can I use a meat grinder to grind grains? What is a meat grinder? In our definition, a meat grinder is a machine specifically designed to grind meat but can be used for improvising for other purposes. In this article, we will discuss whether or not a meat grinder can be used to grind grains. Keep reading to find out. The answer to your question.
You asked “Can I use a meat grinder to grind grains? ” The best machine to grind grains is the one particular made for them which are mills. However, you can use a meat grinder for the job but the result can never match when you use a mill.
In conclusion, we are not saying that you cannot manage a meat grinder to grind grains but our advice is that you should use a mill if you have it instead.
We wrote an article about grinding of coffee beans: How to Grind Coffee Beans Without Grinder in 2023.
Types of Meat Grinders
There are two types of meat grinders:
- Manual Meat Grinder.
- Electric Meat Grinder
Manual Meat Grinder
Manual meat grinders are usually used to process small quantities of meat either at home or in the butcher store. They are usually clamped to a counter or a table and manually used by hand cranking to grind two to three pounds of meat per minute.
Manual meat grinders are made of many cutting plates that usually rotate against a cutting knife to produce a few 3/16 inches or more ½ inches of ground meat.
You can process meats like duck, pork, beef, chicken, venison, turkey, veal, or vegetables using a meat grinder.
You can hand feed the meat to be processed into the funnel attached to the top of the meat grinder to be driven to the cutting blade by a spiral auger as it feeds the material through the cutting plates.
Electric Meat Grinder
Unlike manual grinders, electric grinders are more complex in design but have the same function.
They have two or three different cutting plates. A plate that can give you 3/16 or ½ inch of ground food.
An electric grinder may come with a food-pushing tool and sausage extrusion tubes that help you to ease the flow of the ground meat into different casings.
In some grinders, you will find operational functions you can use to reverse the motor in case of meat jam in your grinder.
If you want to clear clogs in most electric grinders, you must remove the knife and the plate. An advantage an electric meat grinder has over a manual is that it can grind larger amounts of meat volumes with little effort.
How to grind grains with a meat grinder
If you don’t have a food mill to grind your grains and the only alternative left is a meat grinder, then you may want to follow these steps:
- Get your grain ready. Let’s say corn.
- Fetch a little quantity and pour them gently into your manual meat grinder.
- Start rotating the hand crank to grind the corn.
Note: Doing it is kind of boring, but if you have no alternative, why not just manage it that way? I would personally prefer to use mortar and pestle if there is no mill to grind my grains.
Why you shouldn’t use meat grinders to grind grains
Personally, I will advise that you find something else to grind your grains for peace to reign. I have watched a video on YouTube and the result of using a meat grinder to grind grains is not impressive at all. The grains cannot become powdered especially if you need flour texture. In that case, you may want to use something as an alternative.
what else can you use to grind grains (mention them and explain how they are used to grind grains)
If you are discouraged to use a meat grinder to grind grains, what else can you use? I will explain what else you can use in this section immediately.
Things you can use to Grind Grains without using Mills
If you don’t want to use a meat grinder to grind grains, you can use any of these tools to achieve a result close to milling.
- A Food Processor.
- Mortar and Pestle.
- Strong Blender.
- A Coffee Grinder.
Using a Food Processor to Grind Grains
If you don’t have a mill grinder, you can get a food processor to grind your grains. Remember, a food processor is a versatile tool in the kitchen, there is no doubt that it can aid in grinding grains. Its major functions are to slice, cut, make dough, and many other things not mentioned. In that case, we can say, it is powerful enough to grind grains. How do you grind grains using a food processor?
Grinding Grains in a Food Processor
- Pour the grains into the food processor.
- That’s after you plug in the food processor to an electric source.
- Cover the lid properly to hold the grains down while grinding.
- Switch on the food processor and start grinding the grains with the pulse method.
- Repeat the same step for the entire batches of grains until you reach your desired consistency.
Using a High-Powered Blender to Grind Grains
It is not all blenders that can grind grains, that’s why we have to be specific. If you’d like to grind grains using a blender, use a high-powered one. Ninjas and Vitamix products can be a perfect match for this purpose. In other words, if you don’t have a food processor, you can use your blender to grind your grains.
Grinding Grains in a High-Powered Blender
- Get your grains ready and plan to grind them in batches.
- Clean your blender properly by dusting it out or wiping it with a clean paper towel.
- Pour the first batch into the blender but it shouldn’t reach the top so the lid can sit properly.
- Cover the lid tightly to prevent the grains from escaping while grinding.
- Plug the blender into an electric source, and switch it on.
- You can use the pulse method to grind the grains gently until the right consistency is reached.
- Repeat the same steps for the entire batches until they are all exhausted and ground.
Using a Coffee Grinder to Grind Grains
In the absence of the first two kitchens we mentioned, you can use a coffee grinder to grind your grains. There are two types of coffee grinder, the burr, and the blade, we advise that you use the blade type. This will cut the grains before grinding them into powder.
Grinding Grains in a Blade Coffee Grinder
- Pour the grains into the coffee grinder in small quantities.
- If you are using the electric grinder, plug it into an electric source.
- Switch it on and use the pulse method to grind your grains until your desire consistency.
- Repeat the same method for the entire batches.
Using Mortar and Pestle to Grind Grains
This is the old fashion of grinding grains. The kitchen tool is universal and as such, anything that is grindable can be pulverized using mortar. If you would like to pulverize your grains, use a mortar and pestle in the absence of a mill.
Grinding Grains in Mortar and Pestle
- Fetch a small amount of the grains and pour them into your mortar.
- Start grinding the grains by pounding on them gently.
- Twist the pestle and pound the grains gently until the grains are broken into smaller pieces.
- Continue to pound them until they become powdered.
- Repeat the same steps while grinding the rest of the grains.
Frequently Asked Questions on Can I use a Grinder to Grind Grains
Can I use a meat grinder as a food mill?
You can use a meat grinder to grind your grains if there is no food mill or food processor available. You may not get the perfect texture you can get when you use a food mill or a food processor to grind your grains but when there is no other alternative, use the meat grinder.
You can grind food like asiago, gruyere, or parmesan, or use a fine grinding plate to quickly whip up a batch of bread crumbs.
Can I use a meat grinder to crack corn?
You can use a meat grinder to crack corn. I haven’t used a meat grinder to crack corn before but I have seen a Youtuber cracking corn with a meat grinder.
What tools are used to grind a grain?
In a nutshell, a food mill is more suitable to grind grains in this modern era. You can as well grind grains using a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have any of these tools mentioned, you can improvise them with a coffee grinder, a food processor, or a high-powered blender.
Can I grind Grains in Mortar and Pestle?
If you want to grind your grains without a food mill, I will advise you to make use of a mortar and pestle if you have the strength to pound. If not, you can use other machines like a food processor, or a high-powered blender. You can grind grains using a Mortar and Pestle.
We started with the question “Can I use a meat grinder to grind grains?” So, we have explained a lot of things and now, we believe that you now decide what to do with your meat grinder and whether or not you should use it to grind grains or not.