Good meat grinder suggestions

[shtur]

I'm looking at a LEM .75 HP meat grinder. I only grind about 10-15 lbs of meat approx 4 times a year. Any experience with the LEM or another meat grinder?

[rancher1913]

if you have a kitchen aid mixer, get the grinder attachment, it will do that amount no problem.

[jonp]

Wife and I bought one at Cabelas to make sausage. Not expensive, easy to use and works fine. I wouldn't want to do a few hundred pounds a year with it but for
10lbs at a time it will work great

[Pipefitter]

It will take longer to clean up after 10#'s of meat than it will take to grind the meat. I have one and as fast as you can drop the meat in the tube it will come out of the other end. Second grind will also go faster than what you expect.

[sparkyv]

if you have a kitchen aid mixer, get the grinder attachment, it will do that amount no problem.

Another vote for the kitchen aid accessory.

[Big Tom]

I have been using a Waring grinder (I think it is a MG105) for about 10 years with similar usage and it is holding up well, came with three grinding plates and is easy to clean. The cutter is still sharp after all the years.

[trails4u]

Another vote for the kitchen aid accessory.

I'll make that a third....

[MaryB]

Northern Tool $99 on sale grinder. All metal gears, I make breakfast and italian sausage in 10 pound batches and no problem grinding 20 pounds of meat in a half hour.

[JBinMN]

I have a LEM. Do not remember the size. Either 1/2 or 3/4 HP. Had it for about 8-10 years.

I grind way more than you predict you will grind in the OP.

Lots more.

I think you would be just fine with that size for what you expect to do as per the OP & even more.
( You may be surprised that you use it more than you think after getting one, just like I did. I even started making my own sausage after getting it, as using a hand grinder was what kept me from doing much of it before.)

G'Luck! on whatever ya decide to do.
:)

And... Semper Fi !
;)

[KCSO]

Don't push the meat in with your fingers? This suggestion has proved invaluable to me over the years!

[Markopolo]

i have both the kitchen aide, and a real grinder cuz I do a lot of meat. the key to any grinder are the knives and the disks. any of the suggestions above will work. learn to take care of your knives and such and you will be pretty happy with any suggestion above. even the best money can buy grinder will make you wanna take a sledge hammer to it if you dont know how to maintain...

take a peek at this thread.. i go into more details here..

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?381970-Spring-Bear-Processing-for-Bacon-Burgers

hope this helps..

marko

[shtur]

I have the commercial Kitchen Aid mixer, and the motor gets hot when I use it to grind meat. That is why I don't recommend it, and I am getting a dedicated grinder - to use the mixer for mixing, only.

[snowwolfe]

I'm looking at a LEM .75 HP meat grinder. I only grind about 10-15 lbs of meat approx 4 times a year. Any experience with the LEM or another meat grinder?

I wouldn't go any smaller. We do 3-4 deer a year using a .75 hp grinder and now wish we had a grinder with a more powerful motor. The coarse grind is easy, its the second fine grind that takes the time. Having the meat chilled to the point it is half frozen helps immensely.

[762 shooter]

I have owned several grinders over the years. I used my Kitchenaid a fair amount grinding occasional deer parts and a pork butt or two. I had the same issue with the motor getting rather warm. Can't be good for the mixer.

Decided to buy a dedicated grinder that would fill the bill.

I bought a LEM Big Bite 3/4 HP #12. I have ground many pounds of pork and beef sausage. Four or five deer a year have disappeared into the Big Bite's mouth.

JBinMN is correct. Once you have a good grinder, you will grind more.

Pipefitter is correct. Your cleanup time will be longer than grind time. Not because it is hard to clean, because grinding is so fast.

Snowwolfe is correct. Semi frozen meat and frozen grinder parts are your friend. Warm meat does not grind it extrudes.

My son bought the cuber/jerky cutter attachment and we have discovered cubed pork loin in milk gravy. I think he bought it because he knows when I die the grinder will still be working. Five year warranty, US company, been around awhile and steel gears.

The #12 will take most if not all accessories. Dang, I should get a commission.

762

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got a Weston #32 and its an animal. Its not something a small guy would want because it probably weights near a 100lbs. Before the I had a lem #12 and for what you are doing its all you need. For that light of use id even look at one of the gander mountain/cabellas plastic cased #12s. It was my first grinder and dad still uses it. Big advantage to the bigger ones for a home guy is second grind for sausage. Bigger grinders are just so much easier to do that in. But for 10 lbs of meat id even consider a hand crank grinder.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

I don't grind the good stuff, I grind the sniewy stuff nobody wants to eat. We stripped gears (cast zinc?) out of the kitchenaid. When it did work, we had to stop frequently to clean the sinew out. We had to really trim the meat carefully to keep it running. Our LEM #5 eats anything I give it, even warm. It will bog a bit if you over do it, but once you find its pace, it will really crank it out. I ground two big hog hams (around 30-40 lbs total) in probably 10-15 minutes of total grind time last week. Chunking the meat up took longer.

