Meat grinder

[coors]

I am looking to buy a new electric meat grinder for making sausage and I was wondering if anyone has any ideas of a good grinder. I am looking for a 3/4 to a 1 hp .

[Peacemaker]

I just bought a SunMile 1.6 HP meat grinder from amazon for $90 delivered. It's 1.6 hp peak....I think only 600W nominal.

It's well made....I've only ground up one doe's worth of meat so far, but it seems to be quite adequate. It does presumably have nylon gearing, but all the grinding parts are aluminum with a stainless steel blade.

I wanted metal gearing but could not find it in a cheaper, larger (500W+), model and I did not want to spend more than $100.

There are many to choose from....and the reviews of all of the cheaper models are "mixed." I think anything under $150 or $200 is considered a "cheaper" model.

EDIT: Since I am editing to correct a typo, I will also agree with the post below; what you get depends on your needs. The more expensive "commercial" models are likely adviseable if you are gonna do a lot of grinding. But for me, for a few deer per year at about 10 pounds or less of grinding per deer, I did not want to spend a lot of cash.

[Cossack]

I bought mine here, works great. Model depends on your needs.

http://www.westonsupply.com/Meat-Grinders-s/68.htm

[The Chief]

I have the largest one Bass Pro sells. I asked the clerk which one I needed to grind venison and he suggested the middle one. I bought it took it home started grinding up venison and the white stuff clogged it up in seconds. took it back and got the next size up same thing all the way to the largest one. So I guess what I'm saying is if your going with one of these go big or just stay home. Dealing with that white silt if very frustrating.

[tammie]

lem big bite #12 from academy has worked great,they are usually pretty good on return policy if you have any problems.just make sure the one you buy hasn't been returned .when I bought mine I noticed it had been used ,yuck made em get one from the back.

[lovelight]

Connective tissue is a common problem for all but the most industrial of grinders. We've used a hand grinder and Kitchenaid attachment quite successfully by cutting the meat into cubes and par-freezing it before grinding. It takes an extra step but a 10# batch is not too bad and it saves us space on buying a big unit to do the job. 10# is about as much as we can handle in a given batch anyhow and happens to be the size of the typical batch of sausage.

[Roadrunnr72]

I have a meat grinder from Gander Mtn. Bought it several years ago, at least 4 maybe 5yrs. It's a 1hp. Been great. No problems. Most times, I'm grinding the left over little chunks, but sometimes may be a front shoulder or hind quarter. 2 yrs ago I ran the whole deer through it, of course cut down in chunks. Never had any problems with it getting stopped up with the "white stuff", until I am finished grinding.....RR

[mbc4]

hey coors what is ur budget i know a thing or to about grinders been butcher for over thirty years; they are like anything else u get what u pay for. i have a torrey fs-12 , i do about 20 deer a year plus sausage several times a year. i've had it for 12yrs now, not a single problem yet, and don't expect any there is no such thing as overheating with this unit. it compares well with hobart, birro ect. for a third the price!

[Mo wannabe]

The secret is freeze the meat slightly

[robertyb]

I have found that most folks that have problems with the grinders clogging up fast are installing the cutting blade backwards. They will cut installed wrong but will clog up pretty fast. If your grinder clogs up real fast with a sharp blade installed try flipping it and see it if does not solve your problem.

[Raymond]

Hey Folks,
I made my own meat grinder mostly from the parts that I had laying around here or at my dads. I do not have to partially freeze any meat and I can just keep stuffing it and it just keeps on grinding. I had made a box cover for it but I lost the box cover off of my trailer and just never had the money to buy the fiberglass material to make another one for it. I do have some pictures of myself and a young friend grinding some bear meat. I looked for the photos of grinding some bear meat that was donated to me this fall but I cannot find them.

[JPjunkie]

That thing looks heavy duty I bet it would grind anything that will fit in it Im still amazed at the inventors and tinkerers and talented people that are on this site

[ch312]

It's very easy to convert the hand crank models. This one uses a big electric motor with that gearing thing that reduces the speed to a good grinding speed (too fast and you can get heat and/or mushy meat). There's a rubber coupler that connects the two units and the motor/wood half separates from the grinder half for easy transport.


Here's what I use and have been super happy with it. It's an unstoppable beast

[Bullzeye]

The secret is freeze the meat slightly

X2

[coors]

Thanks for all input know I will have to decide which grinder to get and the motor size.