Ye Olde Meat Grinder

I’m sure like me you have a meat grinders in your kitchen somewhere. Perhaps yours is newer than mine. I’ve been using my meat grinder since the mid-80s after I inherited it from my mother who had received it from her mother. It’s always worked perfectly for me.

Until last week when I went to make some deviled ham. My plan was to stick the undesirable ends of a ham I had into the meat grinder, add a few ingredients and have sandwiches for a week.

My plan had its first wrench thrown into it when the screw-in thingy at the bottom wouldn’t work so I couldn’t attach it to the counter. It seemed the threads were stripped.

Did I feel a sense of relief that this longstanding tradition of grinding meat for sandwiches could now be ended?

No. I began to consider how I could enhance the way the meat grinder worked.

It isn’t as though I even really like ground meat, nor have I ever. The point is I now must fix the stripped threads of the bolt or I can no longer use it. Of course, I can easily do that. But, can I make it even better? Can I find a larger end so it will attach to my wider counter?

If so, then I can grind meat like some kind of mad person. I’m envisioning tubs of ground chicken, ham and beef in my refrigerator.

Again, I don’t necessarily like this paste-like spread I lather on bread to have for a lunch, but it is a tradition.

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