Meat grinder plate hole sizes determine the texture of the ground meat you produce.
Most hamburger meat is 1/8"
In most parts of the US, hamburger meat is ground using an 1/8" hole grinder plate.
Here are some other common sizes and uses:
- 1/8" - Hamburger meat
- 5/32" - Hamburger meat in Texas
- 3/16" - Sausage
- 3/8" - Chili meat
- Kidney - Beef stew
The 1/8" is the most common plate you'll find behind most meat counters. In fact, many butchers will keep a couple of these around for safe measure. The 3/8" and 3/16" are the next most common sizes.
The images below show the approximate texture of ground meat produced from specific hole sizes.