# Cleaning the Meat Grinder



## nakom (Mar 1, 2011)

I have a meat grinder from Northern Tool and i put it in the dish washer to make sure it was good and clean after use and it come out of the dish washer black and it comes off on your hands.  Not sure how to get it off and get it back to the silver it should be.  Nothing is wrong with the dishwasher so no clue what happened.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Nick


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## rbranstner (Mar 1, 2011)

Hmm that is how I wash mine most of the time.


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## alblancher (Mar 1, 2011)

New one on me.  Is the black stuff greasy?  Do you have a lot of sulfur in your water?  What was it washed with?  Do you have the same problem with other metal objects.  I know the sulfur? in eggs will cause my pots to turn black.

If it was tarnish it wouldn't come off on your hands without a good bit of rubbing


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## forluvofsmoke (Mar 1, 2011)

Is this a stainless steel or a tinned cast iron grinder head?

Here's the thing about dishwasher detergents: they have a highly concentrated caustic solution...without it, the dishwasher will not remove food from your pots, pans or dishes. Caustics can damage tinned surfaces, and may cause damage to certain grades of stainless as well.

I don't know what everyone else does to clean their meat grinders and other meat handling/processing equipment, but I prefer the old fashioned hand washing with liquid dish soap and hot water...just me.

Eric


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## scarbelly (Mar 1, 2011)

forluvofsmoke said:


> Is this a stainless steel or a tinned cast iron grinder head?
> 
> Here's the thing about dishwasher detergents: they have a highly concentrated caustic solution...without it, the dishwasher will not remove food from your pots, pans or dishes. Caustics can damage tinned surfaces, and may cause damage to certain grades of stainless as well.
> 
> ...


I am 100% with Eric on this one. I use dishsoap and a little bleach like a spoonful and clean everything with a brush then I lube it with LEM lube to protect it until the next use


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## daveomak (Mar 1, 2011)

You might try soaking all the blackened parts in a vinegar solution. The acid should neutralize the caustic in the dishwashing soap.


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## nakom (Mar 1, 2011)

It is tined cast iron I am pretty sure.  I read the directions and it didnt say you could not wash it in the dishwasher so i did.  I washed all the pieces by hand first really used the hot setting in dishwasher just to make sure I got it sterilized.  Hope I didnt wreck it, would be stupid if that happened on this.

Thanks I will try the vinegar trick and see what happens.


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## venture (Mar 1, 2011)

I only put stainless steel in the dishwasher, and then I do it carefully.  Cast iron and aluminum don't like the dishwasher detergent.

Good luck and good smoking!


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## nwdave (Mar 2, 2011)

We went around on this subject a while back when Princess bought a new tool and got the same oxidation.  As Forluvofsmoke mentioned, handwash it.  You can use a wipe to disinfect if you desire, and get a food grade silicone spray similar to that offered by LEM.  After all the cleaning, I spray all the metal items prior to storage, ready for the next use.


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## nakom (Mar 2, 2011)

Since it already happened is there a way to clean it off or is it ruined?


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## DanMcG (Mar 2, 2011)

It's not ruined, it just had the anodizing removed from the aluminum parts.

Use it and enjoy it!

There is a slim chance according to research that the use of aluminum cookware contributes to Alzheimer's but I don't think a few pounds of cold meat going thru the stuffer will hurt ya.

My opinion, Dan


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## boykjo (Mar 3, 2011)

NWDave said:


> We went around on this subject a while back when Princess bought a new tool and got the same oxidation.  As Forluvofsmoke mentioned, handwash it.  You can use a wipe to disinfect if you desire, and get a food grade silicone spray similar to that offered by LEM.  After all the cleaning, I spray all the metal items prior to storage, ready for the next use.


I remeber when this happened to princess. Hopfully she will post up


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## beer-b-q (Mar 3, 2011)

If I remember correctly in one thread, someone called the manufacturer and was told NOT to use a Dishwasher.


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## SmokinAl (Mar 3, 2011)

We get it with our juicer & meat grinder on our Kitchen Aid Mixer. I don't know what causes it but it washes right off.


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## nakom (Mar 3, 2011)

I have had it soaking in vinegar and water for a couple days I will try to wash it up tonight and see how it cleans up.  Thanks all for the advice I will keep you posted.


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## tjkoko (Apr 23, 2014)

I barely wash mine by hand.....after running oven-dried bread thru the grinder.


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## justinkp (Apr 24, 2014)

Most grinders and this type of equipment aren't supposed to go in the dishwasher.  My wife ruined my first meat grinder by putting it in the dishwasher.   Same thing happened as you're describing.


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## tjkoko (Apr 24, 2014)

Many are made of carbon steel that's been coated with tin.  And carbon steel can rust easily and so a few manual grinders out there are made from stainless steel.  I prefer carbon steel: it's much sharper and easier to sharpen than stainless.


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## z-yogi (Feb 9, 2015)

DanMcG said:


> There is a slim chance according to research that the use of aluminum cookware contributes to Alzheimer's


Just an FYI for everyone:

At least some if not all of the samples which tended to show aluminum in alzheimer patients brain tissue was

contaminated with aluminum in the lab prior to testing. 

The jury is still out I guess, but there currently is still no solid finding that aluminum ingestion due to cooking

with aluminum pans or using deodorant with aluminum chlorohydrate will cause alzheimers.


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## voodoochile (Feb 9, 2015)

yep .... soap ,warm water , a little bleach , a little elbow grease will do the trick ........ you also need a set of brushes to clean out the holes in the plates (yes you have to poke every last one of those pesky holes ! .....8^) ....... once dry a light spray with food grade silicone on the plates and knives will keep everything good to go until the next time you make sausage .


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## z-yogi (Feb 9, 2015)

Is there any bathroom hand soap which is more recommended than others for guys working with meat?

Just wondering...  I don't want soap residue in the meat... But I also want everyone to wash their hands

with soap afterwords...  I know a good rinse under hot water after soaping works, but I just thought

maybe there was a special kind of soap which was either less likely to cause an issue in the sausage,

or washed off more quickly and easily...   Right now I just have one of those 'foaming' dispensers in there...

Seems to work good, but I thought I'd ask the gang here in case anyone knows anything about this...


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## daveomak (Feb 9, 2015)

Check Butcher and Packer for supplies....


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## dexterbakus (Sep 6, 2015)

Nakom said:


> I have a meat grinder from Northern Tool and i put it in the dish washer to make sure it was good and clean after use and it come out of the dish washer black and it comes off on your hands.  Not sure how to get it off and get it back to the silver it should be.  Nothing is wrong with the dishwasher so no clue what happened.
> 
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Nick


some tip i have read:

1. Disassemble Before Washing

2. Hand Wash

3. Proper Storage

.....


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