# grinding our own meat



## never2many (Sep 5, 2012)

just getting into butchering my own game and was wondering what grinder people like? i have read good reviews about the waring 855. at this point im not into spending big bucks on a grinder 

any input would be great

thanks 

never2many


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## ShoerFast (Sep 6, 2012)

The old pewter colored hand-grinders work. 

Depends on the person, I will grind (what needs grinding) own elk with one. Pork sausage os not to big a task. But my arm would fall off before I got a whole cow through one.

Hand cranks are fantastic for the little jobs.

As far as the twentieth century stuff, only guessing, but I bet you get what you pay for.


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## MSgtBob66 (Sep 6, 2012)

*Get the bigger of the small ones to start with.*

Whatever grinder you get, get the bigger of the electric small ones unless you go commercial. Otherwise the hand grinders work to start with. My first hand grinder I got at an antiques store for $10 and put about 3 deer through it (the ground meat for burger stuff). It will wear you out if you are damaged. I sold it on craigslist for $20 when I decided to go electric. In all, clean up is the biggest downside to processing your own meat no matter what equipment you use. Try to do it in a bigger batch to limit the cleanup time, cleanup always takes the same amount of time no matter if you grind 10 lbs or 100 lbs.

Good luck!


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## dingeryote (Sep 6, 2012)

As for hand crankers, there is only one left to choose from, unless you trust little Chineese communists not to include lead and other nasty stuff in the tin finish on the grinder. 

"Chop Rite"
"Chop-Rite" used to be "Enterprise" back in the days before horseless carriages. Plenty of the old Enterprise grinders can be found for 5 bucks at any antique shop in any rural area. Parts for the old Enterprise units are still available LOL!!

Chop-Rite Two, Inc. Home Page

Lehman's - Search

I have Grannys old Enterprise spiffed up and working better than it did, back when Nixon was in office, and I was subjected to mercilless child abuse cranking the dang thing for hours.
Heck, it was paid for...why not.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote


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## Fedaburger (Sep 6, 2012)

We use the old cheap hand crank method. A beer in one hand and the crank in the other while another guy stuffs the hopper. Take turns and it goes pretty fast I guess,you can't rush perfection. Wally has both kinds fairly cheap but as stated already they're made in China. You'd think they would leave the lead out but they can't leave the lead out of children's toys,so use your better judgements on that one. We do our own deer sausage and I have to say its the best sausage ive ever had the pleasure to taste. We have a hot plate goin so we season to taste. Excellent excellent breakfast sandwiches.


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## never2many (Sep 7, 2012)

thanks for the info! im with you on the lead! i have been hoping to find a pro model used but no luck so far.


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## qweesdraw (Sep 7, 2012)

If you have a Kitchen Aid there is a grinder accessory for it.(works pretty good) 
Pork fat and gristle will sometimes clog it.


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## crowbuster (Sep 7, 2012)

Dang you beat me to it, kitchen aid works great. I like getting the membrain and crap out. easy when it gets caught goin in


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## terryknight (Sep 7, 2012)

qweesdraw said:


> If you have a Kitchen Aid there is a grinder accessory for it.(works pretty good)
> Pork fat and gristle will sometimes clog it.





crowbuster said:


> Dang you beat me to it, kitchen aid works great. I like getting the membrain and crap out. easy when it gets caught goin in



this is what i would suggest. i am lucky enough to have a friend with a commercial kitchen and i get to use his. normally grind 1 or 2 deer a year for consumption


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## sbhooper (Sep 17, 2012)

I have used the grinders that Cabelas sells for many years. They are top quality and are a lifetime investment. I use the 3/4 horse and it is plenty big for everything I need.


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## poorboypaul (Sep 17, 2012)

I have a 1/3 horse from LEM. Definitely go the next size up. Deer has to be cut in smaller pieces to keep from jamming up and cheese is a pain to run through when added to the meat. Stuffing attachments work great. Best bet is to hit auctions and find an large old one for the price of a small new one.


