Anyone uses a meat grinder as a substitute potato ricer?

It would depend on how well cooked the potato was and the type as that would make a difference, but my concern that by the time you had passed the potatoes through that, and still have to finish mashing them by hand, they would be cold.

I would prefer to use a fork, or if you have one a potato masher

Dune

Why would you want to? If you have the kitchen aid use it. In a commercial kitchen you would be hard pressed to find a ricer. But you will find various sized mixers mashing potatoes. They aren't sometimes called whipped potatoes for nothing.

That is a kitchen mess waiting to happen. A ricer is better. Almost anything is better. Spend the $7 and buy a hand masher.

No, the meat is raw. Although you can grind some cooked meats, sausage is raw. This way, they can add the seasonings afterwards and let it sit for a little bit before you buy it. You can actually use it instead of ground beef if you want or mix it half and half with ground beef - especially good in chili and tacos. The reason why some links can be eaten by just warming up is because they are pre-cooked.

A pasty mess.

To me it sounds like more of a chore to clean this up than it would be to just mash the potatoes by hand.