# meat mixer



## voodoochile (Feb 12, 2018)

_I have been considering buying a meat mixer But they look to me like they would be a PITA to clean up after using . Anyone have any experience with the small meat mixers ?_


----------



## SmokinAl (Feb 12, 2018)

How much sausage are you making?
I usually only make 5-10 lb batches & just hand mix it.
I agree the meat mixers do look like a pain to clean.
I always do a double grind, first time with the large plate, then mix in the spices.
Then depending on what I'm making a second run through the grinder with the med, or small plate.
The second grind really mixes up the meat & distributes the spices evenly throughout the sausage.
But it's always nice to have a new toy!
Al


----------



## jimmyinsd (Feb 12, 2018)

I will be curious to find out what others have to say.  I have considered buying one many times, but I always wonder how well they work vs the space and cleanup.  ( and I am kinda a tightass so spending a hundred on something I can do just as easily for free... well... Im still considering it.)


----------



## chopsaw (Feb 12, 2018)

I'm with AL.  But makes for some cold fingers .


----------



## jimmyinsd (Feb 12, 2018)

chopsaw said:


> I'm with AL.  But makes for some cold fingers .



i found some re-useable latex gloves with a thin cloth lining that I have used for years for this and they double for handling hot meat on the smoker as well.  they sell them for pretty good money but I found these at a hardware store for like $5 years ago.  i do have to use a rubber band around the wrist though to keep it shut.


----------



## atomicsmoke (Feb 12, 2018)

I have the 17lb kitchener mixer. 

Yes, it takes patience to clean it, but so does the grinder or stuffer.

It does the job well, but you need a minimum amount of meat in it. At least 10lbs. For small batches doesn't work well.


----------



## jp61 (Feb 12, 2018)

No experience with meat mixers but I remember wishing I had one when I couldn't feel my fingers :D


----------



## indaswamp (Feb 12, 2018)

I make large batches anywhere from 25~150lbs. of sausage at a time. (tomorrow is venison meat processing day and I will be making ~175lbs. of smoke sausage along with other meat products) You can follow along here: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/venison-processing-day.272745/
I used a 25# mixer once. Total PITA for me. Too slow, to involved, can over work the meat paste, water ratio has to be perfect...Not worth the effort IMO
To each his own. I much prefer mixing by hand or in a large ice chest with a wood crawfish boiling paddle. I can look at the meat paste and go by feel to know when it is mixed enough. I can fold the meat and get a good mix on the ingredients.

Of course, for batched 40# or less, good ole elbow grease and heavy insulated grill gloves will get the job done easily.


----------



## chopsaw (Feb 12, 2018)

jimmyinsd said:


> i found some re-useable latex gloves with a thin cloth lining that I have used for years for this and they double for handling hot meat on the smoker as well.  they sell them for pretty good money but I found these at a hardware store for like $5 years ago.  i do have to use a rubber band around the wrist though to keep it shut.


Thanks for the info , I'll check it out .


----------



## indaswamp (Feb 12, 2018)

Wal-mart sells thin poly-pro knit liner gloves 3 pair for like $2 dollars. I wear a pair of those under latex gloves and it works well keeping your hands warm.


----------



## dward51 (Feb 12, 2018)

I have one.  I rarely use it now.  I just use the ole Mk I hands......

And yes, it is a PITA to clean.  Even though it's stainless and I can put it in the bottom of the dishwasher (it does fit in mine), it never seems to wash all the meat bits off the little side tines that help the mixing blade do it's job.  So unless I'm doing like a 20 pound or larger batch, which is rare, I just go with hands.  Plus the feel of the meat gives me an idea on the mix any way.  It's something you will pick up over time and you can tell when it's mixed well enough.

So in short, I don't think I've used my tub mixer in over a year and a half.


----------



## ab canuck (Feb 12, 2018)

I have a 50 lb capacity mixer, it attaches to my leg mixer. Yep it can be a pita to clean, but when you do 3-6 batches of 25-40 lbs in a day it is worth it. Yep it takes a bit of learning to use it properly but do does making sausage. We do a lot of sausage when we do it. If they are small batches yep we do it all by hand. But I wouldn't give up my mixer for what we do. If you don't do a lot or large batches then I wouldn't even contemplate it. My 2 cents, take it for what its worth


----------



## indaswamp (Feb 12, 2018)

ab canuck said:


> I have a 50 lb capacity mixer, it attaches to my leg mixer. Yep it can be a pita to clean, but when you do 3-6 batches of 25-40 lbs in a day it is worth it. Yep it takes a bit of learning to use it properly but do does making sausage. We do a lot of sausage when we do it. If they are small batches yep we do it all by hand. But I wouldn't give up my mixer for what we do. If you don't do a lot or large batches then I wouldn't even contemplate it. My 2 cents, take it for what its worth



Maybe if I had a 50# capacity mixer I would use it....but IMO the 25# mixer is just too small for large batches and does not justify getting it dirty for a batch that size.


