Meat Grinders. Need help.

That's a loaded question. I went through less expensive grinders and was usually not too happy with the ones that I had. I bit it and bought this one. Although I haven't needed it yet, I think I'd like reverse. But anyway this is it:
http://www.alliedkenco.com/catalog/...id/31?osCsid=eb038db4b8a216dd068fcb04d8f5f028
It kicks.

I’ve had the 1hp Cabela’s grinder for 3 years now and it has always operated flawlessly. I probably only make between 100 and 150 lbs. of Italian, breakfast and venison sausage annually, but it could do a lot more. Maybe paid too much, but there is a store locally and I couldn’t wait. Good luck!

Couldn’t help but notice that you have what looks like a Yellow Tang as our sig. pict.. I had a 400 gal coral and fish saltwater setup, not counting sump, until about 3 years ago. Loved it..

I got the refurbished 3/4 hp from Cabelas after wearing out the China one. Buy the best and only cry once!

NUTZ

My father and I spent a week making deer sausage last winter. He bought the heavy duty model from Cabelas bargain barn. Works great. But ymmv.

My dad and I have been using an LEM #5 (.25 hp) grinder for two years now with no issues whatsoever. Although a bit more power would be nice, we've had no issues doing 40 or 50lbs of sausage per "session" with it. You can get the LEM grinders at Bass Pro or order direct. The .25 hp is $240, the .35 hp is $289 and then it jumps to a .75hp for $389, no 1/2 hp so you can't do an exact apples to apples comparison against the Cabela's unit.

http://www.lemproducts.com/category/electric_grinders

Here's a couple things to keep in mind...

Although the grinders come with a sausage stuffing attachment you will quickly grow tired of it. Having to turn the stuffer on and off is actually a huge PITA and after only a month of making sausage my dad and I decided to buy a 5lb vertical stuffer. You don't need to get the stuffer right away, use the stuffer attachment on the grinder and see if it works for you, it might be something you like, but if you don't like it don't get anything less than a 5lb vertical stuffer. 5lbs is the bare minimum that you would want to have to load up at a time, if they weren't so expensive I would have bought a 10 or 15lb stuffer. Also, the smaller, angled stuffers are reportedly pretty cheesy and don't work well.

I also bought my dad a 17lb meat mixer, thinking it would do a quick job of mixing the seasonings into the meat. It didn't work as we anticipated and the blades in the mixer just sliced through the meat, leaving most of it relatively still and didn't mix much of anything. And to top it off it was just an extra thing to have to clean up at the end of the job. We used it twice and it's sat on the shelf ever since. What a waste of $130.

I bought the Cabelas Commercial grade like you are showing in a 1hp model. I've only used it once but really liked it. It's heavy duty and seems to be a real quality piece of equipment. I think it was about $500. I am not disappointed. I got the 1hp because it has a reverse.

I had a similar grinder to the Sam Baere. It held up for a couple of years just doing the occasional chuck or pork butt grind but eventually failed. I bit the bullet and bought the Cabelas 1/2hp commercial model. I can't throw meat in it fast enough..never slows down. If you can afford it, it's the way to go.
my 2 cents

I helped a friend butcher a 1000 lb. steer earlier this year, and we used a Cabela's grinder to process the trimmings and tougher cuts for ground meat. We couldn't feed it fast enough to keep up

If you get the Cabela's model, make sure you pick up a tube of lube for the grinder before you leave the store or when you order online. It's NOT included in the box.

A tip on the meat blending with spices, I make a thin slurry of the spices with some water or juice, chill it almost to freezing and add it too the meat before grinding, the added fluid will not mess up the sausage and it will help evenly distribute the spices throughout the meat.

bought this grinder from Northern tool a couple years ago--have ground literally a ton of venison and pork with it--can't slow it down!!
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200046074_200046074

Its a good thing you came here asking because buying a meat grinder, IMO, is something you should research a bit before you buy. The same applies to a stuffer or a mixer.

The sam baere grinder, most dodels, appear to have the headstock and feed screw made of "durable die-cast metal with aluminum alloy plating". The indusrty standard is stainless steel. There is alot of friction and pressure on these parts and I think stainless will hold up better and be easyer to keep sanitized.

Try to get the most powerfull grinder you can, its better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Look for or ask about lubricated gears made of iron or steel, stainless steel headstock and feed screw, #12 or larger head.

they dont make the grinder I have anymore its like a 1960's hobart that weighs 90 lbs I make all my own deer brats, summer sausage, we grind 5 or 6 deer a year, If you want to add cheese to you brats you cant use the grinder as the stuffer, it will clog up the grinder from what i have heard, we use a Dakota water stuffer it has a piston and you hook up to a water hose and use the water pressure to stuff sausage into casings

Jorge said:

If you get the Cabela's model, make sure you pick up a tube of lube for the grinder before you leave the store or when you order online. It's NOT included in the box.

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That sounds ... Well....

good thing it's not the Woodpile...

LEM 1 HP meat grinder is best for deer. I have been using it last 2 years and I don't have to face in big problem.

I have the LEM 8# Big Bite Grinder and it works very well.

Which ever one you get, a foot control makes grinding/stuffing a lot easier. A dedicated stuffer is MUCH faster than using the stuffer tubes on the grinder. Yes, it's something else to clean but processing your own meat is messy.

I process 2-4 deer a year and the .35 hp LEM is plenty fast for me.

7 year old grinder thread... :mrgreen: the 1st op link isn't even in business anymore :roll:

I have the Cabelas 3/4 and it's a champ. More than what I need probably but that's a good problem to have. I've been processing deer and making sausage with it for 5 years without a hitch.

sturev said:

7 year old grinder thread... :mrgreen: the 1st op link isn't even in business anymore :roll:

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At least they're using the search! :thumb: