As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Suppose, last night you had invited a lot of guests and forgot to throw all the bones of your delicious chicken recipe which is devoured by your guests. Now there is no space in your bin to keep them. So, you are wondering what to do with these leftovers. Then an idea comes to your mind, and you are thinking, ”Why not crush them and make pet food and also organic fertilizer.” So, you are going through the Internet and searching for how to grind bones.
In this article, I am going to explain how to grind bones properly like a pro does.
So, let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Which Bones Are Suitable For Grinding?
Nowadays, people are very much eager to grind meats and bones in their residence instead of buying them from outside. It saves money, and the bones we grind at home is much safer and more hygienic. Again, we can use our grinders and bones according to our need and choice.
So, before going any further, we need to select the bones convenient for crushing. The priorities are:
- The best types of bones for grinding are as follows– ribcage bones, the neck piece, poultry wing tips, the backs, small poultry, rabbit, fish, turkey bones, rodents, etc.
- Check the thickness and length of the bones, and they should not exceed the length of your thumb to crush easily.
- Cooked bones are neither nutritious nor soft. So, they could be inimical to health.
- We recommend not to use beef, deer, pork, or other large animal bones as they are hard and dense and lessen the sharpness of your grinder.
- Some bone marrow, cartilage tissues, some blood- all of these will not do any harm.
How to Grind Bones Properly?
Here are the steps to grind your bones properly:
1. Select The Bones According To Your Mixer:
We have talked about suitable bones earlier. You need to select the bones according to your needs. If you are making pet meals, pick those bones that they eat frequently. And avoid hard bones lest you should have the industrial grinder butchers.
2. Cut Into Small Pieces To Feed The Grinder:
Pick your knives, meat cleavers, chef’s knife, or sturdy kitchen scissors to do this work. Separate the bones from the joint to feed the grinder.
Then separate the flesh from the bones. But sometimes you can keep the meat on smaller cuts of chicken because some meats will be beneficial for pet food. And it will not do any harm to the grinders. But if you want only bones, you can also separate meats from the bones. You can add vegetables also. If you do, cut the vegetables into small pieces to fit in the grinder.
3. Take A Bowl And Also Other Necessary Props:
Put the grinder on the flat or even surface. Make sure you have a place for keeping a container underneath the grinder. Again, sometimes the machine can leak any liquid, so put a napkin or towel or paper underneath the grinder. It will keep the place tidy. But, you don’t need any bowl if you are using a blender or food processor.
4. Feed The Bones Carefully Into The Machine:
If you are using an electric grinder, put the plug into the socket. Turn on the switch. Then drop the bones one by one. Make sure the bone is going all through the grinder. Be careful about your hands. Don’t rush in this work. If you do things forcibly, it will break the machine, or the bones will clog into the blades of the device.
5. Fit Multiple Bones Together In A Blender:
To use a blender, you need to put the plug into the socket. Then don’t turn on the switch now. Put the bones according to your need and the capacity of the blender. Then put the topper on the blender. Then turn on the switch. Please put on your hand on the top of the mixer and another hand at the bottom level to make sure the stability of the mixer. Then start the grinding or blending.
You can pour some water for the right consistency. Make sure that all the products blend very well.
6. Storing Of The Ground Bones:
Preserve the ground bones into another airtight container to avoid damaging the bones. As it a degradable component and bears blood & meats, it will spread a smell. So, please don’t use the powder if it loses its natural texture and character. Please don’t use them after 5 or 6 months.
Which Machine Will Be Convenient For Grinding Bones?
If you invest in grinders wisely, it will give you a good result. There are numerous brands and models to select from, but a few are noticeable separately for their construction and efficiency. The best sizes of meat grinders to grind bones are LEM or Weston size 22 or 32. They provide powerful motors that break chicken legs, turkey necks, and wings properly. But, in the small grinders, you have to break the bones into pieces before putting them into the grinders.
The size 22 provides a 1HP motor, and 32 size has a 1.5 HP motor. But keep in mind that these heavy-duty meat grinders are expensive. So, if you want to minimize the cost, you can use any size 12. Thus, we are giving below some types of grinder-
1. An electric meat grinder:
An electric meat grinder will be suitable for frequent bone grinding. It ranges from cheap lower-end models to costly heavyweight models. We can use them weekly basis. It is recommended to buy heavy-duty electric grinder to crush the bones properly, and again the budget needs to be considered.
- An electric meat grinder is much more effective than a manual one. It makes your day to day work easy.
