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I'm looking to buy a new electric meat grinder for processing elk and deer. I want one that will last several years. It looks like the LEM products are rated high, and perhaps the Waring Pro. Any thoughts out there as to what meat grinders are the best...and what H.P. one should go for? Any other features to look for?
I bought the 1 3/4HP from Cabelas, it should last a lifetime. Very high quality.
I got the 1/2 hp from Cabelas two years ago. I have been pleased thus far. Mike
I have the Cabela's 1/2 HP Commercial and it should last a long time. Grinds a whitetail in just a few minutes. If you were doing several deer and elk at the same time, I would get the 3/4, but if your just doing one at a time, the 1/2 is plenty.
Hello... I think you need to define how much grinding you are going to do. 1 elk a year and 1 deer a year ? or 1 elk of yours and 2 of your buddies, and all their deer. I'm not an expert but if you are going to be doing more than a couple I would buy the most horse power you can get.
I use a kitchenaide with the grinder attachment. It works fine for me (i do about 3 deer a year) but if I was going to do 3 deer and an elk i would get something more powerful. I can tell even after doing 10-20 lbs my motor is feeling pretty warm.
Even if you don't buy from LEM I would call and talk to a sales rep. Tell them how much you plan on grinding and they will help you out regarding horse power.
Two more things, find one that you can put a sausage stuffer attachment on. And one with a large platter on top (not sure if that is what it's called but the plate that is near the opening of the grinder.
Good luck
I have the cabelas 1.5 horse grinder and it works great for elk. I love it!
I was looking at cabelas. They are rated high as well. Thanks for the input guys.
Tim,
I bought a 1 hp grinder from Cabela's this fall. I processed 3 elk and 4 deer for myself and other folks this year and the 1 hp grinder was plenty.
I have ground burger meat mixed with beef fat, summer sausage mixed with pork fat, and lean venison for ground jerky.
I chose the 1hp grinder because it had reverse and it was $100 off at the time. I combined that with another couple of deals and got $50 more off and free shipping. If you are going to be doing large batches of burger, do yourself a favor and get a mixer attachment of hand-crank mixer.
I'll add something...
I have one of the cheap $75 Cabelas grinders. I do a couple deer a year and it works pretty good, I had no reason to need a bigger/better one. Until last night. I finally got 25 pounds of meat mixed up and bought casings to make Italian cheddar sausages. That thing was worthless trying to stuff sausage casings. I was getting more air than meat into the casing.
So today I went out and bought an LEM 5 pound stuffer from Bass Pro. Wow, now that's how you make sausage!! That thing is awesome. I had to refrigerate the meat mixed overnight, which I guess is a no-no because it sets and gets too stiff. Not with this press. I've done 15 of the 25 pounds tonight and have yet to split a casing or have a problem.
A+ on the LEM products! Maybe someday a nice 3/4 horse LEM grinder will find it's way to my house also.
I bought a hand operated grinder from Cabela's a couple of years ago. I think it was the large one. I took off the handle and put a pulley on it. I then put a pulley on a motor and hooked up the 2 together. I think my motor is a 3/4 hp that I salvaged somewhere. It was a fun winter time project for my Dad and I, and now I have a motorized grinder for around a hundred bucks. I'm not saying it is better or worse than one you can buy, but it was fun making and a great conversation piece.
I second the cabelas 1 3/4 horse.. Just dont plan to do an sausage stuffing with it..
Here vis the one I bought. I'll be hooking and electric motor up to it soon. It is supposed to do 600# per hr.
Used one of those for years, the only problem is the pulley pulls from the same side all the time and eventually you will oblong the hole that your auger fits in. I have a LEM now.
If your only doing 1 a year I would try the one in northern .com between 99 and 119 we do about 10 to 15 deer a year and it is about 8 years old, order a extra blade a the same time .A lot of my frinds have the same one .
If you do a few a year, my son and I average around 10. Go on line and get a used commercial hobart. Pays for itself in a year or so.
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An Electric Meat Grinder can help us to grind meat quickly and without any hesitation. If you really want to buy a meat grinder then you can visit my website. Here is one of the best review: http://pro-meat-grinder.com/best-product-reviews/
my dad has a 3/4 horse electric Cabelas grinder and it works wicked. Every year I whip up about 100-120 lbs in one sitting. The grinding itself prob only takes 15 minutes if that. It will grind meat quicker than you can feed it.
I don't think you can go wrong with an LEM. Not positive but Canelas might be backed by a lifetime warranty if you get one of those.
I was in the same boat, LEM or Cabelas 3/4 hp. studying them for weeks, both had great reviews. I had a bunch of Cabelas points to burn and suddenly their grinder went on sale with FREE SHIPPING..... done deal. Those things weigh 60lbs or more, shipping the LEM was going to be around $100+. (they ship UPS or FedEx, neither have "ground" to HI.... 2nd day air...)
Has been a GREAT grinder, very happy. One thing much appreciated about Cabelas..... when they say free shipping they mean it pretty much everywhere. Not "lower 48 states only" like the disclaimer so many companies have.
Skip the idea of stuffing sausage with them, it can be done but a PITA. I know, fought with it for years. Pick up a dedicated stuffer, you'll be much happier with it. You can get a pretty good one one-line for less than half the price of Cabelas or LEM.
Dunno if it is the est, but it is a GREAT grinder... The Cabelas 1 hp works awesome. Well made and makes very fast work of grinding. Grinds faster than we can feed it. Buy the foot switch... you can thank me later. :-) The footswitch will keep your greasy hands free to just keep feeding the beast and prevent heat buildup which is common with electric grinders.
I have a 1hp cabelas grinder, love it, had it since 2009, its done 10 deer 5 elk and 4 moose for me, its worked flawlessly and fast
+1 Muzzy. The attachment for the Kitchenaide is awesome and works great. I have processed over 100+ deer and other animals through it and it's still going.
I also don't have to keep my meat ice cold when I do it (I was always confused when I read so many guys kept their meat frozen but it was because their grinders get hot).
If you have a Kitchenaide try that first. I have done everything from moose to 3-5 deer in the same day. Works like a charm and quick.
Have had my Cabela's 1/2hp grinder for over 12 years now. Still works great with no issues. Have ground many elk, mulies, and whitetails with it. I personally don't think a larger one is needed as I can't keep up with this one. Grinds as fast as you can stuff.
Good luck.
I have had the Cabela's 3/4 hp since 2003, I have put about 3,000 pounds of meat through it and loaned it a few times, it still works great.
Almost 10 years ago we bought the older style of this Cabela's 400W grinder that I attached the picture of. I think the newer model of this 400W is black. I can tell you for a fact that this past fall this little baby did 5 Elk and 3 Mule Deer & 25+ Geese. In the past 10 years this grinder has done all I've wanted. It will grind between 20-30 geese, 50+ ducks, 2-3 Elk and 2-3 Deer every single year and it's still going strong. I bought this grinder on one of their CLUB Visa Christmas parties for like $79.00 and it has paid for itself 1000 times over.
2000' elevation gain in under 1 mile......that is a meat grinder.
I'd take a hard look at the STX Turboforce II along with the LEM. Cabelas grinders are nice, but you're simply buying another brand's meat grinder with the Guide Gear logo slapped on it.
The STX Turboforce II actually has a patented cooling system that has been proven to almost double the life of the grinder, which is never a bad thing!
We actually reviewed about a dozen of the top meat grinders on our site. You can check it out here:
I have been using a lem 1/3 hp for 10yrs, it has never failed me, I don't just use it for game, I also make about 150lbs of Italian sausage every year, and grind the scrap cuts of my prime meats into burger, I will say that I have thought about getting a 1/2 hp, but this thing always does what I need it to do..
I have a Weston. It's a beast. Buy the biggest ine you can afford within reason and you'll never regret it.
For those of you that are somewhat handy here’s what Curtis is talking about. Homemade meat grinder.
If after ten years you oblong the auger hole, then.... buy another 60$ grinder. Worth a try for you guys that might have an old electric motor off a grain auger or something laying around. With 1&1/2 hp you don’t want to get your finger in the auger.
I got lucky and found a commercial Hobart grinder at a yard sale this summer for $10 bucks. Guess the guy didn't know what he had!!
