Best Kitchen Aid attachment?

[granolagirl]

We want to get a Kitchen Aid attachment for our stand mixer, but I'm not sure which one. Do you have one (or several)? Do you use it? Which one do you use the most? I was thinking about the juicer or the shredder/grater, but I really just have *no* idea!

Thanks! :)

[wallycat]

I have several....

I love the flour mill

[SusanT]

I have the shredder grater but use it mainly for really large shredding jobs. It's a little hard to get off and on. The attachment I've used the most is the food/meat grinder. I use it to grind my own chicken breast and other meats.

[browneye]

I have the meat grinder/sausage stuffer attachment. I use it to grind my meats, like SusanT, and also to make my own homemade sausages. Sometimes I stuff them, sometimes I leave them bulk. I like to make chicken and turkey sausages, also I like to mix in a little pork for flavor. I control the fat and quality this way and they are really good.
I also sometimes grind my own meats for ground meat recipes. I just trust what's in there more that way! :D

[Terrytx]

Originally posted by browneye
I have the meat grinder/sausage stuffer attachment. I use it to grind my meats, like SusanT, and also to make my own homemade sausages. Sometimes I stuff them, sometimes I leave them bulk. I like to make chicken and turkey sausages, also I like to mix in a little pork for flavor. I control the fat and quality this way and they are really good.
I also sometimes grind my own meats for ground meat recipes. I just trust what's in there more that way! :D

ditto-but it is the DH that does it.:D

[granolagirl]

Thanks! :)

Anyone have the juicer?

[SusanT]

Browneye - can you share some of your sausage recipes? DH loves sausage but I never buy it because of the high fat content.

[Wendy w]

I have the 3 pack of what a friend of mine calls the KA "sex toys";). These are the food grinder, the shredder, and the strainer.

Out of the 3, I use the food grinder the most. I have ground my own sirloin, ground pork tenderloin for chorizo, and want to make but have been too lazy to make sausage.:o :rolleyes:

I just recently used the shredder and I really like it too, especially for large shredding jobs like cole slaw and massive amounts of cheese. Susan is right, it is a bit difficult to get the attachments on and off.

I have never yet used the strainer. Does anyone have one :confused: and do you use it??

As I mentioned in another thread, I would really love to have the pasta rollers but they never go on sale. One of these days, I want to get the citrus juicer attachment as I use enough lemons and limes to justify it.

[browneye]

Originally posted by SusanT
Browneye - can you share some of your sausage recipes? DH loves sausage but I never buy it because of the high fat content.

Here's one that I love, I posted this on another thread about KA meat grinders, so I dug it up and here it is again. You can vary this- I have made it lower in fat at times by reducing the fats, skin, etc. It is made in bulk style. Very tasty stuff. I highly recommend it.

I have one for a wonderful Italian Sausage that I make, about a 50/50 blend of turkey and lean pork, which is wonderful. I like a little pork in it for a traditional flavor, but I'm sure it could be made with all turkey as well. I can post that a little later, but meanwhile here's the Spicy Cajun-Style one.:

I love Bruce Aidell's Spicy Louisiana Sausage, which DH and I make in large batches in the KitchenAid grinder, then freeze. It is really great for everything from breakfast, tossing into casseroles, quesadillas, chowder, etc. Here is the recipe for those of you who haven't yet acquired his book.

Spicy Louisiana Sausage
2 cups sliced onions
1 1/2 pounds boned chicken thighs without skin (about 2 pounds with bones) or 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
1 1/2 pounds boned turkey thighs without skin (about 2 pounds with bones) or 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 pound bacon, cut into pieces
1 1/2 tblsp chopped garlic
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp English style dry mustard
2 tsp yellow mustard seed
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup paprika
4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tblsp freshly ground black pepper

Simmer the onions in water to cover until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Cool under cold running water, and drain. (Make sure the onions are cool. They can be made ahead of time and refreigerated for later use. ) Coarsely grind the onions with the chicken, turkey, and bacon or chop coarsely in batches in a food processor. If using previously ground chicken or turkey, coarsely grind or chop the onions and bacon and mix thoroughly with the ground poultry. Add the remaining ingredients to the ground meat mixture in a large bowl or plastic tub and blend thoroughly with your hands. Fry a small patty until done and taste for salt, pepper and seasonings. Divide the sausage into 7 or 8 portions, wrap tightly in plastic wrap (I use my food saver here) and refrigerate or freeze for later use. Makes 7-8 1/2 pound packages.

