|
Watch Your Grinder!
One point at which too little
attention is ordinarily centered is the grinder. More good sausage
material is made into mediocre or poor sausage during the process of
grinding than the average sausage maker realizes. A good watchword
in any sausage kitchen is "Watch the Grinder!" If the meat does not
flow from the plate freely, in a continuous string, if it looks pale
and "dead," feels short to the touch, then your grinder is not
working properly and you are taking a big step toward producing a
product of lower quality than its ingredients would indicate.
A Few Important Points to Remember
About the meat
grinder and the meat grinding operation:
- Put an experienced and reliable operator on the grinder.
- It's an important job.
- Get a good man and let him know how important his job is.
- Make sure your plates are level before putting on a new
knife or new blades in the holder.
- Always keep the same knife and plate together in a matched
set.
Meat Grinder Operation
- Never let
your meat grinder run idle. Be sure you have plenty of meat in the
cylinder during operation and before starting the grinder. Knives
and plates need the lubricating cooling effect of the meat they were
built to cut. Without it they are rapidly ruined.
- Don't cut chilled meat after washing chopper with hot water!
Don't wash knife and plate with steam or hot water after cutting
chilled meat!
- Open up the grinder often and remove all bones, gristle and
other foreign matter accumulated in the center of the plate and
knife.
- Never pound the plate against a hard surface to remove
particles of meat. Plates for large choppers cost a lot of money
and, in spite of their size and apparent ruggedness, they may be
easily damaged. Handle them carefully!
Watch Plate & Knife Wear
- If meat works back in the
cylinder, investigate the wear of the plates and knives. If they are
worn too thin, replace them. There is no "saving" to be made by
using worn-out knives and plates. The cost in product quality is
greater than the cost of new knifes and plates.
- Be sure that your operator lets the meat flow freely from
the plate in to the truck. Never let meat pile up in the truck
against the plate.
Cleanliness Is Essential
-
Do not store knives and plates wet. Rust ruins their delicate
cutting edges. Wipe with mineral oil when they're not to be used
immediately.
- Naturally sanitation is as important around the grinder as
in any other operation. Both for reasons of sanitation and for
increased plate life, be sure that the plates are cleaned after each
day's operation so that no meat stands overnight in the plate holes.
- Inspect plates regularly to see that all holes are clear of
bones, bits of gristle or other foreign material. Clean all the
holes with a wire at least weekly.
- Watch the bushings in the plate and the stud on the worm for
wear. Get new studs and bushings if they are worn; for proper
alignment.
- NEVER put washers behind the worm to bring it further
forward. If the plates and knives are worn so thin that they come
flush with the cylinder wall, a washer may be placed back of the
knife in front of the worm temporarily. Still, the best way out of
this difficulty is to replace the knives and plates.
- If you use knives with "insert" blades, be sure to replace
all four blades at once.
Troubleshooting
The
points to check when the meat does not look right as it comes from
the plate are:
- The Grinding of the Plates & Knives
They may be ground too thin so that the case-hardened surface
has been removed, presenting a cutting surface of soft metal.
Friction between soft metals creates considerable heat and this
heat is the greatest enemy of your product with the possible
exception of bacteria. Heat destroys the albumen in meat ant
ruins its appearance, taste and finding qualities. With C-D
TRIUMPH plates, this condition cannot occur as they are
uniformly hard all the way through.
- Replacement of Knife or Plate
Perhaps a new knife or plate has been inserted with the old
member not ground down true and level.
- Ring Is Too Tight
Some operators may be seen tightening the ring of a grinder
with a length of pipe or a crowbar for leverage. There is no
justification for this practice. If the knives and plates are in
good working order, proper performance is achieved without
tightening the ring in this manner. If they are not in proper
working order, excessive tightness of the ring only helps create
friction and friction produces heat, which causes cracks and
breakage of your plates, intensifying your troubles.
NOTE: Always use the same knife and plate
together. If one has gradually worn away from perfect
level, the other will have worn with it. As a result
they may still be used together. If, however, one is
matched with a different member which is ground true,
the set will certainly not turn out a good product. In
addition, such practice will probably break the new
member, as indicated in drawing.
|
Shipping Map
