Author Topic: Best Meat Grinder (Read 5186 times)

buckeye509 · « **on:** October 13, 2009, 02:46:49 AM »

I am looking to spend about $100-350.00 on a meat grinder for deer meat and making own ground beef, turkey, pork, etc. I've looked online at the stuff Cabela's sells, as well as other sites. Does anyone have any personal recommendations? Thanks.

john keyes · « **Reply #1 on:** October 13, 2009, 06:37:35 AM »

I like my Torrey. I spent about $450 on the whole set up, different plates and sausage tube. I bought a footswitch for twenty bucks from Harbor Freight and that helps alot.

buckeye509 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 14, 2009, 03:49:11 AM »

They look nice... and expensive. I was looking to spend somewhat less that what they list for now. Thanks! Good fodder for pontification.

john keyes · « **Reply #3 on:** October 14, 2009, 09:39:42 AM »

I agree it is an investment, but you will get your money back quickly. I have never taken a deer to a processor but I think they charge $2.99 lb to make sausage with you providing the meat. And then there are "those stories". I may not pass every letter of the health/inspection laws with my meat but:

1. I know everything that happened to the deer/pig from the time it was killed until it was divided up, ground up, roasted up, ribbed up etc and put away until it was cooked/bbq'd and eaten

I shot a 110 lb sow pig back in july and im just now finishing it, I have about ten lbs of links left. Buying a grinder is like reloading. You will have more ammo/meat than you can shoot/use.

I never have figured out what kind of cheese those processors use for the jalapeno cheese sausage though. I dont think it is normal cheese. I have tried to grind cheese into my links and it was not the same.

hunt-m-up · « **Reply #4 on:** October 14, 2009, 11:45:08 AM »

I believe Cabelas sells the LEM products, they've always been good for us.

Drilling Man · « **Reply #5 on:** October 14, 2009, 11:45:54 AM »

My brother bought one from Cabela's, he's on the picky side and he's happy with his meat grinder so that says something. I'm thinking it's one of their mid priced models...

DM

buckeye509 · « **Reply #6 on:** October 17, 2009, 10:33:51 AM »

Thanks for the input.

Drilling Man · « **Reply #7 on:** October 18, 2009, 02:54:53 AM »

I saw my brother on friday, he has the 1hp model, and he said it works well, and he likes his grinder.

DM

bobg · « **Reply #8 on:** October 18, 2009, 03:40:52 AM »

I have an Eastman that works good. It is a hand crank but i take the crank off and put my vari speed drill motor on it. I have ground a lot of burger with it. Never tried the sausage stuffer or the other attachments that came with it. I bought it years ago at Gander Mountain. Think i paid $79.95 for it.
bobg

JBlk · « **Reply #9 on:** November 11, 2009, 01:17:57 AM »

By buddy made his own grinder,He bought the largest hand grinder he could get, attached it to a right angle drive and powers it with a third horse electric motor.We grind our batches in twenty pound units, and you can grind it faster than it takes me to type this.We also use the same grinder to stuff our casings with, and it sure fills them in a hurry.I don't know what the output of this grinder is, but you won't find many commerical units that will keep up with it.We are in the fifth year of using this grinder with no problems at all.

Empty Quiver · « **Reply #10 on:** November 11, 2009, 04:10:20 AM »

It is in fact a special cheese. I work with a fella who is a forth generation meat cutter. He calls it high temperature cheese, most likely you could get some from a local butcher shop.

I bought a grinder attachment for our Kitchen Aid stand mixer. It surpassed my expectations, but isn't great by any means. I grind as I need the meat rather than one big ol batch to be split up and then frozen. One, I figure the meat freezes better in one chunk, and two the grinding takes only a few minutes and can be tailored to recipe. I don't do any sausage though so cannot comment. I did grind about 25 lbs of bear meat at one time when I first got it, took about a half hour I suppose, maybe more, didn't time myself.

uncowboy · « **Reply #11 on:** December 13, 2009, 06:37:06 AM »

THOUGHTS!
JBLK is right on the money. I have a 3 HP harbor freight/Northern model that workrd great when new but now clogs up too often. (Looseness)
The best I have seen is a Large hand grinder my friend mounted a 15LB flywheel and eletric washer motor to. That thing speeds through meat. They do large family batches -Three families and they all shoot deer!
Storage! Thawling a block of hamburger stinks! I usr 1 Galon zip lock freezer bags. I put in 2 LB of hamburger and press flat! Let out all the air and stack them up on a cookie sheet and freeze. They are about 1/2" thick and square so there is no lost freezer space. If you need 1 LB just break it in half on the edge of the counter and To thaw in sink with water takes about 8Miunets. Nothing faster and eassier. Been doing it this way for years and everyone I show it to is a convert! J.Michael

Duke45 · « **Reply #12 on:** December 17, 2009, 01:02:39 AM »

