Kitchen Basics 3 N 1 Manual Meat and Vegetable Grinder Mincer, 3 Size Sausage Stuffer, Pasta Maker Bowl Inluded

This is a really good beginner meatgrinder. I'd never used or had one (my mother had a metal one when I was growing up and used it clamped to the table--it was a vice variety), but I knew that I wanted to make lean sausage and ground meat. Opening it up, it looked really cheap, but as I started playing with it and used the lever to suction it to my freezer top (that's my general work area, though you can use any smooth surface that the suction will cup onto), I was satisfied that it was a sturdy product. It suctions so hard that I put most of my weight against the base trying to get it off, but it wouldn't without cranking the lever back to release the suction. It's pretty easy to fit together. Things screw in place. The handle slots into the screw mechanism that turns the meat toward the blades. It's metal along with the blade itself. Other than that and the plates with the holes for the meat, everything else is 100% plastic. So far, I've used both fine ground and course ground, and it works like a dream. I've turned out both chicken and pork ground meat and haven't spent too much time with anything. I tried the pasta extruder once, but my dough was too thick. I'm going to be trying it again with a difference recipe. For the thickness of the dough, the extruder worked very well. If this breaks, I'll probably not buy this model because it's for beginners, and I want to process more meat than what this unit can handle (I wouldn't do more than 2-3 pounds through this little guy.) I've already specced out an electric unit I'll go for, but until this breaks or the blades wear out, this is my unit.

I purchased the Kitchen Basics 3-In-1 Meat Grinder to grind up small batches of hamburger on the fly. For small grinding jobs, less than 5 lbs of meat, it does a remarkably efficient and quality job. I use the coarse blade plate (about ¼ inch cut) which is perfect for gourmet hamburger using chuck eye, sirloin, brisket, short rib, or just about any other meat you may wish to use for this. Three to four pounds of steak takes less than 10 minutes to produce quality gourmet burger meat. It will handle larger amounts if you don’t mind the time and the cranking. The consistency and toothpack of the coarse ground meat is about as good as you’ll get from a medium priced electric grinder. As others have noted, it works best if you slice large cuts of meat down to smaller pieces before grinding, and the suction bottom requires a clean and very flat surface or the unit may slip around as you crank. It takes apart easily and cleanup is a snap. Best of all, it takes up barely any space in the back of a cabinet which is perfect for keeping the counters clear of excessive appliance clutter. I have not tried this item with pasta or vegetables. In summary, for less than $30 it is well worth hiding in the corner of a cabinet or drawer for occasional small grinding jobs for which pulling out a bigger electric unit might be overkill.

I bought this mainly to make fresh hamburger and sausage. I found it to be adequate for small batches. It comes with 2 cutting plates (fine and coarse), a cutting blade, 3 sausage stuffing tubes, a tray to catch ground meat and a handle to lock the suction plate and serve as a pusher (not good for that!), a Kube attachment and a pasta die. The sausage tubes were rough at the exit opening and I had to sand them smooth. It's hard enough for me to get the casing on the tube without having to deal with rough edges. The description stated it made rigatoni and spaghetti but I only received a rigatoni attachment which has 3 - 7/16”openings for rigatoni to form. There are certain things you need to do in order for this economical ($21.95 at time of my purchase) grinder to work meat grinding. You need to trim gristle and sinew, cut the meat into 1” cubes and then place in in the freezer long enough to firm it up; not frozen but almost starting to freeze When I make sausage I only do about 3 – 4 lbs. The handle used to lock the suction plate to your counter top works fine for that purpose but you are expected to also use it as a pusher; that doesn't work. In order to push the meat down I found a spice jar 2 – 2 1/2” in diameter; a square one works fine too, maybe better. The handle they supply is a joke for this purpose. When making sausage I find grinding the meat first (without stuffing tube attached) with the coarse plate, then removing the grinding plate and cutter. When you remove the grinding and plate you may feel the corkscrew shaft is loose because it now has no place to anchor. I found it doesn't matter and I get great results doing it this way. I have made 5 batches of sausage and everything (all components) are still like new. I now attach the stuffing tube with the casing and then run the ground meat back through. Remember, use a spice jar not the handle supplied to push the meat through. I feel, doing it this way makes the whole process much easier. I noticed some people have made comments about the stainless components and the blade/grinding plate assembly. Stainless steel does not mean rust proof. There are many types of stainless; all are rust resistant (not rust proof), some more than others. Stainless used for cutting blades is often not as rust resistant as that used for high quality cook pots. You should wash the cutter and grinding plates immediately after use and thoroughly dry them. To assemble, the cutting edge of the blade must contact the grinding plate; this is the only way it will work. I put a drop of cooking oil on the cutter and plate before assembly and tighten the large plastic fitting enough to give firm contact yet allow the grinding handle to turn easily. If you want a grinder that you can use for small batches and you are willing to put a little extra care in using it then you can have fun with this product. I will probably get get a better (and electric) grinder in the future but in the meantime I've had fun with this and don't regret the purchase. The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is the rough edges on the sausage stuffing tubes and the lack of a decent pusher.

