Meat grinders

[ewescue]

I have the cabelas carnivore 1/2 HP. I love it. I do about 5 deer a year with it and have had it a few years now. I recommend not cheaping out on a grinder if you plan on using it for years. Not saying good deals can't be had, but buy one that will last.

 

[chetraguse]

I'm thinking about getting a grinder and I see the Cabela's ones have a ice pack system that goes on the auger. Do you think that really helps it is a good option to have? I'm looking at buying my first grinder.

 

[Cbrew]

I run a 1HP Cabelas Carnivore. I’m not sure how fast it is compared to others, but it grinds up everything that I put in it, and I grind a lot of meat. I’ve been happy with it.

 

[Cbrew]

I'm thinking about getting a grinder and I see the Cabela's ones have a ice pack system that goes on the auger. Do you think that really helps it is a good option to have? I'm looking at buying my first grinder.

I use the ice pack, and it does help some. However, if you are going to be grinding quite a bit of meat, I’d recommend freezing your auger and and other attachments first.

 

[RS3579]

I bought a LEM #12. I haven’t used it yet. I’m sure it’ll do all I need it for.

 

[JLane330]

I have the LEM big bite .75 hp grinder, went with it because it will run all of the attachments ( possible future purchases) love it! I have tried cheap models and even the kitchenaide grinder attachment. From my experience the better the grinder the lower time spent grinding but the more you want to grind. I find myself making sausage , brauts and salami more and more.
Maybe go in with hunting buddies and share the grinder. I know of a few groups that do a group grind after the hunt. Just hanging out drinking beer and grinding their game. Of course a cheaper grinder means more time and more beers. You will not regret buying a better grinder but that cannot be said about a cheap one.

Agreed! I realize the LEM big bite grinders are above $100, but the investment is worth it if you plan on doing grinding over years. I have the little .35 HP big bite version and it's been great. It's been used to do ~6 elk now over the years and works fantastic and is plenty fast enough. It ground approx. 300# of elk last year. One thing I like about it is that unlike the really big ones, you can use the sausage stuffer nozzle to fill casings and it actually works well (not too fast, not too slow). It's a HUGE step up from the cheapie grinders and the Kitchenaide attachments imo. I've tried others (including the Kitchenaide attachment) and I would never go back.

 

[kboatman107]

If you have a kitchenaide mixer, some of the aftermarket SS grinder attachments work well. Not the kitchenaide brand though. I got one a couple years ago for around $115 if I recall correctly and it has worked well. I wouldn't want to do a whole elk with it in one sitting, but it's handy for making offcuts into burger on an as-needed basis


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I use the same. Last year I did hamburger from 2 elk and 4 deer. I would guess I did close to 150 lbs of burger. I found if you cube the meat and put it in the freezer till the outside starts to freeze then it grinds much better and faster. If I was doing multiple animals at a time I’d definitely look into something bigger though.

 

[Loebs]

I have a 1 horse #22 carnivore. Yes the icepack does help quite a bit. I also put the grinder head in the freezer the night before I process. I ran 9 antelope and 2 mule deer through it this last season. I can grind faster than my two buddies can cut up meat to feed it. I also raise hogs and make a decent amount of sausage as well. Yes it was expensive but we'll worth it.

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[cbat]

I am a bit new to this but will offer a thought.

I wanted to try to process my own whitetails so i bought some gear. Each yields 75 pounds or so and I saved the shoulders for some roasts so I was only grinding 5-10 pounds of odd bits per animal. More for the one I mixed with pig fat. I didn't want to spend the big bucks on a large grinder but I also didn't want something super cheap that wouldn't last.

I searched around and finally opted for a Weston manual grinder. The biggest one is $70. These things are a beast. Stout heirloom quality stuff.

It takes a little elbow grease and to be honest it would work better with two people. One to feed and one to crank. I wouldn't want to process a bunch of meat but for a small job it did great work and cleaned up very easily.

I would think a power grinder is the answer if you are doing a lot of processing but for a small job a quality hand grinder is a viable, low cost option.

Have you ever thought of adding a pulley and motor to it ?

 

[pirogue]

I know this thread started a few years ago. Probably about the time I started wanting a grinder. LOL. Last year I got the Cabelas 1 HP. Yes, that freezable collar works well. I used it on a lot of elk last year. Meat never stuck or bound up. Grinds it so fast, I never needed to use the plunger, and the largest opening yielded a perfect texture, and there was no need to grind it thru the smaller opening.

 

[Corey Paulsen (teamkabob)]

I have a 1 horse #22 carnivore. Yes the icepack does help quite a bit. I also put the grinder head in the freezer the night before I process. I ran 9 antelope and 2 mule deer through it this last season. I can grind faster than my two buddies can cut up meat to feed it. I also raise hogs and make a decent amount of sausage as well. Yes it was expensive but we'll worth it.

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I have the cabelas 1hp too. It’s fun seeing my dad cut as fast as I feed it.
Make sure you get the food grade silicone to spay the cutting parts and get the foot pedal to start and stop the grinder. Worth the money.

Cabela's Electric Meat Grinder Foot Pedal | Cabela's

www.cabelas.com

Cabela's Food-Grade Silicone Lubricating Spray | Cabela's

Our Food-Grade Silicone Lubricating Spray stops sticking and inhibits rust formation on food-packaging and -processing equipment by leaving a dry film. Use on metal, rubber, O-rings or plastic. VOC

www.cabelas.com

Freeze the parts before you grind and keep the meat cold and cut the grinder loose!

 

[bruceleroy]

I bought a no name grinder off of Amazon about 8 years ago. I actually found some pieces of it labeled LEM. Same factory Im guessing. Anyways, paid $59. So far 10 elk, about 15 deer, a pig or 2 and about 6 antelope with no issues. Like most things that are all pretty much sourced overseas, they are virtually identical to numerous other models and not usually worth a premium price.

 

[violetgarlic]

I had the same problem to choose good and not expensive meat grinder. So I found tonns of info on some forums or in the articles. For example, in this article that I've found you can see some info about meat grinders. It's a kinda buying guide with pros and cons of meat grinders. Thanks to that I bought meat grinder called ALTRA. I've been using it for a while and can say that it was a great desicion to buy it! This grinder is multi functional, works very fast and saves me some time. And it looks good for its price, less than 100$.