For the meat grinder process in the kitchen, you should ensure that you choose the correct and better quality grinder in the market. The grinding of the meat for your sausage is not complicated as long as you have some little knowledge on how to cook. Therefore if you are a beginner in the kitchen, a meat grinder is the best appliance to add to your kitchen.
The plate you choose will depend on the size and the quantity of the meat you want to grind. It will also determine the type of sausage you want to produce and the texture of your sausage. Most people prefer and like scratching the first patches of the meat into a relatively larger plate.
The size of the plate to use using the grinding process will depend on different factors that I will explain in the article below. The paper will provide you with enough information on what size of the plate to use.
What is a meat grinder plate?
The meat grinder plate is a circular metal plate found in the worm of the grinder. When the meat is ground when you want to prepare the sausage, the chopped meat passes through the plate. The plate is usually made to last long since it is made from stainless steel or carbon. Although many commercial companies, for example, extensive hotel and butcher shops, use different size grinder plates depending on the meat they intend to have at the end. Most homes have also invested much in having different sizes and grinder plates. The different sizes of containers will enable you to have the perfect size and textures of the meat you want to get at the end.
The meat grinder plate has different diameters and can have extra holes depending on the manufacturer. It means that when the container’s size is small, the number of spots will definitely be less, and vice versa is also true. The entire slotted holes in the grinder plate will determine if you are using the meat to make the bologna or pepperoni.
If you can take a good look at the grinder plate, you will notice some writings with signs like the “# .”The number that is written next to the sign will show you the size of your grinder. The most commonly known sizes include #5, #8, #12, #22, and maybe #32. The diameter of the plates largely depends on the sizing of the grinder plate.
The different grinding plates with diameter plates will give you the sausage size depending on your needs. So if you want a specific length of the grinding plate, you will have to purchase or have a given scale with the diameter you want. But it would help if you kept in mind that the plate number and the grinding number are usually the same. The table below will further explain the plate diameters, grinding number, and the type of ground that it will give you.
| The no. of the plate | Size in inches | Type of grind | Used in |
| #5 | Has 2 1/8 | Gives fine grind | Hot dogs, snacks sticks, bologna, etc. |
| #8 | Has 2 ½ | Medium size grind | To make Italian sausage and sausages |
| #12 | Two ¾ | Coarse grind | To make Bratwurst, salami, and summer sausage |
| #22 | Three ¼ | Coarse grind | Used in making Chorizo and chili meat sausage |
| #32 | 3 15/16 | Coarse grind | To make stew sausage, Chorizo, Linguica |
How many meat grinder plates are available?
The meat grinder plates usually come with different lengths determined by their diameter. The most common sizes that are available in the market include the 2 1/8’’, 2 ½’’, 2 2/3’’, 3 ¼’’, 3 15/16’’, 5 1/8’’, and 6’’. They are the most known size of the grinding meat plate, but the first five are the most used and featured in preparing sausages. The other is larger and is mostly used by big restaurants and butcher shops, which require mass production.
The suggestions that will help you choose the size of the grinding plate are the size of the diameter and the size of the sausage you need to have and prepare. For example, the sausage’s size and texture will depend on the size of the holes of the grinding plate. The following are the most commonly used hole sizes of the grinding plate.
- 3/32’’
- 1/8’’
- 5/32’’
- 3/16’’
- ¼’’
- 5/16’’
- 3/8’’
- ½’’
- ¾’’
The first two, the 3/32 inch and 1/8 inch, will give you a fine grind at the end and are suitable for preparing hot dogs, jerky sausages, and bologna. The 5/32 inch and the 3/16 holes on the hand will give you more medium-size grind at the end and are primarily used in preparing Polish and German sausage, breakfast sausage, and hamburger. If one prefers to have a large or coarse grind and needs to make, for example, the summer sausage, salami, Bratwurst, among others, the best size plate will be ¼ inch, and the 5/16 inches is the best size to use in the process. But for, the 3/8 inches plate is most suitable for grinding chili meat and Chorizo. Finally, if you want to make the Linguica or stew sausage, the best size plate to use is the ½ and ¾ inches since it will give you the best output.
What size of meat grinder plate should I have for making sausages?
Now that you have some little knowledge about plate sizes and the plate’s holes to use in preparing sausages, the next question is how to choose the best and perfect plate for you. But many suggestions can help you select the grinding plate, but some of them will suit your needs and the size of the sausages you plan to have. Therefore you don’t have to stick to the suggestions given to you but to try and have the size of the grinding plate that will provide you with the result and the size of the sausage you need to prepare.
In addition, the choice of the size of the plate that one can use will also depend on the grinding style of different people. Since most people will like eating fine-sized sausage while others want to have the large or coarse size of the sausage, some of the other factors that will affect your plate size are the amount of fat in the sausage. It is because most sausage lovers like to start with coarse and at the end, they finish with a fine grind.
Conclusion
When one is new to grinding sausages,you must choose the right and better quality tools like the plates and grinder to help you in the process. Choosing the right is a simple process depending on the size of sausages that you want to make. For example, if you are choosing for home use, a small size plate is suitable, but if you’re going to use it in mass production like in big restaurants or butcher shops, a large size plate will be appropriate.
There are various sizes of the grinding plate that give you more options to choose from and use. Depending on the size of the sausage that you want to have, you choose the right size of the plate in the market that will give you the results you intend to have at the end of the process.