Want to be known for the best burgers, chorizo or ragu in town? If meat is on the menu, a commercial meat grinder is an essential piece of equipment for providing the best texture and flavor to your customers. Taste tests show the difference between prepackaged and freshly ground meat is very noticeable - and did we mention grinding your own meat is safer? Knowing exactly what is in each grind and how fresh it is means you have more freedom in preparing meat in your business, serving up entrées at different temperatures and doneness to your customers' specifications. Providing you with optimal menu control and versatility is what Eleven36 is all about and our selection of high-quality industrial meat grinder units will help you be the best at what you do in the easiest and most reliable way on the market.
How to shop for an industrial meat grinder
A commercial meat grinder worth buying is able to produce beautifully textured meat (beef, chicken, pork, etc.) with the ideal ratio of meat-to-fat per bite. That perfect bite is what every restaurateur is after, whether providing fast casual or fine dining service. It's what keeps us up at night in providing our selection of industrial meat grinders, too! Key commercial meat grinder features therefore are consistency of grind, capacity and speed, and grinding plate variety so you can vary the size and thickness of your ground product. The most important quality of all is how easily the unit jams or produces the dreaded fat smear. Fat smear means that fat is leaking away from the ground meat coming out of your grinder - and as a result, your meat will come out dry. You should always be able to see a consistent mix of fat and meat coming through the grinder. Techniques like keeping your meat and grinder itself cold (fat melts easily when exposed to heat) will help with this problem, but a well-made commercial meat grinder that works smoothly and has features to reduce and reverse jams is a difference-maker. As with most kitchen appliances, a meat grinder that does not work reliably is about the same as not having one at all! Meat is a key component of most menus, so a slow unit or one that jams easily is not worth the investment. Power and ease of cleaning and use matter too - which is why Eleven36 only supplies commercial meat grinders we trust not just to grind well, but that are easy to keep humming for the long haul.
An equal opportunity chopper
Producing succulent meat of all kinds, from beef to duck to turkey, is certainly right in a meat grinder's wheelhouse. Churning out sausage is yet another thing a commercial meat grinder can do with sausage-making attachments. But you can also trust your Eleven36 unit to transform into a commercial food grinder for a variety of non-meat uses. Make breadcrumbs by grinding up sourdough, or prepare a mirepoix for service. Grind out a falafel base by putting chickpeas through your grinder. You can even grind the herbs you will use to season your ground meat to perfection through the same unit, producing the perfect meatballs, for instance, in one go!
Supersizing your meat grinder
A high-quality electric commercial meat grinder like the kind provided by Eleven36 can already grind up a lot (264 pounds per hour in our Vollrath 40743 bench-style model, for instance, or 528 pounds per hour in the Vollrath 40744!). But when meat is really the star of your show and you want to be able to sell a variety of products for consumers to take home or other restaurants to use, a heavy-duty commercial meat grinder can do the trick. An extremely high-powered unit or horizontal food cutter (also known as a buffalo chopper) would be a wise investment in those instances. These units can not only provide enormous output but also produce other types of food you might want to sell wholesale, like potato salad, coleslaw, and so on (all of which pair well with meat!). No matter what unit you go with, a heavy-duty commercial meat grinder or something more suited for daily restaurant service, you want to make sure you don't push it to the point of breaking down - each unit will come with a specific by the hour processing capacity for you to evaluate when thinking about how much meat you actually grind. And Eleven36 is always available to help make those choices in a strategic way that benefits your business and your menu.
When it comes to flavor, freshness and versatility, a commercial meat grinder can't be beat. Once you start tasting the burgers and bolognese a grinder produces, you (and your customers) won't want to go back. Contact Eleven36 today for more insider info on what sets our grinders apart from the rest and to learn more about what you can do with these wonderful pieces of equipment.