----------



## ab canuck (Feb 12, 2018)

Indaswamp. I agree 100%  if it's a small batch not worth it at all. I would rather use my hands. We do both large and small at home, it all depends on the sausages / flavours we make.


----------



## forvols (Feb 13, 2018)

I have a Weston 20lb (bought it on a good price discount over a yr ago). I have yet to use it. Most of my batches are 10lbs or 20lb+ but split into different seasoning blinds. One thing I have found is you can never have enough meat lugs (the plastic tubs).


----------



## johnh12 (Feb 13, 2018)

My wife has a KitchenAid stand mixer. It's the big one with a 6 liter stainless mixing bowl.
I've considered using it for 4 to 5 pound batches but haven't tried it yet.
Has anyone used one like it for meat mixing?


----------



## nanuk (Feb 19, 2018)

I'm looking at something like that also....   a 6L bowl with dough hook should be able to do 10lbs?


----------



## johnh12 (Feb 19, 2018)

She just did a 4# meatloaf using her mixer. It probably could have held 6# but 10# would be too much.
I had an alcohol infused idea that maybe a 5 gallon bucket and a paint mixer like those used with a drill would do the trick.


----------



## nanuk (Feb 19, 2018)

That should work.

How about a couple young people to mix with their feet, like stomping grapes for wine?


----------



## dward51 (Feb 19, 2018)

johnh12 said:


> My wife has a KitchenAid stand mixer. It's the big one with a 6 liter stainless mixing bowl.
> I've considered using it for 4 to 5 pound batches but haven't tried it yet.
> Has anyone used one like it for meat mixing?



I've seen KitchenAid mixers used with hot dogs and bologna to help emulsify the meat, but I've not tried it.  My wife has one of the bigger lift bowl models (at the time it was their largest of the semi-commercial types).  I think I bought it for her in 1979.  She would beat me with a rolling pin if I even thought about using it to mix meat :D.  That is her favorite appliance and it gets use weekly.


----------



## jimmyinsd (Feb 19, 2018)

dward51 said:


> I've seen KitchenAid mixers used with hot dogs and bologna to help emulsify the meat, but I've not tried it.  My wife has one of the bigger lift bowl models (at the time it was their largest of the semi-commercial types).  I think I bought it for her in 1979.  She would beat me with a rolling pin if I even thought about using it to mix meat :D.  That is her favorite appliance and it gets use weekly.



and yet another reason why my wife was OK with me getting a dedicated grinder... i bought the KA grinder attachment and after grinding a batch of goose breasts it had a hot smell to it so we agreed that I should buy my own kitchen appliance instead of ruining her prized one.  ( I got it for her our first XMas after we got married)


----------



## airmec (Feb 19, 2018)

I have been on the fence about a mixer the more reviews I read the more I wonder if I really need one since I never do more than 12-15 lbs. Then I found a heavy nylon potato masher that really saves my hands from the cold meat and helps load the stuffer also.


----------



## johnh12 (Feb 20, 2018)

Academy Sports has some insulated gloves that work well to keep the hands from the cold while mixing the meat if that's your primary concern.
https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/ou...d-heat-resistant-gloves#repChildCatid=3183162


----------



## tx smoker (Feb 20, 2018)

_"My wife has a KitchenAid stand mixer. It's the big one with a 6 liter stainless mixing bowl.
I've considered using it for 4 to 5 pound batches but haven't tried it yet.
Has anyone used one like it for meat mixing?"_

My wife bought me a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for Christmas to use for sausage making. I found it deficient for some aspects but use it on every batch with the dough hook to mix the ground meat, spices, and liquid together. I'll have to stop a couple of times to pull the meat off the sides of the mixing bowl and move it back to the center but it works very well....and is simple to clean: the bowl and dough hook. That's all that needs washing. The trick is to not run it too long or too fast. You'll "break" the meat or over emulsify it if not watching what the mixer is doing.


----------



## tallbm (Feb 20, 2018)

johnh12 said:


> She just did a 4# meatloaf using her mixer. It probably could have held 6# but 10# would be too much.
> I had an alcohol infused idea that maybe a 5 gallon bucket and a paint mixer like those used with a drill would do the trick.



