Meat grinders

[Pipefitter]

After living without a meat grinder for 50+ years I have got the itch to start grinding my own meat. I just bought a Kitchenaid stand mixer and could buy their meat grinder attachment, but after doing some research it appears to me that it is intended for smaller batches, not very fast, etc.
So, today I was looking at the Lem meat grinders, specifically the #8 Big Bite. Anyone here have experience with the Lem grinders?
I would primarily use this to grind wild game (deer) once or twice a year, turn sirloin into burger (Local store sells whole sirloin roasts for less than lean hamburger) and maybe making some sausage.

[JBinMN]

I have had a LEM grinder for some time ( maybe 7-8 years) & am very satisfied. { IIRC, it is a 1/2 HP but may be a 3/4. Need to go down in the basement to look.}

Of course, like anything else, there will be others who offer other types & sizes. I am only offering that I use mine "more" than what you described that your use is going to be & it has done excellent for that purpose. It sure beats using a hand grinder like I did for about 30 years, even with taking the crank handle off & using a cordless drill.


G'Luck! with your choice of all that will get offered to ya!


BTW, Grinding meat is one thing... If you decide to do "stuffing" of sausage & sticks & the like, get a foot pedal to operate the grinder. With one person, trying to do sticks & sausage by yourself, without a foot feed, takes a person with 3 hands. Or, more.
Having a foot pedal to turn on & off when ya need to do it will help a great bit, IMO.
Aas far as I am concerned, we have had better results & efficiency with 2 people working the machine when doing sticks & sausage when not having a foot feed/control. If I have to do it myself, I would buy the foot feed as an accessory. Be worth the $$, IMO.


But, as always, someone else will disagree... I just speak of "my" experiences over the years. YMMV, of course.


G;Luck! again!

[Pipefitter]

I was also looking at the sausage stuffers, the foot switch may be a cheaper option. Thanks.

[redriverhunter]

My first one was a small grinder from academy, just did not do the job well. moved up to a lem #12 much better to work with and the foot petal is a great addition as well. My thoughts are go as big as you can afford and have space to work with.

[MyFlatline]

Went to the Chard this year. Seems like a LEM knock off. Did a great job grinding. I use a press stuffer for my casings but the grinder can do it also.

[dbmjr1]

I've been using my great grandmother's cast iron hand crank grinder all of my life. Made some pork sausage with it this morning out of a sows hind quarter.

[Chad5005]

if you think youre going to do a good bit of grinding buy a #22 or #32 and a stuffer is much easier than doing it with your grinder

[toallmy]

I still crank out my ground venison by hand also and a lot of deer have lived a longer life because of it , after hand cranking out 25-35 pound in a afternoon I think a little bit before I go hunting again .

[762 shooter]

+1 LEM grinder. Good warranty and CS.

762

[Stmtrn]

I have the #8. I love it. Works real good, nice and consistant. Bought for grinding to make
Sasauge

[Lloyd Smale]

lem and Weston are probably the most popular home meat grinders. You will NEVER MAKE A MISTAKE GOING BIGGER. I had a #8 when I first started its ok if you kill one or maybe two deer a year. today ive got a Weston 32 and its an animal. I think it would grind chunks of hardwood. The real advantage to a big grinder comes when you grind twice like when making summer sausage. Pushing ground meat through a #8 is a real chore. A real good compromise size is a #22. My buddy bought a lem 22 the same time as I bought my Weston 32. I used his at his house a couple times and I could probably live with it. but I wouldn't personaly go any smaller. But keep in mind I grind at least 300 lbs a year and most years substantially more. Yes you can stuff with a grinder but its like hauling plywood home from menards with a Toyota prius. Get yourself a vertical stuffer if you want to stuff sausage.

[Pipefitter]

I just pulled the trigger on the Lem #12 at fleet farm for$375 shipped to my door. Will be ordering a sausage stuffer next.

[snowwolfe]

I found out the temperature of the meat you are grinding is almost as important as the grinder you are using. The coarse grind is pretty easy and super fast. But when it comes time to do the fine grind make sure the meat is super cold, almost to the point of being half frozen. Am basing this on using my 3/4 hp grinder.

[mold maker]

That also works when slicing sausage and burgers from a roll.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup that's what a big one eliminates. With my 32 I can regrind warm course ground faster then I could course grind chilled or half froze meat in my 12. One thing I never liked about grinding half froze burger is if its thawed completely a lot of the blood seperates from the meat that would be like ice crystals when its frozen and unless after you grind it froze you let it sit in a colander to thaw and drain you get soggy burger.

I found out the temperature of the meat you are grinding is almost as important as the grinder you are using. The coarse grind is pretty easy and super fast. But when it comes time to do the fine grind make sure the meat is super cold, almost to the point of being half frozen. Am basing this on using my 3/4 hp grinder.

[Blanket]

I have the Weston 32 and have been very happy

[Powder Burn]

LEM #8 for me. 2nd year. Works pretty well for me. As stated before, grind/regrind frozen meat. Cleanup is easier too. I have a vertical Hakka 7# stuffer and just finished deer sticks today. Did breakfast sausage yesterday. Kielbasa and brats are great. If I had it to do over, I'd buy the next size larger LEM 22 and 15# Hakka. Then you can start playing with smokers.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup the only downside to mine is lifting it up onto the counter. Its a heavy bugger.

I have the Weston 32 and have been very happy