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Recommend meat grinder
wanting to get a meat grinder. from what i've read seems the way to go is either cabelas or lem for a good machine. looking at the lem #12 or the cabelas carnivore .75 hp model. any others that would be in this quality range/price range that you guys would recommend? if not any pros/cons to the 2 models mentioned?
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There's a thread on this subject called: Best grinder for deer and hog processing. Just don't know how to link it to this one. Some good info.
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I just got the Cabela's unit yesterday. They had a #12 with 1/2 HP motor on sale for $100 off.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/CABEL...2.uts?slotId=2
Has good reviews. We are making sausage next week with it.
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Heck of a price on that Cabelas grinder. I just started myself and ground some deer burger and pork breakfast sausage. I'm addicted. Started using packaged seasoning and will move to my own recipes soon. Looking at smoke houses or building my own. I own a #8 LEM @ 0.5 hp. and just purchased a Hakker Bros. stuffer.
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I bought the same Cabelas 1/2 HP grinder .. it will do all I need and More ..
Brother has same grinder purchased about 3 years ago .. he said he's done at least 400 lbs of hog and deer thru it
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The cabelas grinders have been really good in my experience. Just about as good as the older small Hobarts. It's just the plates and knives the sell with them where not the greatest the last time I looked. What ever size you buy order a real set of knife and plate from one of the packing house suppliers as soon as the factory start to dull. The product quality improvement will really surprise you.
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3/4 hp LEM #12 has kept me very happy.
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Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like LEM or Cabelas it is then.
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We made 20 lbs of sausage with the Cabela’s grinder in my first post. We were pleased with the speed. Our first sausage was made with a grinding attachment on a Kitchen Aid mixer. World of difference.
I have never used a commercial unit, but the Cabela’s machine will be sufficient for our needs.
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Got an older 1 hp Cabelas....heavy...heavy....heavy....will grind anything and I love it!!!!! New ones have lifetime warranty I think!
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Well so far I up to about 30 lbs of meat thru the Cabelas 1/2 hp grinder .. It seems to churn along just fine.. very happy with how quiet it is
Grinds frozen chunks like butter
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I ended up going with the Weston #12 Pro. It is a beast. From what I could gather they are the makers of the Cabelas grinders. Still learning to use it. See a lot of recommendations to coarse grind 1st then fine grind a 2nd time. I did this making some simple breakfast sausage and the texture did not turn out well. I decided to try going from cubed meat right to the small diameter plate for the 1st grind and it worked great. Grinder didnt know the difference. So for now that seems like the way to go. So far made breakfast sausage and some jalepeno snack sticks.
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I got a Cabela's #5 for $40 shipped on their Black Friday sale. I've used it and it works very well, even with the plastic gear. I'll use it until it croaks and take it back to Cabela's for a fresh unit. The lifetime warranty on Cabela's branded items is nice to have.
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Well did 10 lbs of 50/50 deer/ hog burgers
And 7 lbs of breakfast sausage
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For hamburger two runs through a 1/8 inch fine grind plate is the way to go, or if you like a little courser product or want more speed run it past a 1/4 inch plate first.
With sausage the salt in the mix changes a few things. In smaller necksized grinders you can have an issue with overheating and overworking the product. If your getting to the point of creating white paste like sausage you are extracting the protein and emulsifying. Two grinds with a 1/4 inch plate or a little coarser should be about right. If you grind chilled meat and mix your seasoning with ice water you get a better mix and a better quality product after the grind. Just my two cents, I hope it helps.
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Any and all tips are appreciated.
Getting ready to make 10 lbs of Lebanon bologna and 4 lbs of brats today
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How did it turn out smoke?
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The Lebanon Bologna was/is delicious.
Brats were not bad need to change 5 of deer to get a little more fat .. help bring out the flavors a little more
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For the Lebanon Bologna, did you use a spice kit or some homemade ingredients? Have been looking at getting the spice kit for that from Waltons.
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Was it too dry or did you lose fat during smoking?
Getting the lean/fat ratio right can drastically improve the flavor and texture in deer. Soy protein is a huge help in summer sausage, salami and bologna. A different trick with deer is to add a little lean beef and or pork in the mix. I grind 10% beef and 10-15% beef fat into my burger, it helps hold the fat during cooking and ads a lot of flavor. In my sausages I go anywhere from 10% pork buts up to 50% and 10% pork fat up to 30%, depending on product. We just ground 400 ish pounds of deer yesterday and made 30lbs of polish sausage. I can't really call that polish "deer sausage" because it's more pork than deer but it's really good anyway.