipe to the next level. It’s where so many home sausage makers fall short and become frustrated with the craft. Sure, it’s plug and play, but if you don’t respect your equipment enough to learn how it performs best, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
The biggest question I see from home sausage makers and salumieri is “why did my fat smear?” And it’s almost always because of the temperature. Remember when I said this thing’s got 1.5HP? It’s FAST. With smaller grinders, heat is a bigger issue. A commercial grinder can get meat through quickly enough that it doesn’t spend a lot of time where heat is produced. Grinders for home use are another story. They don’t have the capacity to push contents through as quickly, so your meat and fat spend more time in contact with the warm parts—the auger, knife, etc. This not only causes smearing and fat-out, but the definition of fat particles in salami is at risk and can compromise bind and drying consistency. If you’re starting with completely thawed meat, it gives you less temperature headroom.
My hopper, auger, knife, and plate go in the freezer for hours (sometimes overnight), and the meat gets partially frozen prior to grinding as well. When doing large loads, it’s wise to temp the meat throughout the grind process. Staying in the low 30’s is ideal. If you need a second grind, throw the new die and the previously ground meat back into the freezer for a bit.
Safer product, better fat definition, easier cleanup ✅
