I've been nursing along my granddad's old meat grinder for some time now and finally decided to bite the bullet and upgrade to a newer model. Have any of you gents recently bought a meat grinder? Do you have any recommendations on a unit in the $300ish price range? Any input would be much appreciated.

Thanks

DR,

If I had to buy a grinder again I'd buy the cheapest Oster I could find. We put one of those things through its paces on many moose, caribou etc. We had the same small electraic Oster for 20 years. It worked great, at the time it was only $65 and I think you can buy a comparable one for around a $100 now.

Personally I'm letting the local butcher grind my meat. For .39 cents a pound including wrapping I can hardly justify doing it myself.

Mark

I bought the 1HP version from Cabelas, I haven’t tried it out yet didn't get a deer during Muzzle loader season. It cost about 369.00 plus tax it appears to be one heck of a grinder.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link....=search-results1.jsp

Good luck on what ever you choose.

Thanks for the input fellas.

Mark, I've used the "cheapy" versions, and although they work I was looking for something more commercial. I've considered outsourcing the grinding, but ever since I toured a meat packing plant/butcher shop as a lad in FFA and saw cigarette butts in the hamburger bin I just can't do it. It's a bit more work for me to do it, but I know exactly what I'm feeding my family that way. Besides, I like to play around with sausage seasoning, stuffing, smoking, etc. You can't do that if someone else is doing the grinding.

Swede, your grinder is the model at the top of my list right now. Northern Tool stocks a 1 HP version for a bit less, but all the fixtures are cast compared to stainless on the Cabela's version. My dad uses a 3/4 HP Cabela's (discontinued) with great satisfaction, hence my consideration of it.

DR
I am also in the market for a grinder for the same reasons you are. I am looking at Cabela's and also one by LEM. The web address for LEM is http://www.lemproducts.com I have not decided what one I want yet. I think the grinders that Northern Tool has are made in China. A local store has the same model (made in China) and I was not impressed with the way it was put togeather. If you come up with any more options let me know.
Russ

Russ, thanks for the input. I didn't really like the looks of the one in the NT catalog, but you can't really tell much about it. I looked at LEM too, but their 1HP version runs about $100 more than Cabela's without the stainless steel head and other working gear or reverse. I've pretty well decided on the 1HP from Cabela's and will probably just order it tomorrow and call it good.

Bought one of those Northern grinders. It has a brass bushing that is susceptable to wear. It wore after 20 lbs. Got another. It wore after about the same. Borrowed one of the Cabela's approx $100 grinders and didn't have a problem with it at all. Ground all the meat from an antelope, part of a deer, and part of an elk. It was a little slow because it is small, but worked fine.

Prof, great input re: the NT grinder. That's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. Looks like call to Cabela's is in my near future.

Interesting thread, how does the Cabella's one handle the stringy stuff that you can not completely trim away? My current grinder does ok, but I have to take it apart every couple of pounds to pull that stuff out of the knives and grinding plate.

My dad's little 3/4 horse (from Cabela's) does real well with it, but of course it has new, sharp blades. It's just a bit light for long grinding sessions. I hunt hogs in TX twice a year and usually grind a fair amount of sausage each time. Combine that with deer, elk, antelope, and whatever else I can get my arrow/bullet into and I do a fair amount of grinding. I'll have the 1 HP on the way soon.

I bet your grinder just needs the blades on the knife sharpened. You can also pick up new blades and plates from Cabela's or LEM. That might improve the performance a bunch. We've tried that with our old one, but it only does so much...

