A home butcher in Omaha showed me why I need to check my grinder plates more often

Last month a guy brought in a chuck roll that looked fine on the outside but had this strange metallic sheen on the cut face. I told him it was probably just bone dust, but he insisted I run my finger across it and feel for grit. Turns out my grinder plate had worn down unevenly after about 800 pounds of use, and it was shaving tiny metal flecks into the meat. He showed me how to check the plate against a flat surface and feel for rocking, and now I do that every single Monday before I start. Has anyone else noticed their plates wearing out faster when they grind partially frozen product?

3 comments

3 Comments

davis.ruby17d ago

Nah, hold on, I gotta jump in here. That flipping the plate over trick sounds clever, but it's not really doubling your life. You're just moving the wear to the other side, and once that side wears down, you're back to square one. I've seen guys grind a thousand pounds on side A, flip it, and think they're set for another run, but the plate's still gonna rock on a flat surface eventually. Plus, if side A already got that potato chip warp from frozen meat, side B is gonna follow the same path, maybe faster since the plate's already stressed. You're better off just keeping your product tempered and buying a decent plate every year or two instead of trying to stretch one until it's dust. I check mine with a straightedge every couple months now, and it's saved me way more than any flipping trick ever would.

jenkins.reese18d ago

Frozen product is exactly what killed my last set of plates, and it took me way too long to figure out. I was grinding a bunch of venison that had been in the freezer a little too long, and the next thing I know, my burgers had this weird sparkly look to them. Ended up checking the plate with a straightedge, and sure enough, it looked like a potato chip sitting on a table. Now I let everything temper in the fridge overnight before it ever touches the grinder, and I haven't had the problem since. But the real kicker is the guy who told me about the rocking test, he also showed me that you can flip the plate over and use the other side for a while, which doubles the life of it. That little trick saves me a bunch of money every year, and I never would have thought of it on my own.

the_hayden17d ago

@jenkins.reese that flipping the plate trick is gold, I do the same thing now but only after I got burned by a batch of half-frozen pork shoulder that left my blade looking like a wavy potato chip too. Ended up having to buy a whole new set mid-summer, which stung pretty bad. Now I set my meat out on the counter for a bit and check it with a knife before grinding, never had the sparkle problem again.