Home Meat Grinders

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gamboolman

gamboolman

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Not sure if this is correct forum, but we help please.

ms gamboolgal and I planning to retire this year. Been working for ~42 year in the oilpatch and it's time.

When we was younger, we ate a lot of deer and game. That was the days before going over sea's. Back in them days we used a Hand Grinder and it was slow and tedious at best.

We'll be planning to have time to hunt and fish more.

Home processing of deer and hogs and making ground meat and sausage.

What are recommendations including attachments.

Thanks for any advice and assistance.

gambooman......
 
It depends on how much/often you intend to use your grinder. My buddy bought a small one, which we use 3-4 times/year and it's adequate. I've stuffed sausage links with it (best with two people) and we often just make ground meat or bulk sausage. We seldom make more than 15-20 pounds at a time. If you're running 100# of meat through one you might want something bigger & faster.

We may be using it more often now. The local processor where we used to bring meat to have sausage made just raised their prices. However, I think we'll just be running it more often but not necessarily putting more meat through it each time. I believe it'll still be good enough.
 
My brother have been picking up the equipment to process all the deer we shoot.
He bought a dedicated meat grinder in the $250 range and it works great and is easy to clean. Last deer season parts of six deer were past through it no problem.
Check grinders out on e bay and amazon. Also look at the free shipping.
 
https://smile.amazon.com/Electric-M...80055757&sprefix=meat+grinder,aps,156&sr=8-35

If you plan to use it more than a few times a year, this one has all you need. The foot petal/switch is much desired for sausage making.
You want something with good power and a sturdy tray/feeding tube. The <$100 are nice for grinding a piece of pot roast for hamburger or to grind some chicken or turkey for poultry burgers but if you plan to use it a lot, get a higher end/more powerful grinder. It is well worth the extra cost.
 
Suggest a nice 3/4-to-1 hp grinder, better to have the capability than to be undersized and regret it later. Cabela's regularly has theirs on sale through out the year.
s7_541554_imageset_08?wid=300&hei=230&op_sharpen=1.jpg
 
whughett said:
After saying that I just discovered they also have an attachment that fits my old but reliable Kitchen Aid mixer.
Click to expand...
That's what we've used as a meat grinder for at least 25 years. We have a sausage stuffer attachment too. And of course our Kitchen Aid mixer doubles as a mixer for everything a mixer is used for.
The downside is, large Kitchen Aid mixers are expensive, even at Costco, which wasn't even around when we bought ours.
 
.308 Norma said:
That's what we've used as a meat grinder for at least 25 years. We have a sausage stuffer attachment too. And of course our Kitchen Aid mixer doubles as a mixer for everything a mixer is used for.
The downside is, large Kitchen Aid mixers are expensive, even at Costco, which wasn't even around when we bought ours.[/QUOTE
Expensive, maybe but the bride and I have been married 56 years, can’t say how far back the Kitchen Aid mixer goes, 50 maybe. I’d grind bushels of clams for clam chowder and clam cakes for my gun clubs annual field day. In fact the grinder is the most used attachment, don’t have the sausage stuffer however.
Click to expand...
 
Second on the kitchenaid attachment. Haven't tried sausage with ours, but have probably ground over 1000 lb of meat with it over the years. It is relatively efficient and easy to clean. You do need to give it a rest during large runs. It will get hot, there are parts in the mixer that don't like to get hot. If you don't already have an upright Kitchenaid mixer, get that lady a Valentines present...then run....evasion tactics will vary with her armament and marksmanship ability.
 
I have a LEM #8. I went with this because I grind a lot of venison and wild pork. The stuffing attachments work well if you and your helper can keep a good pace.
If you cut steaks, I recommend the Weston meat cuber.
 
I will put in another vote for the Kitchen Aid attachment. Mine is 30 years old and still going strong. It has ground a lot of meat. I also have the pasta attachment, shredder attachment and sausage maker. All highly recommended except for the sausage maker. It has three main issues. First, the feeding hole is just too small. Second there is no release valve for air pressure buildup so you are always fighting getting air into your casings. Finally, the tube for the casing sits over a foot above your counter. So you need somebody handling the sausage so it does not become a mess. One last thing, it is just slow. Get a dedicated sausage maker. You can make ten pounds of sausage in about ten minutes.

Why am I talking about sausage makers when you asked about a grinder? Because you will not be able to resist converting that beautiful ground meat into sausage. :)
 
Thanks for all of the replies. We did not realize what a huge range of Meat Grinders and Attachments are available today.
Good problem to have....
We are reading up on the LEM equipment.
Again, thanks for all the responses.
gamboolman....
 
I started out with a KitchenAid, and it worked but it was slow. My buddy bought a small grinder at Academy for <$90 (I think it's a LEM) and it's MUCH better.
If you're doing really small batches the KitchenAid is okay. I usually work in batch sizes between 15-30 Lbs. and for that the little Academy grinder is quite serviceable.
 
I have a LEM #12 with a jerky slicer/tenderizer attachment. Have had a couple of smaller grinders in the past that I wore out. I can put chunks in this one as fast as I want with no problem. Makes great jerky slices and with the tenderizer you just drop the steaks in as fast as you want. Be careful of smaller grinders as they don't last as long and tend to heat up. This one is all stainless steel and all the parts go in the dishwasher.
 
balderclev said:
This one is all stainless steel and all the parts go in the dishwasher.
Click to expand...

That's nice!
The little one my buddy got has aluminum components. They CAN go in the dishwasher, but aluminum loses its' shine when exposed to soap for very long. It doesn't hurt it, but it just doesn't look as shiny afterwards.
 
Bfh_auto said:
I have a LEM #8. I went with this because I grind a lot of venison and wild pork. The stuffing attachments work well if you and your helper can keep a good pace.
If you cut steaks, I recommend the Weston meat cuber.
Click to expand...

Yep, have ground a LOT of meat with mine. Don't think I gave MUCH over a hundred for it.

My wife was given an unused cheap grinder, all plastic. I've had cheap plastic ones before, but they were great compared to THIS thing, I won't use it, just sits there. Face to face, you could have it, but I won't ship it. My LEM was a great investment in meat processing considering the price of having sausage made.
 
whughett said:
After saying that I just discovered they also have an attachment that fits my old but reliable Kitchen Aid mixer. Hmm homemade sausage.
Click to expand...

What I used for a few years. Okay for one deer or so a year, but more than that you're just wearing out the mixer. A better grinder is less than the Kitchen Aid mixer.

I bought a heavy duty one from Cabelas years ago. Back then it was about $200. It has held up well and has processed a lot of deer. Make sure you get one with metal gears.....not plastic. The plastic gears will not hold up.
 
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