Texas Hunting Forum
Meat grinder??
Posted By: LMH Steel
Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 12:17 AM
Im sure this has been discussed many times here. Did a search and not finding it tho. Considering buying another grinder just for my personal use and wanted to ask opinions on brand and HP yall liked.
Posted By: Rembrandt
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 12:28 AM
Cabela's 1HP here......best piece of meat processing equipment I ever got.
Posted By: HuntingTexas
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 12:32 AM
Impressive Rembrant and they're on sale right now.
No less then 1hp
My 1/2hp couldn't grind pasta
Posted By: bill oxner
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 12:54 AM
They all do better if you use frozen mead.
Posted By: Western
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 01:01 AM
They all do better if you use frozen mead.
Bill is right, chill the mead
I have a LEM #8 iirc and it grinds like a MOFO, hard to beat warranty at the cost point as well.
Posted By: Old Rabbit
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 01:05 AM
LEM Big Bite, chill the meat then grind away. Be sure and get the foot switch.
We have a 1 3/4 HP Cabelas beast at the ranch, we process about 30 deer a year. It is handy when we have one of our all day 1200 pounds of sausage parties.
At home I keep a LEM #8 that is a 1/3 HP (Big Bite). I only do my deer with it, about 12 a year. It will grind up 20 pounds of meat in three minutes, and never slow down, 4 years now. For a guy that only shoots a few WT, it is more than adequate.
Posted By: LMH Steel
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 01:16 AM
Thanks for all the info
Posted By: Txhunter65
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 01:28 AM
We have a 1 3/4 HP Cabelas beast at the ranch, we process about 30 deer a year. It is handy when we have one of our all day 1200 pounds of sausage parties.
At home I keep a LEM #8 that is a 1/3 HP (Big Bite). I only do my deer with it, about 12 a year. It will grind up 20 pounds of meat in three minutes, and never slow down, 4 years now. For a guy that only shoots a few WT, it is more than adequate.
Now that's a sausage fest!
Posted By: billyhunt
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 02:03 AM
LEM #8 Here. Big bubbles no troubles!!!
Posted By: decook
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 02:04 AM
It took me 4 years to wear out a Waring .5hp plastic gear toy grinder. I replaced it with a LEM #12 and it does more than I can ask of it. Great piece of equipment and glad I bought it every time I pull it out.
Posted By: Brother Phil
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 05:01 AM
I have a Gander Mtn .75 hp electric grinder. I works great. I spend more time cleaning the grinder after use, than grinding the meat.
I also have the LEM Big Bite #12.
Posted By: skinnerback
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 06:52 AM
Used the .25 & .35 HP LEM grinders for years. Frustrating when you are doing large batches, have to keep stopping to clean out due to tendons plugging it up. Bought the 1 HP Weston #22, thing is a beast! Can't slow it down, I've tried. Never tried the bigger LEM's that are available now, they probly work just fine too. I am still on the original blade on my Weston and it still grinds like the day I bought it. I say think long term, whether you choose Weston or LEM get at least a 1 HP and take care of it, it will take care of you. I have not compared the 1 HP Weston to the 1 HP LEM but I would like to.
Posted By: dogcatcher
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 07:55 AM
I have a #32 hand crank grinder, I can grind faster than 2 people can trim and chunk cut the meat. Mine has bronze bearings so if I wanted to I could add a pulley and a motor to motorize it. Been using it for about 30 years.
Posted By: skinnerback
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 08:24 AM
I have a #32 hand crank grinder, I can grind faster than 2 people can trim and chunk cut the meat. Mine has bronze bearings so if I wanted to I could add a pulley and a motor to motorize it. Been using it for about 30 years.
I like hand grinders, my Grandparents had one but only ground small batches at a time. No way we would grind some of the batches I bring home, not without several people to help. 20 lbs OK, 100-200 lbs no.
Posted By: redchevy
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 01:22 PM
Have a 1.5 HP cabelas grinder. Zero complaints with it, it grinds over 30 deer matched with pork a year, it will grind frozen solid meat, icy meat etc. don't get your hand it their!
Edited to add, we have been using it for over ten years with no issues.
