There will be occasions when you would want to prepare different types of meat for your dishes. At that point, an electric meat grinder can be most useful asset in the kitchen. That device can be used to grind meat in the way you wish to, use unique attachments to prepare sausages and finely ground meat.
An electric meat grinder and a manual meat grinder both serve the same purpose. They both have advantages and disadvantages. It is one of the popular kitchen appliances.
Manual meat grinders work with your power instead of a battery or electricity. This means you have to put in your energy. And electric meat grinders are well run by electricity (the name pretty much gave it away).
If you are confused about which one to get, keep reading, and you will know soon.
Electric Vs Manual Meat Grinder – What to Choose
Here are some comparisons between them:
| Topics | Manual grinder | Electric grinder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Cheaper than an electric grinder | Comparatively expensive |
| Weight | Can be carried around | Heavier than a manual grinder |
| Maintenance | Parts are more available in the hardware store | Electrical equipment might require repairing annually and can be costly |
| Big volume for grind | Takes a lot of time, will drain your energy, appropriate for a small volume of meat | Can be done in a short time and with more comfort |
| Power | Have to use your own strength and energy | Runs by electricity, you don’t have to put your physical energy |
Manual Meat Grinders – Features and Description
If you want to buy a meat grinder but are still undecided about whether to buy a manual or an electrical, look first if you are on a tight budget or not. If yes, then the manual grinder is much cheaper than an electrical one; go for the one that suits your budget.
A manual meat grinder is more suitable for one who needs to grind meat occasionally, not very often in a short span of time. It occupies less space, which is good for a small kitchen and is easy to handle.
It is easy to store and transport them due to their size and weight, compared to the electric ones. They are basically ideal for home use.
Unlike electrical grinders, you can operate them anywhere you like because there is no need for electricity to operate them. If you want to grind meat outdoors and in different areas of your home, you can do it with ease.
General design and features
With manual meat grinders, you need to use them with your strength; there is no battery or electrical supply for it (which is the whole point). You have to grind the meat with your own physical power and strength, which can take a great toll on energy.
You have to do many twisting and strain your arms to crank up the grinder while putting meat into it. It is not very pleasant if you are not used to it, then you won’t be able to grind more than 2 to 3 pounds at a time.
Further issues
However, it is easy to repair, as the design itself is not very complicated; you need first to assemble the meat grinder for use. If the problem occurs with any parts of your manual grinder or needs replacement, you can find the parts at your local hardware store.
It is easy to clean; if you wish to, you can un-assemble the meat grinder and soak the different parts in soapy, warm water for easy cleaning.
Here are the pros and cons of a Manual meat grinder:
Pros
- It will cost you less than an electrical grinder
- Requires no electrical power
- Saves your power bills
- Simple design
- Easy to clean
- Will give you a great arm workout
- Versatile
Cons
- Use muscle power which will strain a lot of energy from you
- Some manual grinder designs require a surface that you can clamp it to, so tough to set up if the surface is very thick
- Takes a lot of time to grind
- Not suitable for grinding a great number volume of meat
Electrical Meat Grinders – Features and Description
The electric meat grinder has a high-speed cutting blade to grind the meat spun by an electric motor. Electrical grinders are best for grinding bones, commercial purposes, grinding chicken bones etc, but if you have many guests gathering at your home for any occasion, you can prefer this one.
They are used to make the job quicker and grind a lot of meat, so they are mostly used at restaurants and other commercial places. They are good for grinding bones, and some folks use them for pets food.
The electrical grinder works much faster than a manual one, saves you a lot of time in the process. It saves you from all the hard work of grinding it yourself by hand.
Unlike a manual meat grinder, it is faster to set up with the electrical one. You do not have to assemble all the parts as you do with a manual grinder. It runs by electricity, and for that, the components inside are already prepared by the manufacturers.
General design and features
The complex design wouldn’t let the customer crack it like a puzzle so easily. That is why it is already assembled, and only a few things to do for the user to operate it. It saves them the trouble of sweating over to figure out how to assemble it.
The process of using an electric grinder is safe and cleaner. Like, it saves you from the task of spilling your hands from meat juice; and then using the same hands to grind the meat with the handle. The mess will be all-over the place from touching the meat, putting it in the tube, and grinding it. Apparently, none of those need to happen when you are using an electrical meat grinder.
Due to the huge amount of time taken by a manual grinder for grinding, there is this risk for the meat inside to warm up to an unsafe temperature. This is exactly why an electrical grinder is appropriate to use when you have a lot of meat to grind at once. All you need to do is putting the meat down in the feeding shuttle and let the power of science do the work.
When you want to use your electrical grinder, you got to have access to a power supply nearby. This is a drawback because you cannot use it anywhere you wish. Also, it is heavy to carry around and not as versatile as a manual grinder.
Further issues
Although it might sound all easy and wonderful, an electrical meat grinder is very expensive compared to a manual meat grinder. They do the work in a short span of time, sure, but then you will notice this upsurge of electric bills. This is because the grinder itself is run by electricity and will draw a lot of power for it to do the job, which you could have done with your hands.
Therefore, prepare and plan on your finances before you decide to buy an electrical grinder. Nonetheless, they are the better choice if you do not want to physically commit a lot of hard work.
Here are the pros and cons of Electrical meat grinder:
Pros
- Saves you from the muscle work
- Much faster and efficient than a manual meat grinder
- Different power settings available to use grind the meat slowly or quickly
- Faster to set up
- Good for mass volume to grind
- Easy, safe, & cleaner
Cons
- Expensive
- Cannot run without power supply
- High amount of bills due to energy usage
- Repair cost – extra headache if it needs to repair
- Heavy & complex design
Bottom line
How you should choose between manual or electrical meat grinders depends upon your view. Many factors are at stake here, which you should consider include budget, requirements, and brand.
First, you must set a plausible budget for yourself. Without a budget range in your mind, you might still be undecided about which one to buy. On top of that, planning your finances is important to decide which one suits your situation.
Keeping the focus on your requirements is necessary, or else you will end up buying something expensive that you really do not need. Make sure which feature and specifications you want.
Last but not least, always read the reviews of people who have had experiences with certain brands for meat grinders. It will give you the idea by comparing how each product and item brands treat their customers.
These are the basic tips to help you settle on which one to choose, but you are the one to make that choice at the end of the day. So, look through your crucial needs, and you will know which one is for you.
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