I have a friend who is a meat cutter and he says one trick to using a grinder is that each knife should be used with one and only one plate. He said the knifes wear on the plate in a certain way and if you switch plates and knifes it causes them to not grind correctly. Most grinders only come with one knife and two or more plates so you should order an extra knife and keep each knife with it's own plate.
Russ

if you are not stuffing sausage cases a food processor works great and is very usefull otherwise

quote:

Originally posted by MtElkHunter:
I have a friend who is a meat cutter and he says one trick to using a grinder is that each knife should be used with one and only one plate. He said the knifes wear on the plate in a certain way and if you switch plates and knifes it causes them to not grind correctly. Most grinders only come with one knife and two or more plates so you should order an extra knife and keep each knife with it's own plate.
Russ

I've heard this as well, which could be part of the trouble with my current prehistoric grinder. I'm ordering an extra blade with mine to make sure that each plate has its own. Thanks for the additional input.

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
if you are not stuffing sausage cases a food processor works great and is very usefull otherwise

Granted, a food processor can be used. However, I grind about 250 pounds of meat per year on average. Most of this is ground at least twice (coarse, fine), some three times depending on the consistency I want. I'm also planning to stuff sausage with it, as I've been doing that by hand in the past and it's a real PIA. These factors all point to the purchase of a commercial grade grinder with decent capacity.

Check to see if you have a resturant supply of any kind near by.Here in Houston there are new and used.Also check your local grocer's meat dept.to find out who services the grinders and saws.They generally have new and used grinders.Avoid the made in china crap!For mail order try this place.

http://sausagemaker.com/

quote:

Originally posted by MtElkHunter:
I have a friend who is a meat cutter and he says one trick to using a grinder is that each knife should be used with one and only one plate. He said the knifes wear on the plate in a certain way and if you switch plates and knifes it causes them to not grind correctly. Most grinders only come with one knife and two or more plates so you should order an extra knife and keep each knife with it's own plate.
Russ

Your friend is right on! I was a butcher for 8 years and this is definitely true! I posted earlier a question on grinders. I am in the market myself. My concern is these small grinder's ability to handle sinew and the tuff stringy stuff as well. I used a Hobart 5 horse power grinder in the meat market and I'm afraid I won't be happy with anything less. The problem for me is that the industrial grinders run on 3 phase electricity and 3 phase is not available outside the city limits where I live.

just use a 270 and nosler partitions and it will come pre-ground

I just found an online supplier that has refurbished grinders for sale. The pictures look like they are the same manufacture as what Cabelas sells only alot cheaper. The web site is http://www.westonsupply.com. Anyone have any experience with this company and there grinders?

Three phase power isn't much of a problem...there are converters for about
$250 Canadian. The hobart is your best choice, start going to restaurant auctions we seem to be going out of business all the time. Also e-bay is good I bought my hobart grinder attachment there and it was still cheap enough considering the shipping to Canada. You can always rig up an electric motor on the hobart attachment-my brother in law did this it worked great.

If you want to be satisfied at all with your hamburger/sausage-wait for an industrial model don't cheap out here, grinders are like rifle scopes we can't afford to buy cheap. Also lots of rental places rent grinders I've done that in the past. Only thing is I bought my own knives and plates to ensure that they were nice and sharp.

Don't use your grinder to stuff the sausage, it overgrinds it and usually makes it yukky. The texture in sausage is very important.

the chef

MEH, I checked that site and it does appear to be the same grinder that Cabela's has. Of course they're refurbished, but that's a big deal. However, their shipping is quite a bit more, which decreases the price difference (for me) to $75. I think $75 is worth having a new one with a 1-yr warranty vs. a used one with a 30-day warranty.

Chef, I hear what you're saying about using the grinder to stuff, but what about using the stuffing plate rather than actually grinding while you stuff? I've never done this, though it seems that you should grind to get the right consistency (and to get a final mix of seasoning), then use the stuffing plate (which doesn't grind the meat) to fill casings. Like I said, I've only stuffed by hand before, but it's a messy and time-consuming project.

If you read on the Cabalas web sight you will find that they recommend the 1hp because less power will/may have problems grind Deer due to the sinew in the meat.

