# Meat grinder



## alaskan2 (Dec 18, 2016)

I am going to try making some sausage. What meat grinder would you recommend.Thanks


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## ab canuck (Dec 18, 2016)

What are you going to use the grinder for is the first question that comes to mind. Is it going to be for grinding and stuffing cases or strictly grinding. Will you be doing this as a once in awhile hobby? Any wild Game? how much will grind at one time?

  I have an LEM #22 1 hp. They are metal gears sealed self lubricating. The best warranty on the market and great cust. service.( and I am in Canada, service is in the U.S.) It is capable of grinding 600lbs/hr. We process a lot of wild game and pork to feed our families. 

 Lem is a great product, but size your grinder to what your needs are and to your budget. A good grinder is an investment.


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## alaskan2 (Dec 18, 2016)

I will be using to make small batches of sausage 15 or 20# at a time.I was considering the Lem # 12 or the Cables Carnivore 3/4 hp.


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## ab canuck (Dec 18, 2016)

Good choice, I would go with the LEM, better warranty unless Cabelas has changed. Not sure of the gears on theirs.


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## smokin peachey (Dec 18, 2016)

Are the grinders that go on a Kitchen Aid mixer any good? I was thinking of purchasing a grinder and stuffer also.


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## myownidaho (Dec 18, 2016)

I bought the Smoke House Chef stainless steal grinder attachment for the KitchenAid and I love it. If I were doing 15-20lbs at a time though, I would buy a dedicated grinder and stuffed. Imho, I find stuffing attachment for the KitchenAid  to be less than useless.


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## barron (Dec 19, 2016)

Smokin Peachey said:


> Are the grinders that go on a Kitchen Aid mixer any good? I was thinking of purchasing a grinder and stuffer also.


I use the Kitchenaid grinder and haven't had any problems yet, but I only do 10lbs at a time at the moment. I will definitely be buying a new grinder after the holidays though. I feel like the Kitchenaid grinder is pretty rough on the mixer and don't want to have to buy a new mixer.


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## myownidaho (Dec 19, 2016)

Barron said:


> I use the Kitchenaid grinder and haven't had any problems yet, but I only do 10lbs at a time at the moment. I will definitely be buying a new grinder after the holidays though. I feel like the Kitchenaid grinder is pretty rough on the mixer and don't want to have to buy a new mixer.



What really matters on the mixer is whether it's the large mixer or the smaller Artisan series. I've been using the Artisan for about 6-7 years for grinding and no, it really doesn't like it! [emoji]128512[/emoji]


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## ab canuck (Dec 19, 2016)

The Kitchen aid is a great tool as MyOwnIdaho said, I started out with one 12 years ago, we put 2 animals through the grinder.... It was painful, so for a few pounds once in awhile ok. Otherwise it is a painful ordeal. And as he said for the stuffer..... it took us over 4 hrs to do a 25lb batch of sausage...... I would rather have my hair on fire and try to put it out with a shovel before ever doing that again....


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## barron (Dec 19, 2016)

MyOwnIdaho said:


> What really matters on the mixer is whether it's the large mixer or the smaller Artisan series. I've been using the Artisan for about 6-7 years for grinding and no, it really doesn't like it! [emoji]128512[/emoji]


Yeah, I have the Artisan series and it gets really warm by the time I'm finished.


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## biteme7951 (Dec 19, 2016)

Used a Kitchen-aide for years doing small batches. Eventually had to replace the gears (not a horrible job to do). Started doing larger batches and picked up a turboforce 3000 dedicated grinder cheap online. Not the beefiest unit like the Lem, but has held up well for me with no issues. If you can spring for a Lem #12 that is a good choice. 

Barry.


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## mkriet (Dec 19, 2016)

Smokin Peachey said:


> Are the grinders that go on a Kitchen Aid mixer any good? I was thinking of purchasing a grinder and stuffer also.


If you are thinking of getting something small like a Kitchen Aid grinder, I would recommend going with one of the smaller grinders you can find, and getting a separate stuffer. 

