The process of thoroughly cleaning your KitchenAid meat grinder is relatively easy.
Detach the washable parts of your meat grinder one by one and soak them in soapy water. After a good scrub, a thorough rinse, and a night’s drying, your KitchenAid meat grinder should be squeaky clean!
But, because grease and meaty leftovers are involved, it’s slightly more complicated than cleaning a juicer or a blender.
In today’s article, we’ll show you how to clean kitchenaid meat grinder most efficiently!
All you need is a couple of slices of bread, a regular dish soap, and a towel, and maybe a bit of baking soda if your meat grinder is rusty!
We’ve broken down the meat grinder cleaning process in a step-by-step guide below. Have a look!
Cleaning a KitchenAid Meat Grinder: A Step-by-Step Guide
If you want to clean your meat grinder properly, you’ll need a few things at first. Chances are, you have all of them in your home right now.
- Two loaves of bread
- A non-scratch sponge
- Food-grade mineral oil
- Dish soap
- Dishtowel
- Baking Soda (Not compulsory)
Now, let’s get on with the cleaning!
Step 1: Feed Bread to the Grinder
It may sound weird, but feeding bread to your grinder after heavy use has lots of benefits!
Ground meat can block the die holes on the plate with oil and grease. It not only breeds germs but also makes it very hard for you to clean the machine.
When you feed white bread through the feed tube, it carries the grease along and cleans the grinder from the inside.
Step 2: Disassemble Your Grinder
Now, it’s time to dismantle the meat grinder. The disassembly process is pretty much the same for all KitchenAid meat grinder models.
Start with the meat tray, and then remove the hopper and the feed tube. It’s crucial that you remove all the attachments and then move on to the screws, the cutting plate, and the knife.
Step 3: Separate the Hand Wash Only and Dishwasher-Safe Parts
Once you’ve taken the grinder apart, separate the dishwasher-safe parts from the hand-wash-only parts.
Double-check what you can pop in the dishwasher and what you shouldn’t!
Hand-wash Only
These are the parts you should never put in your dishwasher, not even in the top rack!
- The main housing
- Grinding plates
- The grind screw
- Blade
- Tray
- Collar
Dishwasher-Safe
The following components of KitchenAid meat grinders are top-rack dishwasher safe.
- Food pusher
- Sausage stuffer plate
- Stuffer tube
- Cleaning brush
Step 4: Soak in Soapy Water for 15 Minutes
You need to prepare a dish-soap solution for this step. Fill the sink with warm soapy water. Now, dip the non-motorized metal and plastic parts in it.
We recommend soaking your meat grinder parts for at least fifteen minutes to loosen up the grease and oils.
Detach the washable attachments from your electric meat grinder and wash them exactly like this.
Step 5: Scrub with a Wire Brush
Find a wire brush and scrub the pieces till they’re spotless.
You can also use an Elbow Grease sponge or simple steel wool for cleaning the meat grinder. However, steel wool can leave scratches on both the plastic and the metal parts.
So, you can either be gentle with the scrubbing or use any nylon-bristled brush for the job.
Moving forward, if the feed tube or the hooper still feel greasy to touch, you can rewash them. Only this time with warm water and baking soda solution!
Step 6: Rinse with Clean Water
Now that you’re done with the main cleaning bit, it’s time for a good rinse. You’ll want to dewater the sink and fill it with plain, warm water for this step. Go through each part of the grinder and rinse them well.
If you have time, we’ll suggest that you wash the dishwasher-safe parts by hand, especially if your dishwasher has a heating unit!
It will take three more minutes at best, but hand-washing all the parts can keep your meat grinder as good as new!
Step 7: Hand Dry Every Part of the Grinder
This is a swift and straightforward process. Grab a dishtowel and dry the feed tube, tray, blade, food pusher, and the grinding screw individually.
If it’s just after dinner time, you can let them all sit on the kitchen rack overnight. The parts of your meat grinder should be completely dry by morning.
Step 8: Finish by Spraying Vegetable Oil
Consider this an extra maintenance step, and only do this if you have time.
What happens when you spray vegetable oil or food-grade mineral oil to the metal parts of your meat grinder is actually interesting.
An oil coating acts as a shield that wards away rust and corrosion. It’s not one-hundred-percent foolproof. But home cooks will swear by this simple hack. Despite heavy use, it has kept the meat grinders spotless over the years!
3 Easy Hacks to Maintain Your KitchenAid Meat Grinder the Right Way!
These are all the hacks you’ll ever need to get the most out of your meat grinder!
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Avoid Grinding Warm Sinewy Meat
Sinewy meat can dull the grinder blade faster than you know. Grinding cold cuts or frozen meat keeps the cleaning process completely hassle-free!
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Wash Your Grinder Immediately
The longer your meat grinder sits dirty, the easier it gets for bacteria to grow inside your grinder.
So, don’t wait a few hours before you clean your meat grinder.
The point is to remove the stubborn grease 100%, and nothing does it better than an old-fashioned thorough scrubbing!
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Sharpen the Blade & Plate of Your Grinder
Dull blades simply don’t have a place in our kitchen. Sharpening your meat grinder’s blade and plates is super easy.
You need to run the grinder for five seconds with fine sandpaper sitting between the blade and the retaining ring. That’s literally it!
What Is the Easiest Way to Clean Rust off a Meat Grinder?
Prepare a cleaning solution with two parts of water and one part of baking soda. Soak your meat grinder parts in it, and scrub at them with a stiff wire brush.
It will not only get rid of rust but also remove acidic deposits. You can also soak the washable metal parts in vinegar.
Remember to store your grinder in a dry place to prevent rusting. You can keep the air-dried grinder parts in separate plastic bags. Adding a little bit of rice can absorb any remaining moisture.
As for chemical rust removers, you can use the cheap Cherry-Kool Aid, Zuc Scouring Powder, or Barkeeper’s Friend.
The user’s instructions should be in a leaflet with each product. Follow them closely, and you’re good! Bottom Line
A regular cleanup can keep your meat grinder at the top of its game! We hope we answered your question- how to clean kitchenaid meat grinder thoroughly at home.
Finally, we request you not to be hasty with the cleaning because there are sharp parts like the grinding blade and the plate holes. It’s good if you can wear gloves while cleaning the meat grinder.
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