Posted By: Boudreaux
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 02:00 PM
X2 on the Cabelas Commercial grade grinders. Don't get anything less than a 1/2 horsepower and you will be fine.
Posted By: dawson55
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 04:33 PM
I use a lem #32 big bite. Great grinder way faster than me. I process usually around 5 deer a year mixed with pork fat. Chilled or not it runs fine. Bought it after a real good year when I took 14 deer/pigs to the processor. Figured I could hunt more if I spent less on processing. It helps but you really need a stuffer to go with it. It stuffs just fine but kinda changes the texture of the meat. I use it to stuff sausage links and summer sausage. That's where I seem to notice the texture difference. Especially when adding cheese to the mix. The end result still taste great. I have processed deer for a long time without a grinder. Started taking deer to the processor a few years ago. Lasted a couple years until I bought this grinder. I'm sure the texture change is across the board with all grinders. The processor I used is a guy I work with he does it as an extra income deal. He also uses the lem grinder. He's had the cabelas stuff and didn't have much luck with it. But he does around 150 animals a year.
I really want the meat mixer attachment for my LEM, but man, they want a lot for those. Anybody have one, and how is your experience with it?
Posted By: Hunter-Steve
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 06:24 PM
X3 on the Cabelas Commercial grade grinders. I have the 3/4 HP and it is faster than I can feed it. Also get the meat mixer.. The hand crank one can be found for less than $100 on sale (Like the one in the second post picture). And it does a great job.
Posted By: chalet
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/21/16 06:32 PM
I have a #32 hand crank grinder, I can grind faster than 2 people can trim and chunk cut the meat. Mine has bronze bearings so if I wanted to I could add a pulley and a motor to motorize it. Been using it for about 30 years.
I like hand grinders, my Grandparents had one but only ground small batches at a time. No way we would grind some of the batches I bring home, not without several people to help. 20 lbs OK, 100-200 lbs no.
#32 hand crank for me. Works great for just a couple deer and pigs a year, much better than the $150 northern tool grinder I bought last year.
Posted By: TTU22
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/22/16 03:06 AM
X4 on cabelas commercial grinder. I got a 1hp for Christmas. It's a BEAST! The new one has the cold packs to keep it cool during grinding. The only bad thing I can think about is it weighs almost 70 lbs.
Posted By: jjason
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/22/16 07:21 PM
Im sure this has been discussed many times here. Did a search and not finding it tho. Considering buying another grinder just for my personal use and wanted to ask opinions on brand and HP yall liked.
Heck, I figured you're that "GUY" who needs something to hook up to the PTO on the Deere..
surely you are going to take this to the next level??
Posted By: LMH Steel
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/22/16 07:27 PM
Im sure this has been discussed many times here. Did a search and not finding it tho. Considering buying another grinder just for my personal use and wanted to ask opinions on brand and HP yall liked.
Heck, I figured you're that "GUY" who needs something to hook up to the PTO on the Deere..
surely you are going to take this to the next level??
You know thats a good idea. A grinder that you dont even have to clean the deer, just chunk it in and let it sort it out.
Posted By: Shawheel
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/24/16 06:19 PM
I recently picked up the 3/4 hp Cabela's "Carnivore" meat grinder. It's quite the step up from that piece of junk I had before (the plastic thing you stick onto the front of a Kitchenmaid mixer). 3/4 hp is plenty for me and I process all my own meat. One thing I learned you should look for is that all the gears and inner workings are metal and not plastic. That will make them last forever, and unfortunately makes them heavy as heck.
Posted By: Yellowhammer
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/28/16 08:59 PM
This is the one I have, and hard to beat.
http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18_75&products_id=196This one says pro cut, but was Torrey when I bought mine. I have been using for about 8 years and done a lot of deer and hogs with no problems. I am on my third 1000 count box of 2 pound meat bags.
Posted By: Caliche Kid
Re: Meat grinder?? - 01/30/16 02:23 AM
I have had a Torrey for many years. Works great. Good value. Easy to clean and maintain. Will grind hundreds of pounds per hour, as fast as you can feed it. Looks just like the picture above except that the drop tube is round.