I have a LEM #8 Grinder, and it can chew through the meat fairly quick.  Much faster than the Kitchen Aid.  LEM also makes a #5 grinder, which is smaller, depending how much you plan to do.  I've done anywhere from 5-20lb batches with my grinder, and have also used a #8 to grind up to 3 deer in one evening.  Would take you all week to do a deer with a Kitchen Aid. 

Also, I haven't had much luck at all stuffing casings with a small grinder, even like the #8 that I have.  I would recommend you get at least a 5lb stuffer.  This makes it much easier and faster for stuffing into casings.


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## johnmeyer (Dec 20, 2016)

Smokin Peachey said:


> Are the grinders that go on a Kitchen Aid mixer any good? I was thinking of purchasing a grinder and stuffer also.


I've had one for a year. It works just fine, and I'm very happy with it (sure beats my old hand-crank grinder). However, I only do a few pounds of meat at a time. You could use it for twenty pounds as well, like the OP wants. However, at some point, if you are doing twenty pounds of meat multiple times per week, you might want to invest in something that has a larger capacity. The feed tube in the KitchenAid requires that you cut the meat into 1-2 inch wide strips.


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## myownidaho (Dec 20, 2016)

As I mentioned earlier, I bought this:

http://smokehousechef.com/the-origi...r-kitchenaid-mixer-plus-sausage-stuffing-kit/

You can cut the meat in 1" strips and tossing the grinder assembly in the freezer for 30 minutes helps guarantee everything stays cold. It's a definite step up from the KA kit.


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## muddydogs (Dec 20, 2016)

For what it's worth I have the $90 to $100 LEM #8 575 watt grinder found at Sportsmans and Amazon, I have ran 1500 lbs of meat through this grinder over the last 5 years and it just keeps going plastic gears and all. It grinds meat faster then I can feed it down the chute and will grind up anything I can stuff down the chute and I have jammed about everything down it even frozen pieces of meat that didn't fit to well. I've ground cold meat to frozen stiff meat without a problem.

I did put the rubber cup on backwards when I took it and the gear off for cleaning and chewed up the cup to the point it was leaking meat back into the gear. Quick call to LEM and I had 2 gear cup sets coming to me for $3.00 each.

My buddy also has this same grinder which has probably seen close to 500 pounds of meat and he has not had a problem with his as well.

I figure I got my $90 out of this grinder.


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## tx0303 (Dec 21, 2016)

For small batches, a LEM #8 will do fine. I have the big bite version but they do make a cheaper #8 grinder. Like others have said, it will grind venison and pork butt as fast as you can feed it in.


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## muddydogs (Dec 22, 2016)

TX0303 said:


> For small batches, a LEM #8 will do fine. I have the big bite version but they do make a cheaper #8 grinder. Like others have said, it will grind venison and pork butt as fast as you can feed it in.


What constitutes a small batch? My LEM 575 watt #8 will chew through 100 pounds of elk and the pork or beef fat to mix with it for burger or breakfast sausage. I've had my grinder running for a couple hours at a stretch by the time I cource grind the meat then turn right around and run it through the fine grinder plate. Sure its not an every day deal but for the home meat grinder it will handle anything I want. Just this fall my grinder has seen 3 elk a deer and an antelope, it delt with 2 elk at the same time not to mention another 50 or so pounds I ground for a buddy. If I ever kill this one off the only reason I would get a different grinder would be to have a bigger feed tube as it can be slow feeding ground meat down the feed tube for the regrind but to get a bigger tube one has to spend a few bucks.


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## mowin (Dec 22, 2016)

I do not recommend the kitchenaid attachment.  I ruined my 8 qt bowl lift mixer with just 6# of meat.  And this is supposed to be there most powerful mixer. 

Anyone interested in a only used once metal, not plastic,  grinder attachment, let me know. 

That said, I've got a #22 hobart that i use for big batches. Picked up a gander mountain #8 on sale couple months ago for the small 20# and under batches.


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## johnmeyer (Dec 23, 2016)

mowin said:


> I do not recommend the kitchenaid attachment. I ruined my 8 qt bowl lift mixer with just 6# of meat. And this is supposed to be there most powerful mixer.