These are really quite simple and yummy!

[ReneeV]

Hey Browneye,

That's my favorite attachment as well. And I too use it to make sausage. Thanks for the recipe.

I often use equal parts ground pork loin, (trimmed of fat first) and ground turkey for making sausage. I buy the whole pork loins when they're on sale $1.79 a pound. I agree, it does give the sausage a nice "authentic" flavor.

I picked up this tip years ago for adding moisture to lean sausages that really works. Add 1/3 of VERY SOFT cooked rice per pound of raw meat. I usually mash it up so that I almost have a paste, no actual grains, before adding to the mixture. You can't taste it or see it in finished sausages.

I have a great recipe for lean bratwurst the my DH really loves. They're really good cooked in beer just like the traditional ones. Anyone interested? I'd be happy to post it.

Renée

[browneye]

Here's the recipe for Italian Sausage. I stuff it into casings sometimes, but sometimes I make it bulk-style. You can use this on pizza, lasagna, etc. etc. I adapted this from the recipe that came with the KA sausage stuffer attachment, and it gets rave reviews from the family.

Note: It's always a good idea to pinch off a tiny amount of the sausage, fry up a little patty in a pan, and check for seasonings before packaging up . Keep in mind that if you freeze it, the seasonings will intensify over time. This stuff freezes really well and is so delicious.

Italian Sausage

1 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch strips (I trim most of the fat)
1 1/2 pounds turkey thigh or breast meat (if you prefer, you can purchase pre-ground turkey)cut into 1-inch strips
3 tsp. salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tblsp olive oil (for oiling the stuffer)
2 tblsp. fennel seeds
Natural or synthetic casings (if stuffing)

Place the pork and turkey strips on a metal baking sheet and freeze until partially frozen, about 20 minutes. It should be possible, however, to pierce the meat with the tip of a sharp knife. Combine salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic, onion powder, paprika, marjoram, rosemary, fennel and thyme. Sprinkle mixture over pork. Assemble and attach food grinder using the coarse grinding plate. Turn to Speed 4 and grind pork into the bowl. Add wine. Attach bowl and flat beater. Turn to stir speed and mix 1 minute. (Stop here if you want bulk sausage) Package up as desired.
Remove the knife and coarse grinding plate from food grinder. Assemble and attach the large Sausage stuffer tube. Oil the stuffer with olive oil and slide the casing on tightly. Tie off the end of casing. Turn to speed 4 and stuff pork mixture into casings. Twist sausage into smaller links and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. Yield: 3 pounds sausage.

Sausage making is really fun. :D My next batch is going to be a variation of this one, except I'm going to include sun-dried tomatoes and basil.

The possibilities are endless!!!! :D and you can control fat, salt, etc. You can use chicken meat, anything you want!

Have fun!
:D

[browneye]

Originally posted by ReneeV
Hey Browneye,

That's my favorite attachment as well. And I too use it to make sausage. Thanks for the recipe.

I often use equal parts ground pork loin, (trimmed of fat first) and ground turkey for making sausage. I buy the whole pork loins when they're on sale $1.79 a pound. I agree, it does give the sausage a nice "authentic" flavor.

I picked up this tip years ago for adding moisture to lean sausages that really works. Add 1/3 of VERY SOFT cooked rice per pound of raw meat. I usually mash it up so that I almost have a paste, no actual grains, before adding to the mixture. You can't taste it or see it in finished sausages.

I have a great recipe for lean bratwurst the my DH really loves. They're really good cooked in beer just like the traditional ones. Anyone interested? I'd be happy to post it.

Renée

Renee- (how do I get that little mark over the *e* in your name??)

I would LOVE your Bratwurst recipe. I have a couple recipes that I have not tried yet, but a tried-and-true is always preferred!!! Please post???

Also, good tip on the rice. I also read in one of my lowfat sausage books that if you add baked or boiled potatoes to the grind, it adds moisture just like fat, but isn't detectable- must be a similar phenomenon to the rice additive. I like that idea alot.

I gave up sausage for so long, thinking it was "bad" for me. Now we are enjoying even better-tasting sausages than we ever ate before, and not worrying about it!
:D

[SusanT]

Wow, thanks guys! DH will be in heaven.

One additional question - where do you get sausage casings?

[SusanT]

Oh, and here's my tip for using the meat grinder or any other attachment for that matter. Make sure you bolt it on! The first time I used mine I forgot to do this and the entire assembly came off, sending meat flying everywhere. The cats were thrilled!