I just bought a 1 hp. lem #22 grinder and in seems to be a very good , well made machine. I have done over 100 lbs. of venison berger with no problems. It is easy to clean and lem's service dept. can't be beatthey seem knowledgable and always ready to ans. any inquiries. Duke45

watershed wildlife · « **Reply #13 on:** January 03, 2010, 10:13:48 AM »

hobart, size #32 plate , i paid 500 and took it to the electric motor rebiulder and for another 250 its all rebuilt like new, your talking to replace it would be over 2500.00. its an old machine and weighs a couple hundred pounds but they last for ever. i also got a 1/2 hp with gear reduction for more power #22 head hobart as a back up if something happens i paid 250 for that one and it runs like a champ. i got a hobart #12 i paid 250 for also, non are for sale, ive seen alot of people buy store brand and they dont hold out
my bother in law bought a cabela or gander mountain 1 hp , thought it would be better than my hobarts cause of a bigger motor, well lets say he uses mine now again. you get what you pay for. if you only do a hundred ponds or so a year you could probally get by with a store brand, any thing more id get a commercail hobart,biro, berkel,butcher boy, etc. i do a hundred pounds at a time or more on occasion

eye shot · « **Reply #14 on:** April 13, 2010, 04:17:50 PM »

I also have the Hobart comercial meat grinder. I got it at an estate sale for $100. Bones don't stop this grinder, but man is it heavy.

charles p · « **Reply #15 on:** April 14, 2010, 01:02:35 PM »

I bought a grinder on the Internet from a website named GrinderGuy.com. It was about six years ago and he advertised free shipping. The grinder weighs 72 lbs and he shipped it from Oregon to the coast of NC. Works great. All stainless. Can't remember the price but a friend and I split the purchase and we have really enjoyed it.

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #16 on:** April 14, 2010, 01:16:41 PM »

I have used the grinder on the front of the kitchen aid stand mixer and it worked well.
EXGirfriend had the stand mixer I bought the Grinder and now she has both. I remember it was in your price range and last time I looked the stand mixer at One of the big box stores- bed bath &, or Target had the grinder as a freebe with the mixer for about $300- 400.
Not only make burgers and sausage but bread and cookies.

steve · « **Reply #17 on:** August 15, 2010, 07:53:29 AM »

Years back my uncle gave me a Hobart grinder and mixer works great a bit heavy but it does the job. Still use it when making sausage also have 2 -enterprise presses a 4 quart and a 8 quart they might be old, but they do the job. I pick up spices from my work. Where I am a full time sausage maker.

Rex in OTZ · « **Reply #18 on:** August 16, 2010, 04:07:43 PM »

I have a cheapie Czch made hand grinder, its been a good one with once a season touching up the cutter, be shure to lube the pilot shaft and I havent had any problems yet, At first I tried grinding every batch for the first 3 years, then this last couple years then just putting up diced meat and roasts and thaw and grinding as i need it, I useally have 2-3 Caribou at a time, I just get the meat put up and I deal with grinding as I need it, most of my meat preparation now days is coarse meat for stew's, soups, fricassee, stirfry, BBQ chunks, curry all seem popular with my captive audience (kids)

lrs · « **Reply #19 on:** August 26, 2010, 11:34:33 AM »

I have a size 32 hand crank model. I paid $75 for it brand new a year ago. It came with 1 cutter and 1 plate.
It works OK, but sometimes the meat just spins on the worm drive, without going forward through the cutter / plate.
I don't know why this happens.
I hand cranked 15 lbs of venison last Saturday, took about an hr of hard cranking. I counted that as 2 hard workouts. I've about had it with this thing.
However if someone can tell me why it's not feeding right, I think I might hang on to it.
It has a crank shaped like a wheel, and I think it can be hooked up to an electric motor.
Now as luck would have it, our dryer is about to go out. It's a 220V electric motor, and it must be powerful in order to tumble a load of wet towels.
That may be a little much though.

Drilling Man · « **Reply #20 on:** August 26, 2010, 03:20:01 PM »

Quote from: lrs on August 26, 2010, 11:34:33 AM

I have a size 32 hand crank model. I paid $75 for it brand new a year ago. It came with 1 cutter and 1 plate.
It works OK, but sometimes the meat just spins on the worm drive, without going forward through the cutter / plate.
I don't know why this happens.
I hand cranked 15 lbs of venison last Saturday, took about an hr of hard cranking. I counted that as 2 hard workouts. I've about had it with this thing.
However if someone can tell me why it's not feeding right, I think I might hang on to it.
It has a crank shaped like a wheel, and I think it can be hooked up to an electric motor.
Now as luck would have it, our dryer is about to go out. It's a 220V electric motor, and it must be powerful in order to tumble a load of wet towels.
That may be a little much though.

Auger too loose in body, or the throat wasn't long enough in the first place. (read poor design)

DM