Meat grinder

[dante322]

i am kinda shopping around for a meat grinder to make deer sausage and burger. There are a lot of choices and i find myself going with the bigger must be better mentality. But I am asking myself, "do I need a 3 hp grinder? Or will one of the smaller less expensive 500 watt units be sufficient for what i am doing?"

Any thoughts or suggestions on wattage/ horsepower? possibly a good brand or a brand to stay away from.

I have my eye on a few but I dont want to buy a smaller unit only to find out it doesn't have the balls to grind deer meat. I also dont want to spend the money for a larger unit and have it be more than what I need and a waste of money.

 

[xbowguy]

I bought the biggest I could afford at the time. I figure if it is too big, then there will be less wear and tear, which will make it last longer.

 

[Johnch]

IMO skip the 500 Watt grinders
Burned up one a few years back
Grinding Goose breasts for sausage

I have the Cabela's Commercial-Grade 1/2 hp Electric Grinder

I looked , it is suposed to grind 4-6 LB a min

As I normaly only do 1 deer at a time
It works
Not real fast .........though


But if you do more than 1 deer at a time
IMO it would be worth getting a 3/4 or even 1 HP grinder

I plan on upgading to a 3/4 HP grinder , maybe this fall
Just have to get feeling better to use it enough

John

 

[jagermeister]

I also recommend the Cabelas brand commercial meat grinders. I have been very pleased with mine. It's going on its 6th season and is still going strong after grinding a buttload of venison and goose breasts. Like John, I too have the 1/2 hp grinder. It gets the job done but honestly if I were to do it all over again I'd go with a bigger one. It's not really the motor size that limits you... it's the neck size of the grinder. The 1/2 hp grinder has a fairly small neck compared to the bigger models. You can only stuff so much meat in so fast. (No pun intended. ) Bottom line... Get the biggest one you can afford, Dante. And if you want to do sausage stuffing, buy a sausage stuffer. The grinders have attachments and nozzles for stuffing sausage, but it's cumbersome and not as efficient as a dedicated stuffer.

 

[Jackalope]

I use a model 600 kitchenaid mixer with a grinder attachment. I've ground close to 9-10 deer with it since I've owned it. It only needs about half power to grind deer and does an awesome job. Plus you have the added benefit of having a multi purpose machine. It has a bunch of attachments like pasta makers, ravioli maker, grain mill, juicer etc and its obvious mixing ability. And costs less than a cabellas grinder. The model I have is 575 watts. The cabellas 3/4 Hp grinder that's like 500 bucks is 560 watts. Bella's has a 5 year pro rated warranty on their grinder where as kitchenaid Is only a year but its full replacement. Plus it's an easier sell to the woman of the house. Play it off almost like a gift. That's what I did. Lol.

 

[Beentown]

I use a model 600 kitchenaid mixer with a grinder attachment. I've ground close to 9-10 deer with it since I've owned it. It only needs about half power to grind deer and does an awesome job. Plus you have the added benefit of having a multi purpose machine. It has a bunch of attachments like pasta makers, ravioli maker, grain mill, juicer etc and its obvious mixing ability. And costs less than a cabellas grinder. The model I have is 575 watts. The cabellas 3/4 Hp grinder that's like 500 bucks is 560 watts. Bella's has a 5 year pro rated warranty on their grinder where as kitchenaid Is only a year but its full replacement. Plus it's an easier sell to the woman of the house. Play it off almost like a gift. That's what I did. Lol.

Yep.

Not only does the grinder work well but the stuffing attachment works great. I buy natural casing from my butcher to use with it...yum.

 

[dante322]

I use a model 600 kitchenaid mixer with a grinder attachment. I've ground close to 9-10 deer with it since I've owned it. It only needs about half power to grind deer and does an awesome job. Plus you have the added benefit of having a multi purpose machine. It has a bunch of attachments like pasta makers, ravioli maker, grain mill, juicer etc and its obvious mixing ability. And costs less than a cabellas grinder. The model I have is 575 watts. The cabellas 3/4 Hp grinder that's like 500 bucks is 560 watts. Bella's has a 5 year pro rated warranty on their grinder where as kitchenaid Is only a year but its full replacement. Plus it's an easier sell to the woman of the house. Play it off almost like a gift. That's what I did. Lol.

I dont have to worry about that. my ole lady isn't exactly a "cook" she makes dinner, but to give her a mixer would be a waste. it wouldnt get used for anything other than the grinder / sausage stuffer. besides, "selling" her on this kind of thing isn't hard. She knows I'm not gonna buy something I dont intend to use, and that i'm not going to just buy the first one I see. I'm gonna shop around, get some input to find the best bang for the buck. As long as she gets an occasional pair of shoes, her James Patterson books, and flowers once in a while, she doesnt gripe about my occasional purchase.