- If the electric meat grinder is going to be used for general usage, the smaller ones will be enough and will last for two years
- The heavy duty model will be good for maintaining a family of large dogs.
- We can get these grinders from online or in any superstores.
Let’s watch a video of how to grind bones
2. A manual meat grinder:
If you want to do things cheaply, you can use a manual meat grinder. You need to push a handle by yourself to grind the bones. So, it is not that much customer friendly, but if you use it properly, you can get well-crushed bones.
- Manual grinders are available in the various groups of online and resell shops and second-hand stores
- Before buying, look for the manual grinders that can be parted easily. Thus, you can easily wash them.
3. A versatile stand mixer:
This mixer will be sufficient. You don’t need to add any bulky tool to your kitchen if you have this. Here, we can attach the grinder at the front end. The motor of the stand mixer is capable of pushing bones through the grinder attachment.
- The attachments come along with it are either plastic or metal. Metal attachments are more comfortable to work with than plastics.
- It is expensive, and the cost is like the cost of a low-end meat grinder.
4. A blender or a food processor:
When you don’t have any grinders, or you have run out of money and could not buy a grinder at this time of the month, you can use a blender. Most kitchens generally have a blender. We can use them in many ways like a stand mixer. But keep in mind that the frequent use of a blender for grinding meat will lessen the sharpness of the blades. The blades are not that much efficient to do these things.
- Firstly, before putting the bones into the blender, you need to cut them into very tiny pieces as much as possible.
- Make sure you grind the bones very well, or the pointy ends of the fragments will be harmful to inner organs.
- Keep a spare blender with your regular blender. The optional blender will be only used for grinding.
Why Are Animals’ Bones Useful?
- Bone deals with lots of micro-nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, etc. Bones amplify the nutrition of any meal. So, the total dietary amount and the ratios of these minerals are significant considerations in the feeds of cats and dogs. When you are making bone broth for your pet, it is a superfood for your pet.
- There is a high concentration of collagen, gelatine, and glycine in the bones. These components are essential for supporting gut health of animals.
- The commercial pet food contains bone meal, which is inexpensive and homemade. Again, AAFCO- approved all of these meals as the best choice for animals.
- Your puppies will go faster if their meal contains bone. The extra fat of bone marrow will create a healthy digestive system.
How To Wash The Grinder After Grinding?
- Firstly, unplug the machine. Then detached the parts off. Separate the tubes, plates, etc. attachments. Please keep the motor far from water or any liquid.
- Then wash the plates with soap and lukewarm water. You can use regular room temperature water, but you need to put extra soap.
- Then clean all the debris thoroughly by using small napkins so that there leaves no chance for the accumulation of bacteria or fungus.
- You can soak all the oils with a sponge before the washing.
- Then after the full wash, wipe out all the water which sticks to the surface of the machine and let it dry. Then, store it in the cabinet and cover it.
Some Tips And Suggestions
- When you are choosing a grinder, please read the packaging and the usage. Make sure that the manufacturer approved it for bone grinding. If the machine is not recommended for grinding, we can not use it as the blades will be blunt.
- Research well before buying any product or the sellers will befool you.
- Choose metal or stainless steel instead of plastic. The stainless steel will stay longer.
- Keep spare blades to use in an emergency.
- Ensure the freshness of your bones before grinding. Don’t use the frozen bone meal after 6 to 12 months.
- Make sure the container where you are storing the ground bones or the bowl you are using is cleaned properly.
- I’ll recommend you to buy grinders that can come apart easily because they are easy to maintain. It could cost a few more pence, but you will be able to use it more frequent.
- Keep the bones and meats in the freezer before grinding to have a smooth consistency.
- Use the largest blades for the first grind and after that, proceed with regular blades.
- First, put the small end to the tube of the grinder so that it is easy to crush.
Precautions And Safety Measures
- Keep the grinder away from the kids.
- Keep them in a dry place so that they don’t get rust on it.
- The bones you use for this purpose needs to be safe and hygienic
- Put your machine away from water.
Final Words
I hope after going through the article, you have a clear idea of how to grind bones properly. I have shared everything you need to know about bone grinding.
In the human body, bones bear a very significant role. We are standing on our feet by the strength of our bones. But, humans can’t consume bones. So, they throw them into the bins.
But if you are productive enough, you can also figure out something useful from the trash. And this is the goal of this article. I hope from now on, you can use the excess bones in a productive way after grinding them like a pro!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
