Meat Grinder recommendations

[EddieWalker]

With the price of meat skyrocketing and inflation getting worse every month, we are wanting to start processing more of our own meat. Most of it would be for making dog food. We have wild hogs on our land that we can hunt year round, and a bunch of roosters every year that turn into the devil when they mature. Our past practice has been to cut the meat up with a knife and cook it in the crock pot until it's soft and then mix it in with other ingredients. It's a slow process that could be made easier if we could grind it up.

What do you have and what should I be looking for? Our goal is to buy it once and spend whatever it takes to have something that will last as long as possible. Of course, the less it costs, the better. From what I've read, commercial grade is considerably better then the lower priced units, and the more metal and stainless steel, the better. Other then that, I'm clueless.

 

[EddieWalker]

Just to add to this. This is the one I like on Amazon, but I don't know anything about the brand. I want to be able to buy parts for it 20 years from now. Or good customer support a month after I buy it.

https://www.amazon.com/LEM-Products-17791-Stainless-Electric/dp/B074FCY4TX/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=meat%2Bgrinder&nav_sdd=aps&pd_rd_r=48394395-994d-4ce6-9ab8-b33d136147d5&pd_rd_w=01MoT&pd_rd_wg=cIBGJ&pf_rd_p=8b941eb3-7d4b-46b9-9543-884cf234207f&pf_rd_r=W162NZZY1DFTAW4XGCNK&qid=1631376625&refinements=p_36%3A1253527011&s=home-garden&sr=1-1&th=1

 

[bigtiller]

We have a meat grinder attachment for the Cuisinart stand mixer in the kitchen. We use it for making loose meat sandwiches but we have also used it for grinding the "junk" meat from 2 deer that we processed at home. The size of tube going from the tray to the auger is the deciding factor on how fast the process is.

For once a year it is a good and cheap method.

 

[ponytug]

So, how much meat are we talking here? Assuming it is a whole hog at a time, I would definitely go for a commercial or semicommercial unit. I have only used KitchenAid (home) and Hobart (commercial). Do the math on pounds per hour and see where you need to be.

I would look around for restaurant auctions, or a commercial supplier that might be able to get you a used commercial unit at a reasonable price. If you are buying new, look for NSF or ETL certification; those units will be higher quality and easier to keep clean.

FWIW: We just coarsely chop the meat for our dogs, and freeze a portion for a day or two worth, but they are larger (70lbs).

All the best,

Peter

 

[Sawyer Rob]

EVERYONE hates Cabelas prices, but they sell a pretty good meat grinder and they go on sale a couple times a year. Get about the third one up from the bottom and it will last.

SR

 

[Doughknob]

EVERYONE hates Cabelas prices, but they sell a pretty good meat grinder and they go on sale a couple times a year. Get about the third one up from the bottom and it will last.

SR

I agree with the commercial grade ones from Cabelas. I have an attachment for the kitchenaid mixer, but it is "small-time" and not for serious grinding. I find frozen or very cold meat grinds easier -- the Cabelas ones seem to know this cold matters and have cold-pack technology in them.

 

[George2615]

I have the Cabelas commercial grade 1/2HP Grinder. Bought it about 10 years ago for processing deer. It weighs 35lb. and can process 4-6lb per min. It has been flawless for me.

 

[oosik]

I don't know about the Cabelas units. When in Alaska we ground our moose meat with a Hobart grinder. Simple, quick, semi-commercial, very easy to clean.

 

[EddieWalker]

So, how much meat are we talking here? Assuming it is a whole hog at a time, I would definitely go for a commercial or semicommercial unit. I have only used KitchenAid (home) and Hobart (commercial). Do the math on pounds per hour and see where you need to be.

I would look around for restaurant auctions, or a commercial supplier that might be able to get you a used commercial unit at a reasonable price. If you are buying new, look for NSF or ETL certification; those units will be higher quality and easier to keep clean.

FWIW: We just coarsely chop the meat for our dogs, and freeze a portion for a day or two worth, but they are larger (70lbs).

All the best,

Peter

As of right now, I have 6 Akitas. The smallest girl is 92 pounds and growing. The puppy is 45 pounds and just turned 4 months old. Both boys are 120 plus. The other two girls are pretty close to 100 pounds. They eat twice a day, and I've accidentally eaten their food. It's really good!!! They also get several eggs each time they eat for extra protein. It's borderline ridiculous, but we've had dogs ranked in the Top 20 with AKC for 5 years in a row now. Our biggest boy was number 5 Akita in AKC until recently when he scared a judge real bad and was disqualified. I think he's retired now. We should not scare judges like that!!! LOL and our smallest girl is ranked number 11 right now. The other two girls are not in the same league, so they are just pets. We believe that nutrition has a huge impact in how they develop.