I also had problems with the Kitchen Aid meat grinding attachment that we used for years. I had to tighten the front of the grinder so it would cut all the meat and sinew and not glob up inside the grinder. When I did this the meat looked a lot better more even ground, but the Kitchen Aid mixer was getting hot. I spent about $250.00 on the Kitchen Aid mixer and If I had kept using it for Grinding Deer I would have burnt up the motor.

Not wishing to have the wife on my arse about ruining her mixer I decided to buy a dedicated grinder. I still haven’t had a chance to try out the Cabelas grinder, but I will as soon as Regular firearms season opens with a little luck.

I talked to a man that said he had been a butcher for over 20yrs the other day and he said the main thing to look for was the size of the opening that you stuff the meat into when grinding. The Cabelas Grinder has a opening larger than a pop can it is a lot bigger opening than most of the grinders that I have looked at. Many of them were more money than the one I bought.

Let us know how it works out for your grinding needs. And you might pass on any good venison sausage recipes that you might have.

grind your meat just short of frozen, goes much easier, use 1plate-1 knife as they'll "wear" into eachother, don't tighten the front locking ring more than snug....I have one of the 1HP Northern Tool grinders...I bought it thru Ebay same exact rig for $289.00shipped comes with stuffers, pan,etc.Several moose,bison,caribou,and whitetails later it still works like a charm...though it does not have a stainless throat (spray the cast with Pam when you store it)
I also stuff my own sauasage...an the neatest stuffer I ever used was one of those #32 hand grinders advertised to grind 60#/min. ..as a grinder it sucks but put a sausage tube over the front plate and it stuffs like no other!!!

If you buy the largest, heavyest duty KitchenAid mizer and grinding attachment, it counts against your wife's kitchen gadget budget, not your hunting gadget budget, right!?!?!?

Seriously, our KitchenAid unit gets warm too after 15-20 lbs of meat, but then again without a little help that is about all I can grind without taking a break to package/season/stuff etc. The cooldown time doesn't bother me. I also like small batches to keep piles of meat sitting around at room temperature for any longer than necessary...I'm sorta anal about freshness!

Putting it through half frozen works well for me too. It definately seems to cut down on the packing up of sinew on the blades. I also figure it cuts down on bacteria growth, being good and cold.

Based on what I read here I ordered the 1hp Cabela's Grinder with extra blades.

I also found this advice on buying meat processing equipment from Cabela's.

Meat Processing Guid from Cabelas

$bob$

I bought one of these last year and have processed 4 deer with it so far and have no complaints. It will grind as fast as I can stuff the meat and it has never jammed or overheated. Probably not commercial quality but works great so far.

Grinder Link

the one gringer that cabelas offers has a cutlet
attachment has any one had any experience with
these I have access to a regular cutlet machine
but would like to get one of my ownand this
seems to fit the bill

I was in the market for a grinder last year, and, based on a friend's research and purchase, I also bought a 1 hp Cabela's. It is a decent unit for the money. Hint: throat size is a critical factor in how much volume you can process.

If you plan on making a lot of sausage, I'd highly recommend getting a separate stuffer. Otherwise your meat will be re-ground to some extent.

I don't have their site now, but Kensco's in Houston is a good and reasonable supplier of sausage casings, seasoning, etc. I recommend them highly. They also sell grinders, but I have no experience with them. But they seem like very good people to deal with, you might ask them.

PS I know this is a controversial topic, and everyone has a favorite, but if you're cutting up much meat, do yourself a favor and get a Victorinox 6 inch boner with the ergonomic handle, cost about $12.50 at the best prices. Absolutely unbeatable for the money. Also nearly unbeatable for skinning deer and hogs, all things considered. If you're interested, I'll dig out the site.

Always interested in a good knife (especially at that price). Post the site if you get around to it; I'll check it out.

I agree... Let's see that knife!