Since I have the KitchenAid grinder attachment (the plastic one), and since I sure don't want to ruin my grinder, can you provide a little more information about how it harmed your mixer? Did the motor stall and burn out? Did it strip the gear driving the attachment screw?


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## bladeguy (Dec 24, 2016)

Lots of great recommendations, however, whatever you decide, what I find is that for good texture for your sausage, make sure you cube up your meat and let it sit in the freezer for a couple of hours prior to stuffing. The grinders can get warm and give your sausage a poor texture if it doesn't stay cold. I also throw the metal parts in the freezer while my meat is freezing so everything is very cold. Last time I made breakfast sausage, I short cutted the process and my meat wasn't as cold as I usually like it, but I was in a hurry. The sausage is edible, but the texture is off and I will not short cut this process again......especially if you are using a smaller grinder or KA with attachments. Enjoy the sausage process!


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## mowin (Dec 24, 2016)

johnmeyer said:


> Since I have the KitchenAid grinder attachment (the plastic one), and since I sure don't want to ruin my grinder, can you provide a little more information about how it harmed your mixer? Did the motor stall and burn out? Did it strip the gear driving the attachment screw?



I haven't taken it anywhere to see whats exactly wrong with it, but it suddenly got louder and the speed droped considerably. It was warm, but no wheres near to hot to touch. I let it cool and turned it back on and the motor has a severe grinding noise.

Unit was just over two yrs old. I only used it to mix raw dog food up for one of my dogs that had special dietary needs. I made a 25#'s every month in 5# batches, so the mixer definitely wasn't used and abused.

I used the grinder only once. I worked ok, but it was painfully slow. Had to cut the meat in very small qubes.


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## johnmeyer (Dec 24, 2016)

Thanks! I think I'll be OK because my use of the grinder is far less than that. I've had my KitchenAid for over thirty years. I've had to make a few adjustments by other than that it has been bulletproof.


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## cliff43j (Jan 26, 2017)

MyOwnIdaho said:


> I bought the Smoke House Chef stainless steal grinder attachment for the KitchenAid and I love it. If I were doing 15-20lbs at a time though, I would buy a dedicated grinder and stuffed. Imho, I find stuffing attachment for the KitchenAid to be less than useless.


I'll second your opinion about the KitchenAid meat grinder attachment.  It's made of a plastic material.which cracked shortly after the warranty expired, and to paraphrase KitchenAid, left me SOL.  I put a stainless steel automotive hose clamp around it and have continued to use it for some 27 years.  It is best used when you intend to grind less than 5# of meat as it does take time.  I'm looking at upgrading to a size #12 dedicated meat grinder with a stainless steel head now that I'm getting into sausage making seriously.  If you've taken the time to read the fine print for the new aluminum alloy heads of various sellers you may have noticed what I have - do not soak in hot soapy water.  They want you to do a quick wash and rinse ASAP.  If you don't?   No warranty.


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## klok (Jul 1, 2017)

i would like to recommend the home meat grinder. Because I have been using this device since 6 years and it works as like as my expectation. actually if we use any products with carefully it will take more time to destroy. So, this is not the main reason. If you like you can read the details here: home meat grinder reviews.


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## knotfree (Jul 2, 2017)

Bought 3 Sportsman Valley .4 Hp Grinders Cheap


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## bersy919 (Jul 11, 2017)

Hey ! I see here a lot of great recommendations. I have similar problem few weeks ago and I found site with electric meat grinder reviews. This is a good way to compare products at different prices.


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## stovebolt (Aug 31, 2017)

*  Several of us on the forum own the Kitchener #12 electric grinder from Northern Tool. I have never heard anyone complain about them. I have not used mine much, but it worked great when I did.*

*Chuck*


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## kevinmay (Apr 6, 2018)

I smells this is an Old thread but best to find solution of your problem. I want to buy Meat Mincer and i Have low budget almost 30$. I live in Auckland New Zealand if you know any store feel free to share with me.


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