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## jrider (Sep 17, 2012)

We have an old Hobart my dad rescued from the scrap pile. Only needed a little work and we had to run a new line out to he garage because it requires 220 but it will grind some serious meat.


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## sbhooper (Sep 21, 2012)

Those Hobarts are beasts!


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## alleyyooper (Sep 21, 2012)

I use a old flea market hand crank grinder I got for 2.00 as it only had one cutter/fine. I removed the handle and hooked up my 18 volt drill to it and it works great with just one person.
If I were going to buy a new moderen electric model I would buy the 1/2 HP model here on sale for 99.99.

meat grinders from Northern Tool + Equipment

I think thats a good price.

 Al


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## Snyiper (Sep 21, 2012)

Well I use a large hand Crank grinder with a twist!! I took off the handel and put a collar with a pin attatched to the grinder welded a 1/2 steel rod to that and hooked it to a 1/2 in drill (big commercial one). This is a bit red necky but it wont stall and my arm is still intact, This can also double as a chum grinder!!!! The drill and grinder are mounted to a board with the drill lying on its side so the trigger can be pulled and locked  It works !!!

Snyiper


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## chuckp (Sep 23, 2012)

*lems #8 grinder*

Poorboypaul, is that lems a #8? I've heard great reviews about them by deer hunters. That's the one I'm shooting for unless you can convince me it's too small


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## PA Plumber (Sep 23, 2012)

I have the LEM #22, 1 HP, from Bass Pro.

It is loud, but very fast and does a great job, even with the 2nd grind.

Yep, it cost a few bucks, but I was weary of taking all afternoon to double grind 20 - 30 pounds of venison. 

I can now process a couple of deer in a day, by myself, including having it in the freezer.


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## bowtechmadman (Oct 13, 2012)

I've used the kitchen aid grinder for a few years till the wife caught me. Picked up a small one from a friend (electrical) that was too small for what he wanted, slow but gets the job done. It's become a family day to cut and grind a couple deer.


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## MuleyJ (Oct 26, 2012)

The LEM grinders are very good. I have the #12 that is 3/4 hp and I am very pleased with it.


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## poorboypaul (Oct 27, 2012)

Yes, chuckp. The other problem I had with it was the plate kept wanting to spin while grinding. Got to looking at it and the plate was too small and it wore off 1/2 the tab that holds it. Added a couple shots of weld to the tab to make it bigger and haven't had issues since. Just didn't expect issues like that for the price.


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## Genius. (Oct 27, 2012)

Yesterday I had a guy pick a pig up from us, he does his own processing in his barn.

He said he doesn't do any grinding on the day of processing. He packages all his meat that would normally be ground up in 10 lb packages. When thy need ground meat they thaw out a 10lb package and grind it.

He swears the meat keeps better like that.


Is that a good train of thought? Or is having to haul out the grinder every other week or so to get it dirty and clean it a PITA?


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## B Harrison (Oct 27, 2012)

I realize i am late, but I have a waring pro that has been in a house fire (no damage) and ground well over 500 pounds of venison, I cut tendon and leader out and my grinder will chew anything I can shove down the pipe. I would rather have a bigger size for speed when grinding 30 pounds or more, but it works very well and clean up is 5 minutes.


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## Jim Timber (Oct 27, 2012)

Why don't you guys add a motor drive to your hand crank grinders?

Gear motors are pretty cheap and it could be mounted to the side easy enough.

My processor keeps jacking prices on sausage, so this might be my last year of outsourcing it.

As for storage - I divide up my my cuts into 5# bags and freeze them too. If I had a better way to keep them cool, I'd do more processing up front when it's fresh, but I'm always working solo to cut and pack, and it seems like it takes me longer than it should anyway. Some day I'll have dedicated fridge space for deer and can work at a better pace, and not rush so much to get it on ice.


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