Our goal is to use more wild hogs for feed. Last year, during the Covid lockdown, a buddy hunted my land at night with a thermal and shot 107 hogs. So far this year, he's only shot about 40. He made a dent in their numbers, but my neighbor started doing the same thing on his land this year after hearing about what was happening on my place, so he's getting quite a few too. There is an unlimited free supply of wild hogs here, I just need to start processing some of them.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

You could look at the selection here;

Meat Grinders / Meat Processing

Meat grinders, manual, electric and attachment heads for stand mixers. Maverick, LEM, Pro-Cut, Thunderbird: Quality, value & service at Pleasant Hill Grain. Free shipping over $59!

pleasanthillgrain.com

Good company to deal with.
Dean

 

[oosik]

Eddie - do you cook the hog meat before feeding it?? I just wonder about various worms and parasites.

AH - reread the first post. I see you do cook the meat.

 

[ponytug]

Congratulations on the great work with your dogs! I can only imagine how much food you go through in a day. I remember the feeding in a "Dirty Jobs" episode with Martin Buser and his huskies.

I know that our breeder is really into nutrition and we tend to follow her lead on what to feed. Free pork would be very tempting.

Cabellas sells some medium sized meat grinder that might work for you if you can't locate a commercial unit.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ponytug]

Having just watch a 150lb hog saunter by me our backyard, (chainlink fence between us!) I was curious what you decided.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Torvy]

I would think it would be easier to roast the hogs first. You can do a few at time depending on your setup. Since its for the dogs you don't have to worry about rub or anything like that.

 

[sea2summit]

So when I do hogs for dog food I get a big metal garbage can on the Turkey fryer burner and fill it half way with water and set it on full afterburner as I start to cut. Pull the hide and guts. Break out the sawzall with a long demo blade and start cutting chunks about two fist size and throw them in the can. When I’m done cutting I let it come to a boil then boil it for about 45 minutes. Let it cool then put three pieces in a gallon zip lock bag and freeze it. The leftover water is basically drippings and I usually ladle a for the outside dog’s food but it runs through them pretty quick…if you know what I mean. The rest gets dumped in the pond for fish food.

Grinding seems like a lot of work for dog food to me. But good luck.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

So, how much meat are we talking here? Assuming it is a whole hog at a time, I would definitely go for a commercial or semicommercial unit. I have only used KitchenAid (home) and Hobart (commercial). Do the math on pounds per hour and see where you need to be.

I would look around for restaurant auctions, or a commercial supplier that might be able to get you a used commercial unit at a reasonable price. If you are buying new, look for NSF or ETL certification; those units will be higher quality and easier to keep clean.

FWIW: We just coarsely chop the meat for our dogs, and freeze a portion for a day or two worth, but they are larger (70lbs).

All the best,

Peter

I agree that the Kitchen Aid grinder is way undersized for doing large quantities. but it's great for 10-20 lb. runs of sausage stuffing. There is also a grinder attachment that will squeeze juice and pulp out of fruits and berries while ejecting the seeds and skins. I haven't seen attachments for the old Hobart mixers that were the commercial versions, but the attachment point is similar. I'm sure they would be expensive.

 

[workinonit]

I like that LEM grinder. Appears to be made in the US and would handle anything you need to do. Get it!

 

[MossRoad]

A friend of mine worked night shift security at the local airport. He lived in a rental house on airport property. The county police had him on their "who to call if someone hits a deer with their car" list. About every week or two he'd get called for a dead dear. The airport restaurant was closing, so he bought their Hobart meat grinder for about $100. Thing was a beast. He and everyone else he knew had about an endless supply of Bambi burger.

Looking at those grinders now, even used, are in the thousands. But they work and last.

 

[Doughknob]

I would think it would be easier to roast the hogs first. You can do a few at time depending on your setup. Since its for the dogs you don't have to worry about rub or anything like that.

I hope you do not mean roast them before grinding. That does not work well.........

 

[Torvy]

No, dogs don't need food to be ground up. Roast it low and slow and you have loose meat for the pups. As someone else said, freeze it after.