[RU shooter]

I don't grind the good stuff, I grind the sniewy stuff nobody wants to eat. We stripped gears (cast zinc?) out of the kitchenaid. When it did work, we had to stop frequently to clean the sinew out. We had to really trim the meat carefully to keep it running. Our LEM #5 eats anything I give it, even warm. It will bog a bit if you over do it, but once you find its pace, it will really crank it out. I ground two big hog hams (around 30-40 lbs total) in probably 10-15 minutes of total grind time last week. Chunking the meat up took longer.
This is the key ! I've worked at a butcher shop for about the last 12 years processing deer and even the big old Hobart grinders we use bog and clog if there's a lot of fat and seniew or tendon or the meat is cut to large . Trim off everything that ain't red meat best you can and cube it up well and make sure your blade is snug up against your plate

[Lead pot]

I would save the Kitchen Aid for making bread dough. I have a pro and it will smoke just grinding 10# or less of meat for snack sticks.
I ended up getting a Chard Heavy Duty #12 from Farm&Fleet and it will make hamburger out of anything in fine shape.
If you just grind up left overs now and then for sandwich spread a hand crank grinder will do the job in fine shape.

[Markopolo]

take care of your knives!!!!! that is what keeps the sinue from clogging up.. you have to actually CUT the sinue, not squish...

[guywitha3006]

I have the commercial Kitchen Aid mixer, and the motor gets hot when I use it to grind meat. That is why I don't recommend it, and I am getting a dedicated grinder - to use the mixer for mixing, only.

I would stay shy away from the kitchen aid as well...I burnt up one kitchenaid grinding and have to plans to make that mistake again.

[tja6435]

I have a Cabela’s No. 5 grinder, I’ve run a decent amount of pork and beef through it and probably 500# pork fat before I rendered it all down into lard. I have enough lard in jars to last my neighbors and myself at least 10 years

[trebor44]

I have a Cabela’s No. 5 grinder, I’ve run a decent amount of pork and beef through it and probably 500# pork fat before I rendered it all down into lard. I have enough lard in jars to last my neighbors and myself at least 10 years

I have the next one up (https://www.cabelas.com/product/home-cabin/food-processing/food-grinders/pc/104798880/c/104723280/sc/104364180/cabelas-heavy-duty-grinder/1387520.uts?slotId=5) and over the past ten plus years it has ground a lot of beef, pork and chicken (sale bought). Needless to say it has more than paid for itself by not buying the overpriced cuts of meat. We like all forms of burger and making lean burger from steak is a real plus. The cutters and knowing how to feed the grinder are what makes the chore pleasant. I started out (as a child) with a hand grinder. My Dad and I processed deer and made lots of kielbasa and bratwurst before we hooked up a motor to it. The commercial units I have used are nice but my ROI on the Cabelas speaks for itself.

[JBinMN]

I have taken a hand grinder & removed the handle & used a battery operated DeWalt drill to turn things out & that works as well.

It was what motivated me to consider getting a "dedicated" grinder.

I was lucky in having a son who liked what I was doing (& did not like the hand or even battery operated hand grinder) so, he bought me a power LEM grinder for a Christmas present.

Get a LEM, get one that is 1/2 to 3/4 drive or more & I think you will be happy.
;)

Or. whatever makes ya happy...
;)

P.S. - I will add though, that if you are going to make sausages or sticks, you should get the "Foot Drive" accessory. Doing it without the foot drive is a PITA...
Been there & done it. Won't do it again...

[richhodg66]

I have a little Waring Pro, not sure the HP, I use it to butcher a couple of deer a year on average, so a lot more grinding than what you're talking about it.

I bought mine off a neighbor because he never used it. Before that, I used a hand crank one I bought from a yard sale, likely an antique, but works pretty well. Seems like you see them all the time cheap, might want to consider just getting one of those.

[EMC45]

I have a little Waring Pro, not sure the HP, I use it to butcher a couple of deer a year on average, so a lot more grinding than what you're talking about it.

I bought mine off a neighbor because he never used it. Before that, I used a hand crank one I bought from a yard sale, likely an antique, but works pretty well. Seems like you see them all the time cheap, might want to consider just getting one of those.

I too bought a handcrank one from a yardsale for 5 bucks. Worked fine. My father found out that I did my first deer ever with it and he got me a Waring Pro. It has 3 cutter plates and 2 stuffer tubes (one for sausage and one for slim jim sticks). It works like a champ. I hope to fire it up this year and grind up a deer or 2. in the past I used it for hamburger, and then would grind up all the silver skin and ligaments for my brother's dogs. It makes short of anything you put in it.