Venison Meat Grinder

[Banditto]

What brand (or type) of meat grinder do you recommend? One that isn't a piece of junk! We don't mind spending a little more to get something that is quality.

[Salmonsmoker]

Banditto,

Check out "lemproducts.com" web site . They have an online catalog and will also send you a paper copy if requested. Anything that I have ever purchased from them has been quality.

What I need in a grinder is versitility. For example, when grinding meat, the first grinding is course ground which is OK for venison burger (requiring a grinding plate with larger holes). When making meat loaf or a sausage, I want to grind the meat a second time to a finer consistancy (requiring a grinding plate with smaller holes.) Thus, I need to be able to change grinding plates. A grinder needs to have a rotating knife just behind the grinding plate to cut up any grissle. Also, I want a grinder with the ability to accept a sausage stuffer snout on the front. The shorter and wider design is certainly more stable than a tall grinder.

I use a hand grinder and make fresh burger meat whenever we want it - takes an extra 15 minutes but insures that the burger is fresh. If I were going to be doing a lot of grinding at one time, then certainly, I would want to invest in an electric version.

The problem with storing ground meat is spoilage due to the massive amounts of exposed surfaces on the meat and the difficulty of getting all of the air out of the package befor freezing. Fresh-ground is by far a better flavor.

Thesausagemaker.com is another site that has a lot of quality equipment but also, he is a bit high on his prices. Another place to look is in an Amish grocery or department store - check out Yoders Department Store in Shipshewana Indiana.

Personally, I would avoid a "made in china" version of grinder. They look like a good grinder, but the metal is not hardened sufficiently to hold an edge on the grinding plate or knife (probably why they are less expensive.)

Hope this helps.

ss

[This message has been edited by Salmonsmoker (edited 10-17-2000).]

[Ebowhunter]

I bought mine four years ago out of the Sportsman's Guide. I paid $30 for it. I forget the brand. It is not capable of sausage stuffing. It does have three grinding plates (sizes). We sharpened the blade once. We can grind 15# of burger by hand and package it in half an hour.

It works for us.

[Sarge]

Well, for my money, I buy things that do more than one job. I have a Kitchen-Aid mixer at home with a grinder attachment. I bought it used about 10 years ago, and it was probably 10-15 years old then, for $35.00. It had been used to bake cookies on a very, very frequent basis and for huge batches. If you or your spouse have ever mixed cookie dough you know how hard it is on a mixer. (Sorry, got carried away.)

I bought the grinder attachment for it just so I could loan it out to Stalker, for grinding his deer. I was certain that if I helped, he’d share the meat. It worked. Since then I’ve started hunting myself. To finish the story up, that mixer has ground many pounds of venison with no complaint whatsoever. Even when it starts to clog with sinews as they all do, it just got a bit warm to the touch but never wavered on bit. They cost about $250.00 new and will last a lifetime, and do more than just grind.

My .02


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Sarge

[Banditto]

Wow lots of good ideas here. The guys I hunt with are so frustrated with the cheap grinders they have bought in the past that they have offered several hundred dollars towards this project. I am going to look into these. Thanks for the info.

BTW SS I have a batch of jerky curing now. Tonight I will marinate and just have time to get it all done by Thursday noonish to take north for the long weekend.

[Salmonsmoker]

Making current

Salmonsmoker

[Rat City Hooker]

Need help buying a small grinder.Has anyone tried the maverick 1886?I dont grind more than 50# of meat a year and dont really need a big grinder.Thanks in advance for any info.

[sausageman]

I have a 7 horse Hobart I'm selling but it requires your own nuclear power plant to run it!