I do so with a steel and Aluminum mud mixer, a 10A (need 9 Amp or better) 1/2"chuck corded drill, and a 7 gallon bucket.  Works wonders when doing 15-20 pounds of mixing at a time.  The box looking mixers are a huge pain, I sold mine off and they hold about 3-4 pounds less than what they claim so if you think you will mix 1 batch but you end up being unable to fit it all in.

Then the worst part is cleaning the thing with all the parts you remove and clean and such.  It takes longer to clean then to setup and mix the meat!

Drill + mud mixer + bucket is the way to go.  Here is my Setup:













DC713.JPG



__ tallbm
__ Sep 7, 2017


















41HpPmqmhyL.jpg



__ tallbm
__ Sep 7, 2017


----------



## murraysmokin (Feb 20, 2018)

tallbm said:


> I do so with a steel and Aluminum mud mixer, a 10A (need 9 Amp or better) 1/2"chuck corded drill, and a 7 gallon bucket.  Works wonders when doing 15-20 pounds of mixing at a time.  The box looking mixers are a huge pain, I sold mine off and they hold about 3-4 pounds less than what they claim so if you think you will mix 1 batch but you end up being unable to fit it all in.
> 
> Then the worst part is cleaning the thing with all the parts you remove and clean and such.  It takes longer to clean then to setup and mix the meat!
> 
> ...



When doing big batches we use a turkey deep frier pot,  drill, & drywall mixer I was worried about the plastic bucket getting scrapped off with the paddle mixer & ending up in the sausage.


----------



## archeryrob (Feb 20, 2018)

I use a mud mixer too, but had to go for the real beefy 1/2" drill. My 1/2" hammer drill was getting very hot and going to burn up.


----------



## indaswamp (Feb 20, 2018)

120qt. ice chest and a wood crawfish boiling paddle. Fold the meat from the bottom on one side, then 'cut' through it with the edge of the wood paddle. Repeat around all 4 corners until the sausage it thoroughly mixed and tacky. Cutting through the meat paste is what denatures the proteins and 'pulls' them- just like a meat mixer; not hard to do, nor back breaking. I can do 100# all at one time this way no problem.


----------



## johnh12 (Feb 20, 2018)

This thread just might put the meat mixer companies out of business.
American ingenuity at it's best.


----------



## tallbm (Feb 20, 2018)

I find with my mud mixer and that I don't have to do a finer grind, the drill and mud mixer good job of mixing things thoroughly and on more delicate farm raised pork even 80-90% emulsifies the meat for me if I mix a little longer :)

My plastic food grade bucket has held up well.  My mixer has all curved edges and corners and I don't get too wild with it so, so far so good.  The large metal pot would work well also and I have one too.  I'll use it if I get into a pinch :)


----------



## archeryrob (Apr 4, 2018)

I am using this mud mixer. I found the one with the auger for drywall catches too much meat in it and doesn't mix as well.

I have trouble with it wobbling in the bucket and not mixing meat by rolling it into balls while wobbling. I am considering welding two more loops on two paddle directly opposite of each other. Making them just maybe 2" less wide than the 5 gallon bucket so you can move it around. Work case I cut them off and grind it smooth. 

The mixer is 5" wide, I would make two paddles 8" wide with two beater bars and it sits inside a 10" wide bucket.

Any thoughts on this?


----------



## archeryrob (Apr 4, 2018)

Ok, I couldn't wait for responses. I had some old rod in my scrape metal and a 2" angle with a hole in it to bent the rod. I heated the rod with a propane torch and bent it through the hole in the angle to form it. Then cut it, clampd and welded it.

I've always said I am a better engineer than I am a welder. :D I tried it and it is just about balanced and would be fine in meat. I plan to test it out Thursday and might try mixing 20# at once to mix the deer with the beef.

How the hell do I upload photos?


----------



## archeryrob (Apr 4, 2018)




----------



## tallbm (Apr 4, 2018)

Looks like you are ready to rock!
This mixing approach rocks for doing batches over 10 pounds or doing multiple batches quickly :)


----------



## archeryrob (Apr 5, 2018)

Yea, that is all I do. My smallest batches are 10# as I package deer meat in 1.66 packs so 3 are 5# and add 5# of 73% beef for summer sausages. I got a huge 1/2" drill from an auction just for this. One of the large ones with the bottom and top handles for running 3" holes saws. Like this one but older.