So The kitchen aid sounds like a good deal except for the fact that It would probably only get used as a grinder. which makes me lean toward getting a unit for grinding only. I'll speak with the missus and see if she would use the mixer for other things. I think I've got some time. i'm almost out of deer meat right now. So i wouldnt need it till fall anyway. But I also have to think that any good bargains I'm gonna find will be now. As season gets closer, more people will be wanting to get one and the prices will go up.

 

[xbowguy]

I found my LEM grinder on Ebay. It was much cheaper than list price.

 

[dante322]

I found my LEM grinder on Ebay. It was much cheaper than list price.

I've got a bid on one now. Mega force 3000 watt, 3.4 hp. Has three different size grinds, a seperate blade for each one, Three sizes of sausage tubes and a 1 year warranty. It is air cooled to keep it from overheating and burning up the motor so fast. I didn't put a huge bid on it, if I win it I win it. If not, Oh well, I'll keep looking.

Checked [prices on ebay for the kitchen aid. Still out of my price range for one that has enough power to use as a grinder. Plenty of "vintage" or low wattage units, but the ones that are at least 575 watts are to expensive for what I'm looking to spend.

 

[Jackalope]

I've got a bid on one now. Mega force 3000 watt, 3.4 hp. Has three different size grinds, a seperate blade for each one, Three sizes of sausage tubes and a 1 year warranty. It is air cooled to keep it from overheating and burning up the motor so fast. I didn't put a huge bid on it, if I win it I win it. If not, Oh well, I'll keep looking.

Checked [prices on ebay for the kitchen aid. Still out of my price range for one that has enough power to use as a grinder. Plenty of "vintage" or low wattage units, but the ones that are at least 575 watts are to expensive for what I'm looking to spend.

I think I got mine for about 400 at Macy's. deals on them can be found. I would never pay list for one.

 

[Hedgelj]

Well it depends who I'm grinding meat up with as to which one we use.

The in-laws have an old one from when they used to butcher hogs on the farm, its not very fast but it gets the job done well. My dad bought one of the cabelas commercial ones 1hp I think. It really can grind a lot of meat up pretty fast. If you are planning on doing a lot of deer I think its the way to go. You can also do sausage stuffing with the attachments it came with.

 

[Huckleberry Finn]

Hoyt had a post about an Ohio made grinder but can't think of the name...I know he loved it and had a good customer service experience too.

 

[xbowguy]

Hoyt had a post about an Ohio made grinder but can't think of the name...I know he loved it and had a good customer service experience too.

Believe his is the same as mine.....LEM.

 

[Buckmaster]

I rigged up a #32 meat grinder with a 12 inch wheel then added a 1hp motor to it.
I can grind close to 100 pounds per hour with it.
Its basic, simple, and doesn't have any gears, etc. to break.

 

[Hoytmania]

Yep LEM it is.

 

[MK111]

I bought a LEM #22 1.0 HP in January off of Craigs List.
I did a home butcher of a 1400 lb. bull and ground over 500 lbs. of hamburger. It worked great and only had to run the meat through once. it never once even slowed down.
BassPro carries them. I would buy another one.
Check Craigs List.

 

[beaston]

I got the Cabelas 1-1/2 HP with a #32 neck. It will eat a whole front leg shank without slowing down. Not sure about the pounds per hour but you can't keep up with it.I also bought the burger press that attaches to the grinder and its awesome, yeah it was a painful investment at first but I will never look back. I can grind a deer in about 3 minutes or so..

 

[Jamie]

one more vote for Cabela's grinder. I have the 1 hp with #22 head. I grind my meat half frozen because it cuts more and smears less. after doing a few dozen deer and a couple thousand pounds of pork, I've never been able to stuff meat in it fast enough to slow it down. if you make much sausage, an added bonus with this grinder motor is that it also turns their meat mixer and other attachments. comes in really handy when you are making 300lbs of sausage in 25lb batches in a weekend. properly mixing a 25lb batch of sausage is very taxing by hand if not impossible. smaller batches are much easier by hand.

Imo, this is more grinder than anyone needs for butchering deer and making sausage. after what I've put this grinder through, I see no need to get one that is bigger, heavier and more expensive unless you are using it commercially. that being said, I wouldn't want a smaller one, either. I couldn't be happier with mine.