I'm looking to upgrade this year. I'm getting a LEM that you can hook the grinder up to the mixer. Best idea ever!
I will reiterate that if all you are doing is an elk or two or 10 or less deer than the Kitchenaide attachment is ideal if you have one.
The biggest advantage is it doesn't get hot because it's an attachment.
My family usually kills 5-15+ animals year - usually deer, hogs and antelope. I have had my attachment for 20 years and it's still rocking and rolling.
My 1hp Cabela’s grinder does two elk and a few deer each year. Also grind a few more for friends and we run it through half frozen. It was one of the best purchases we made. Making your own burger can not be beat. Get the biggest hp you can afford. I think either Cabela’s or LEM would be a great product.
Don't get the mixer, they are a PITA and don't work that well, I have the one in the picture, better to mix by hand then send it through the grinder one more time
I've used the mixer borrowed from a friend and thought it worked great! So much better than freezing my hands.
If you buy LEM and it breaks you can get parts, Cabelas not so likely
Ditto Muzzy and Sage Buffalo- have Kitchen Aid attachment and good part is it gets my wife involved in the process because she does not let me touch her mixer!
Brook: Haha! That's funny. I am amazed at how long the attachment has lasted. If everything was built like my Kitchenaide.
My LEM 575 Watt #8 did one elk and four deer this year. I bought in five years ago when my kitchenaid crapped out. It is high RPMs and loud, but it does the job. Sportsmans Warehouse had them on sale for $70.00 (in store) so I bought a second one. I do a like of sausage every year, 350 LBs last year and have 250 LBs on deck for January. This little grinder is a true gem. But if I could afford the Cabelas, any one of them, I would have gone that way too.
I had one of those cheap dept store grinders, paid about $150 for it years ago and it did quite a few deer, but it was small, slow and eventually burned up. I bought an antique Hobart a few months ago from a guy on Craigslist, 1hp, this thing is like 3' high and weighs 250 lbs. I had to use a chain block to load and unload it. It's on casters so I can wheel it around. I ground a few deer up with it and it's a BEAST, strong and fast. Wow, I wasted a lot of time messing with that little one for all those years. I'm a 3rd generation owner of this Hobart and I'm sure it will outlive me too. I like that.
I just put my 1 hp Cabelas grinder away last night. Not sure you need more than that for a handful of animals per year. I did about 50 pounds of burger with my kids last week. They run the grinder and I pack. If I was going to process a bunch of elk at 1 time may want something bigger but I can feed this 3 inch cubes and it doesn't slow down at all. It has the sausage attachment but I prefer a stand alone stuffer.
Just don't buy one so heavy its a pain to move. Most grinder folks I see overdo it when it comes to size. If I didn't have the big home built model that I do I would go 1/2 hp and may entertain a smaller one. I do a 2-4 deer and hopefully an elk or 2 a year.
I have a Cabelas 3/4 horse and love it. No complaints other than it's HEAVY.
I bought a No. 12 grinder (3/4hp) from LEM 15 years ago. I process 2 to 5 animals a year with it. I have not had any problems, its very easy to clean and goes through a grind pile in a few minutes. One thing to keep in mind is you spend more time taking apart, cleaning and reassembling a grinder then you do grinding. Heavy duty parts are what to look for.
I Know some of the Meat Grinders that are not expensive also have good edges. Check out these Meat Grinders
I Know some of the Meat Grinders that are not expensive also have good edges. Check out these Meat Grinders
Buy a beast I got the Cabela's 1.5 horse grinder awesome...but just bide your time on Craigslist and save a ton....think I paid 200 for mine
"I bought a No. 12 grinder (3/4hp) from LEM..."
This.
Never had any luck using the KitchenAid grinder . It would always get clogged.
I would see what Carol Baskin is using and go with that model.
American made, old & still grindin. Never clogs up & great sausage maker attachments. Don't be mad, It's the lockdown we are on.
I run a LEM Big Bite #8 and it walks through meat.
Never had luck with Kitchenaid. As others already said, clogging even with all preparations (small cuts, even partially frozen and such). Comparing to this, LEM Big Bite works as a charm. I just toss it all in and don't have to cut the meat into small pieces - It will spit it out faster than I can put it in. Another big plus that it's much easier to clean.