This week is 20# broken up into smaller batches to try new recipes
2.5# of Medium Pepper bologna
2.5# of Hotter Pepper bologna
2.5# Jalapeno and Cheddar
2.5# Mettworst - Disco's recipe done like summer sausage
3# of them Rueben dog (Hog casings) to be frozen raw and boiled Saturday night
2# of R Blums Pepperoni
2# of above lightened.
2# of Thuringer (Hog casings) to be frozen raw

If a pound is left over it will be meat loafed.

We will see how this mixes 20# of deer and beef. Then small batches might need to be hand done.


----------



## tallbm (Apr 5, 2018)

I think you'll get your venison and beef mixed well with that approach.

You should have no problem mixing spices in by hand for 2-3 pounds of meat.  I think the mixer may be too big for them but I guess you'll find out soon :)


----------



## archeryrob (Apr 5, 2018)

I threw the 20# in the 5 gallon bucket and went at it. It mixed it up great, so great the drill took over the bucket and I was struggling to hold it still. I guess getting a better hold on the meat, gave a better hold on the bucket for the drill also. I had it pinned between my legs when my daughter showed up. She held the outside and I mixed it up. I didn't have the clumps of meat running away from the paddle. The welded areas on the paddle are a little rough still and man did it strip sinew from the meat. :)

It worked great but the bucket needs to be heavier, have foot pegs or some other way to keep it still. :D


----------



## tallbm (Apr 5, 2018)

archeryrob said:


> I threw the 20# in the 5 gallon bucket and went at it. It mixed it up great, so great the drill took over the bucket and I was struggling to hold it still. I guess getting a better hold on the meat, gave a better hold on the bucket for the drill also. I had it pinned between my legs when my daughter showed up. She held the outside and I mixed it up. I didn't have the clumps of meat running away from the paddle. The welded areas on the paddle are a little rough still and man did it strip sinew from the meat. :)
> 
> It worked great but the bucket needs to be heavier, have foot pegs or some other way to keep it still. :D



Hahahaha I run into the same thing where you hold the bucket between the legs.  I have debated on creating some type of clamp/strap on foot petal base so I could step on the petals/boards and it would hold the thing from spinning.  I haven't put a lot of thought into it but I'm totally willing to brainstorm on some designs :)


----------



## nanuk (Apr 12, 2018)

make a platform from a pallet, build an upright system where you can put the pail against  two uprights where one abutts a handle boss, use ratchet straps to hold it tight against the uprights.
Stand on the pallet and it should all work as a homogeneous system to hold the bucket firm.


----------



## mdboatbum (Apr 12, 2018)

johnh12 said:


> My wife has a KitchenAid stand mixer. It's the big one with a 6 liter stainless mixing bowl.
> I've considered using it for 4 to 5 pound batches but haven't tried it yet.
> Has anyone used one like it for meat mixing?



I use my Kitchenaid to mix meat. Mine is the tilt head "Ultra Power", think it's 4 or 5 quarts.  The most I've done in one batch is 5lbs. and it mixes the meat very well, though 5lbs was a bit much as some went flying. Usually I do a 5lb batch and split it in 2. Divide my spices equally, mix in 2 batches, then combine by hand.


----------



## archeryrob (Apr 13, 2018)

I made a foot stop with an extra bucket. I don’t have any bologna to mix just yet. I have to force the one bucket down into the other to be tight


----------



## tallbm (Apr 13, 2018)

archeryrob said:


> I made a foot stop with an extra bucket. I don’t have any bologna to mix just yet. I have to force the one bucket down into the other to be tight



Awesome!  Can't wait to hear how well it works :)


----------



## archeryrob (Apr 18, 2018)

Well, I mixed up Liverwurst tonight. 1 deer liver, 1 deer heart, 2 pounds ground deer and 2 pounds of pig fat. So about 7.5# and it was small for the bucket but everything sat still while i worked it heavy with the drill. I think the bucket idea seems to be just perfect.


----------



## tallbm (Apr 20, 2018)

archeryrob said:


> Well, I mixed up Liverwurst tonight. 1 deer liver, 1 deer heart, 2 pounds ground deer and 2 pounds of pig fat. So about 7.5# and it was small for the bucket but everything sat still while i worked it heavy with the drill. I think the bucket idea seems to be just perfect.


AWESOME!!!!

Feel free to make a full meat mixer mod post!!!  I have a feeling it will catch one :)
Now it's time for me to find a sacrificial bucket to make mine :D


----------



## archeryrob (Apr 21, 2018)

I guess that will have to go into the tools section.


----------



## tallbm (Apr 21, 2018)

archeryrob said:


> I guess that will have to go into the tools section.


Yeah I guess lol


----------