[funnybone]

Not an attachement per se, but another bowl and paddle would be great. That way you can make all kinds of things without washing the first bowl. It would come in handy especially when baking at Christmas.

[ReneeV]

Here's my bratwurst recipe :

3 lbs whole pork loin, trimmed of visable fat
2 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
1lb 93% lean ground beef
3 c very soft cooked white rice, mashed (about 1.5 lbs cooked)
1/2 c Penzey Bratwurst spice mix
1/4 c dry powdered buttermilk
1 T kosher salt
water
Medium hog casings for 7-8 lbs of sausage.

Grind trimmed pork loin with fine blade of meat grinder, or have
butcher
do this for you. Mash rice with a potato masher, until it resembles
rice pudding. Combine 3 meats and rice. Mix thoroughly. Add spices,
buttermilk powder and salt. Add water if mixture seems dry, a little at
a time. Don't add too much. You don't want the mixture to be too
sticky. Combine thoroughly. Fry up a small patty to taste for correct
seasonings. Adjust, if needed.

Rinse casings inside and out. Place sausage stuffing attachment on you
meat grinder. Follow insturction manual. Load one casing on the horn
of the sausage stuffer. Tie a knot in the end. Load the sauage meat
into the hopper of the sausage stuffer and fill the casings, firmly but
not too taughtly. Reload casings as needed.

You may twist into links as you stuff the casings, or you can just
stuff
casings into ropes and cut into desired size pieces. Makes about 7 1/5
- 8 lbs of sausage.

To Cook:
***** casings so that they won't split when cooking. Poach in beer in
a
large frying pan for about 15 minutes. Brown in the frying pan or
grill
outside on a grill for about 10 additional minutes.

Per 4 oz link:
178 cals
8.2 ft
< 1 fbr
WW: 4 points

Browneye,
If I don't have the Penzey spice, I use the spices from the Brat recipe in the Bruce Adellis cookbook. I find that the buttermilk powder and a bit of beef really makes this recipe. I don't know if it's a Midwest thing, but it just not a brat if it doesn't contain buttermilk!

Renée

PS.
I get the accent over the "e" by holding the ALT key while typing 0233. Kind of clumsy, but I'm so used to typing it now that it's habbit.;-)

[browneye]

Renée (YAY I got the little accent over the E this time :D !!)

Thanks so much for the Brat recipe!!!!!!!!!! I actually have some Penzey's brat seasoning that I ordered to give some brats a whirl, but just had not gotten around to adapting a lowfat recipe yet. Now I have a tried and true lowfat recipe!!! Happy happy joy joy! My family will go nuts they love love love Bratwurst, but I haven't attempted one yet.

I'll be grinding away this weekend. :D

-Your fellow sausage stuffer
Paula

[browneye]

Originally posted by SusanT
Wow, thanks guys! DH will be in heaven.

One additional question - where do you get sausage casings?

Susan-
I order mine from Allied Kenco, by internet. I have had great luck with them, they are very prompt, even though I am on the West Coast and they are more East.Here is their home page: http://www.alliedkenco.com/

You get a ton of casings, but they last a really long time. You can choose animal or synthetic. All different sizes, too.

Keep them refrigerated in brine solution. Don't freeze them.

It's realy quite an easy process, once you get the *hang* of stuffing the casings. My first time, I thought it would be much more complicated than it is.
Hope that helps

[ccooney]

Originally posted by wallycat
I have several....

I love the flour mill

There's a flour mill?!? I have to get myself to the store!

The one I use most is the meat grinder. Corned beef hash for Sunday breakfast....yum! (Shame on me, hash is not low-fat:o )

[Curleytop]

I would go with the meat grinder! I make my own hamburger meat, don't buy the already ground up stuff. I have the shredder etc assembly, but I haven't used it in years. I also have the pasta plates which I HAVE NEVER USED, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO TRY IT IF SOMEONE WOULD SENT ME A RECIPE AND HELP!!

[Beth]

Curleytop, don't you have a recipe that came with the plates? I think we have used that one and the one that came with a Cuisinart attachment that is no longer made. As I recall, they were similar except that the Cuisinart was a little more exacting in the liquid measurement. I still have that stuff packed up, so I can't post now, but I did post some pasta recipes sometime ago -- including one for a spinach pasta.

If you wnt to try to search for those, I am thinking it may have been last fall -- there was a thread about pumpkin ravioli and another in which someone requested recipes for spinach and other pasta variations. Hope that helps.