Gourmia Electric Meat Grinder 500 Watt 3 Stainless steel grind plates fine to coarse commercial meat grinder machine white and

For 5-Star Results with a Gourmia GMG525……follow the instructions!Before I choose which brand/model of a small appliance to buy, I download and read the user manual for each model I’m considering to determine which models will meet my expectations (if any), and whether my expectations are reasonable.Lastly I read all the one star reviews for each model.This is the point at which it usually gets very interesting, because often the majority of negative reviews are due to the purchaser either not reading the user manual or choosing to ignore the instructions/warnings it describes, or claiming poor performance when expecting the appliance to perform a task it wasn’t advertised – or designed – to perform.Then, when the appliance fails to meet their expectations, produces unsatisfactory results, or breaks – they blame the appliance and post a negative review.This is certainly true of the majority of the one star reviews for the Gourmia GMG525 Meat Grinder.The Gourmia GMG525 Meat Grinder is designed for light home use. If you need to grind hundreds of pounds of meat a year, or tens of pounds of meat at a time, you need a grinder with a more powerful motor than the Gourmia GMG525.(Yes, I know the Gourmia GMG525 is advertised as “professional grade”. Let’s just accept that as a bit of advertising/marketing hyperbole and move on, okay? You aren’t going to find a Gourmia GMG525 in the back room at your local butcher).That being said, if you’re purchasing a grinder to turn a few pounds of meat at a time into ground, AND if you are willing to follow a few basic guidelines (which apply to all light-duty home meat grinders), you should be satisfied with the Gourmia GMG525’s performance.The Gourmia GMG525 is a meat grinder. Foods other than meat shouldn’t be ground; they should be chopped (either by hand or using a food processor or chopper). If you need to process foods other than meat, this is not the appliance for you. If you attempt to grind foods other than meat with poor results (food doesn’t grind properly and/or the unit or any of its individual parts break), that’s not the fault of the unit.Here are the basic guidelines that should be followed to ensure satisfactory performance with the Gourmia GMG525:1). Meat to be ground should be cut into strips no more than 1/2″ X 1/2″ X 4″ (to be fed into the feed tube lengthwise) OR 1″ cubes. This according to the user manual and recipe booklet.2) Meat should be trimmed of all cartilage, sinew, and silverskin before grinding. Cartilage, sinew, and silverskin can jam the feed screw, cutting blade, and/or clog the cutting plate. This can result in the cutting blade breaking. In addition, trying to operate the grinder when it’s jammed can cause the motor to overheat and/or burn out.3). After trimming and cutting the meat to the correct size, documentation included with the grinder states pieces should be frozen for *45 minutes to 1 hour* before grinding, and further explains:”You want the meat to be cold and solid with ice forming on the outside, but not completely frozen.”Meat frozen to the correct firmness puts less strain on the motor when grinding, gives a cleaner, more defined grind, and prevents smearing of the meat/fat inside the grinder.If you have more than 3-4 lbs. of meat to grind at one time, consider keeping half of it in the freezer while you grind the other half.NOTE: There are pictures posted to accompany some of the one star reviews that clearly show the meat tray loaded with chunks of meat exceeding the size recommended by the manufacturer, meat that was not trimmed of sinew and silverskin, and meat that was not properly frozen before grinding – all leading to poor performance. That’s the fault of the *user*, not the *unit*.4). According to the user manual, none of the grinder parts are dishwasher safe, nor should they be left to soak in soapy water.Many of the one star reviews involve customers who admitted cleaning the grinder parts in the dishwasher or left the parts to soak in soapy water, thus stripping the stainless steel finish off the parts. Once the stainless steel finish has been stripped, and the exposed metal interacts with the fat in meat, the result is a grey, oily film on the meat when grinding. Again – not the fault of the unit!5) The user manual also states neither meat bones or nuts of any type can be ground in the Gourmia. To grind bones, you’ll need a much more powerful grinder, such as this one made by STX:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JWN4QN2/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_rc2dEbXB2Q5EYHowever, even that STX model can only handle “soft” bones, such as those from chicken, rabbit, quail, and squirrel. Beef, pork, and turkey bones cannot be ground in that STX grinder, and none of the other, less expensive STX meat grinder models can be used to grind *any* bones.***How to Clean***Disassemble the grinder immediately after use. Do not leave meat particles to dry after you’ve completed grinding.If the meat you’ve ground was sufficiently frozen as per the instructions in the unit’s documentation, there should be very few meat particles stuck in the parts, save the backside of the cutting plate.To remove any meat particles in the head tube, feed screw, cutting blade and cutting plate I’ve found if I first run COLD water through the parts (using the sink sprayer or faucet full force) any remaining small particles of meat will be flushed out. Using hot water softens the meat and melts the fat, making it more difficult to dislodge them.Once I’ve flushed out any visible meat particles with COLD water, I switch to hot water and a few drops of antibacterial dish soap and a sponge and clean each piece listed above, plus the hopper plate and food pusher. Then I rinse the parts in hot water and dry. Disassembling the unit, flushing, washing, rinsing, and drying the parts shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.Thus far I’ve used my Gourmia GMG525 to grind several pounds of boneless/skinless chicken breasts and thighs, and several pounds of beef chuck and beef boneless short ribs for ground beef, following the above guidelines.5 stars on the end results for both!

Great kitchen toolOperates as advertised. Follow the instructions and you’ll love it

It works OKIt works OK, I like it as it does a good job.

Powerful, durable, easy to clean kitchen applianceI considered several different brands before I selected the STX international as the right grinder for my needs. I required a machine which had enough power to grind a percentage of chicken bone along with meat in order to prepare a raw food diet for my Bengal cats. This unit has between 600-800watts of power under load, which I correctly assumed would be adequate for my needs. This grinder makes short work of chicken drums/wings etc. no problem.The grinding parts are cast aluminum and clean up beautifully in super hot soapy water. I read the instructions carefully prior to use so as to avoid discoloration and damage to the parts for their first washing and first assembly. As the manual recommends, I keep each blade in a separate plastic container with *Its Mated Cutting Aperture*. According to the manual, this will keep each blade sharper and will extend blade life. I liberally dose each cutting aperture and blade with olive oil to prevent rust. In my opinion, this is a high-quality appliance which will, with proper care and informed maintenance, perform for many years perfectly. As an added bonus, I registered my product online and received a 3 year manufacturers warranty for my trouble. An excellent value included in the price of the machine.**quick update** If you are using this appliance to prepare a raw chicken cat food diet, I strongly advise you to use chicken that is still frozen. Not deep frozen solid, but still somewhat ‘crispy’. Otherwise you will end up with clogs and this makes the whole procedure much more time-consuming.Overall, I am incredibly satisfied with this appliance. It is user friendly, grinds boneless beef and pork as though they were marshmallows and for the first time in my life I was able to have a hamburger at slightly under medium temperature because I ground the beef myself from lean, delicious sirloin! As I said, I purchased this item to make a raw diet for cats—but now my husband is after me to make homemade pork sausages every weekend for breakfast! Life’s good.

tough little grinderfor $60, this is a very good value. We use it mainly to feed raw meats, chicken in eluding chicken bones and this grinder does it very well. I don’t know how long its going to last but until we get a commercial strength one I would recommend this machine. Its powerful and pretty quiet to use