$bob$

Took me a whyile to respond about using the stuffing attachment on the grinder. If you must use it then turn the blades backward so they don't cut the meat more. Even doing that will still cause the meat to be be slightly pulverized which is very bad for final consistency. If I had to make a choice I'd buy a cheaper grinder and use the left over money to buy a proper stuffer. I'm always amazed how much stuffers cost....there's not much to the darned things.

the chef

Currently, on a quick search, the best prices I found are at Victorinox Forschener Boning Knives

I'm not sure what their shipping charges are, so proceed with caution.

However, I bought mine from http://www.cutleryandmore.com about a year ago, and, at that time, they seemed to be the cheapest. Now, they're a couple of bucks higher, but have free shipping on orders over $59.

No BS, you CANNOT go wrong with almost any of these knives if you understand what to do with what kind of blade on a kitchen type knife. If I could only get 2 of them, I'd get a 5 inch stiff blade for gutting and skinning deer and a 6 inch semi-curved semi-flexible blade for processing. Of course, a good breaking knife (meaning a big blade) is nice but not essential. I've got many custom knives costing hundreds of dollars and am considering just carrying Forschners and a good folding pocket knife.

To repeat, they may not be the ABSOLUTE BEST but for the money they are unbeatable and certainly near the top of their class. Highly recommended.

quote:

Originally posted by calgarychef1:
Took me a whyile to respond about using the stuffing attachment on the grinder. If you must use it then turn the blades backward so they don't cut the meat more. Even doing that will still cause the meat to be be slightly pulverized which is very bad for final consistency. If I had to make a choice I'd buy a cheaper grinder and use the left over money to buy a proper stuffer. I'm always amazed how much stuffers cost....there's not much to the darned things.
the chef

I checked out my Cabelas Grinder when I got it home it has a piece that inserts inside where the cutter blade would have been. I don’t know how to accurately describe the part but it is made like one of the boomerangs they sell with three wings (I said I didn’t know how to describe it) when it is put in place of the grinder blade there is no need to regrind the meat to use the sausage stuffer.

Cabelas also recommends using a separate sausage stuffer if you are doing any quantity of grinding.

Gatogordo:
Thanks for the link on the knife I am also always looking for a good cheap knife.

I already mentioned that I bought the 1HP meat grinder from Cabela's.

I now am looking at the meat cuber and patty maker (burger press) attachments for the grinder motor.

Look Here

Has anybody used either of these or do you have different recommendations?

$bob$

I was just about to order the same grinder that LDhunter just got but all my looking as finally paid off. I found a meat department at a local store that was upgrading some of their equipment and I was able to buy some of there old equipment. I got a old hobart meat grinder and an old hobart cuber real cheap. I picked them up last night. I get to try them out tonight cutting up the mule deer buck I shot over the weekend. Hopefully they will work ok.

LDHunter:
I couldn’t stand it any more I broke down and ordered the jerky slicer man are the blades sharp.

I probably will get the patty maker next.

Swede,

Let me know how you like the patty maker if you get it. I chickened out on it but DID order the cuber for the 1 hp grinder... I'll be talking about it soon here.

$bob$

I built my own electric grinder, using a #32 hand cranked and 3/4hp motor. It works great for grinding or stuffing sausage.



Hog Killer

My Dad & Brother each have the 1 1/2 hp grinder from Cabela's, they have no complaints. A friend has the 1 hp & wishes he had the exta 1/2 hp. One of the guides I use to work for had a large (3-4 hp?) commercial Hobart that is in a league of its own. Having used all of the above the 1 1/2 hp or the 1 3/4 hp might be the way to go for the home butcher.

-Ron

Thank you Guys!

Based on this thread I bought the 1-hp Cabella's meat grinder. It arrived yesterday in time for me to grind about 40 pounds of elk meat. It took me a lot longer to cut the meat up into 2"x2" cubes for grinding (they recommend 1"x1" but I got lazy) then to grind the meat, and almost none of that stringy stuff in the grinder when I was done. I'm sold.

Dave