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What is a good meat grinder?

Mitchellfarmer1982

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2018
Messages
334
Location
Arkansas
I am wanting grinder recommendations. I've had them in the past but not good. I started paying for processing what I didnt steak but it is getting costly. I'd like to get a good grinder and dehydrator.
 
I bought an LEM #12, .75 HP last winter and it has met and exceeded all my expectations. Except of course longevity is TBD, expecting it to last a lifetime.

I spent over a decade hand grinding and that certainly works and I had no problem doing a couple deer a year but when I wanted to start making big batches of sausage it was time to power up. Then I got the kitchen aid mixer attachment, and while that worked fine and turned out great product, I was worried about it frying the mixer because it would get really hot working through 20# of meat.

The #12 is a beast. I can grind 20# of meat in just a few minutes. I can be a little more carefree about temperature of the meat and still avoid far smearing in the product. I can't imagine wanting or needing any larger than that for home use.
 
Weston (08-0801-W) Pro Series Electric Meat Grinders (1/2-HP, 550 Watts) - Silver is what I have. Zero complaints. It'll grind as fast as you can feed it.
 
I’ve had this grinder for 2 years and if you’re just doing one deer at a time it’s about all you need. If I was going to do 3-4 in a sitting I’d go bigger but this is a great grinder

We usually do 2-3 at a time during gun season
First grind is easy. The second grind is always a pain in the butt with anything short of a commercial, wide throat grinder
 
I got a lem no.8 I think last year. Aluminum body but metal gears. It is fairly quiet and did a great job. I made 55# of sausage,so it got used pretty good that day.. it wasn't continous grinding as it took me all day to make the sausage,but I am very happy with the grinder.
 
I have a grinder attachment for my Pro model (metal gears) Kitchen Aid mixer. It does.....ok. I'm not sure I can recommend it as I have never used anything else. If I do my part and freeze the parts and partially freeze the meat, then it does a decent job albeit a bit slower than I'd like. I ground an entire doe last year that was exactly 50lb of meat.
 
I bought a 3/4 hp Cabela’s grinder 15 years ago and works great. Can’t imagine ever needing anything bigger. That thing is built like a tank and have yet to bog it down feeding meat in.

Throw the meat in the freezer for a bit to firm it up. Grinds much so better and keeps all the components nice and cool. Some cheaper grinders get really hot and have seen some even start cooking meat in the auger. Not good.
 
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