As a grinder this works reasonably well. The suction cup securely holds the grinder in place while operating it, and the crank turns pretty easily. I have done 10lb batches of meat with this without issue. I do wish the hopper was larger. It also disassembles easily; after each use I take the entire thing apart and throw it in the dishwasher (including the base). Though it can be used as a stuffer, it takes an extremely long time and requires quite a bit of effort; and I would not recommend it. The auger just can't get enough pressure to get a good fill on casings. The only way I could do so was to keep the hopper full and push down on the meat with my free hand as I turned the crank. That seemed to give just enough extra pressure to give a good fill on the casings, but it was a lot of effort to do so. I've never used another grinder/stuffer, so I don't know if that's a problem with this particular unit or with stuffing casings with meat grinders in general.

Don't expect to get a real meat grinder! I have used a kitchen-aid meat grinder attachment, a real commercial electric meat grinder, and a cast-iron hand-cranked meat grinder. Alas, this isn't any of the above in form or function. Grinding anything is cumbersome. The push-stick is much smaller than the intake opening, so good luck trying to push anything down with it. It's useless. You will find yourself pushing the ingredients with your left hand, and keeping fingers on your right hand crossed (which you will also need to use for cranking the grinder) hoping that the grinder doesn't swallow your left hand whole! The blade attachment is counter-intuitive, and one cannot possibly discern which way the blade goes (it fits backwards and forwards, but only one is the correct direction). The instruction manual doesn't offer much help, as the poorly-drawn diagrams aren't discernible to the naked human eye. This takes inordinate amount of force to grind most things. Bottomline: Throw the $20 you are going to spend on this grinder in a blender with yogurt, and enjoy the smoothie, aptly-named, "Money well-spent!"

This is awesome. Good grind, suctions to tablespoons stays tight. Quick clean up. Easy store away.

This item has really kept me grounded for my diet, It generates good health for my noodle. I'll not....mince my words.

THis thing works well, but is really hard to grind meat. Ground some pork country ribs for sausage. No instructions, so I used the small grind wheel. BIG mistake - Once I put the big grind wheel in, much easier - but still not like a motor driven grinder. Stuffin sausage casings was much easier. I found the following problems: 1. No pressure plate to force meat into the hopper. Have to use your hands. Messy and not very efficient. 2. Stuffing hog casings would be simpler if you did not have to use the metal wheel inserts and blade - since the sausage meat is already ground and seasoned before stuffing. Twice through the grinder results in hot dog consistency and is HARD to force into the casings. 3. Sausage tubes do not fit tightly into the grinder. Have to center manually and hope they stay centered. Then the blade and metal disc are in the way. 4. It seems to me that I may be missing a part, but the instructions are very unclear. If you are looking for fast and efficient, this is not the product for you. The BIG problem is that there is no way to push the meat into the grinder. The turning mechanism does not readily pick up the meat. You have to push it down with your fingers. We need a pressure plate of some sort to help feed meat into the grinder. Most commercial grinders have just such a device. Checked out 3 different videos on the web and all featured devices, motor-driven and manual, that had a push down plate of some sort. Since the hopper on this grinder is square, it should be no big deal for me to rig one. Then, for home use, this becomes a 4 or 5 star product.

Product delivered (Huamei Mincer / Made in China) is completely different from what was ordered (Kitchen Basics® 3-In-1 Hand Crank Manual Meat Grinder /Made in U.S.). This product does not contain any tray as shown in the picture. I am planning to return it.

I love it thank you