Meat processing gear (meat grinders)

NBK

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  1. Bull
Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving.

To the point:

I am shopping meat processing gear and would like to hear what the RT/forum folks are using for meat grinders. I am tired of looking for wild game butchers (the good ones I have been using over the years are gone).

I am steering toward a 1HP unit. Any thoughts? Some years it will get used more than others depending upon the harvest. I plan on a mixer as well. I have a commercial vac sealer, sausage stuffer and dehydrated. So the obvious is a meat grinder.

Would appreciate all opinions.
 
We have one but we are doing 50# - 200# of meat at a time.
I use the metal attachment on a commercial KitchenAid, and I would agree the volume you are doing would not be practical on a KA. I’m going to speculate that there are few people here doing that volume either, so your responses might be low. If I were replacing the KA grinder, I’d look seriously at the brand that Chud’s BBQ on YouTube uses. Might still be light for your needs, but they look well made.
 
I have a big bite as well. The #8 will do 420lbs per hour - in theory.
I have the burger attachment, the jerky slicer/tenderizer, the foot pedal and am looking to get the mixer.

Ice cubes are the secret to keeping it going. Grinding up the cubes cools it down and cleans up the blade and plates of any fat smearing. Much better than taking it apart every 20-30 minutes as I used to do.
 
Ice cubes are the secret to keeping it going. Grinding up the cubes cools it down and cleans up the blade and plates of any fat smearing. Much better than taking it apart every 20-30 minutes as I used to do.
Nice tip! I’m going to try that the next time I’m grinding.
 
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I just clicked on this one. I usually don't go top notch right away, but reading reviews - I went with the one that attached to the grinder. People were complaining how hard it was to do the fully manual one. The one with the gear-box to make it easier to turn has issues with meat squishing into the gearbox, creating a mess. So I just went all in on the 25lb LEM #1773 - that attaches to my #8 grinder.
Now I have to produce - December will be Sausage Month.
 
Nothing fancy, brats and Italian. Bag up some ground pork, some taco meat, and cevaps. I want to do fully cured and dried, but I don’t have a good environment for the long slow drying process. Need to mod a fridge with temp control ,fan and humidifier - that’s the dream.
 
I have a Waltons #12. I usually grind 2 deer at a time with it. I'm happy with it for its usage. Its not a commercial unit by any means.
 
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Nothing fancy, brats and Italian. Bag up some ground pork, some taco meat, and cevaps. I want to do fully cured and dried, but I don’t have a good environment for the long slow drying process. Need to mod a fridge with temp control ,fan and humidifier - that’s the dream.
I made Italian Sausage on Thanksgiving. Going to do Brats next. I took a class with Bill Dumas (the Sausage Sensei from Texas) in August. Pitmaster Harry Soo invited him out to Diamond Bar, CA to teach a class. I finally got the time to put what I learned into action. I did purchase the Lem 10 Pound Big Bite motorized sausage stuffer. That makes a big difference. I was really happy with the sausage.

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i process alot of wild game also and make bulk sausages. i have nothing but great things to say about my cabela’s commercial grinder i use the #12 3/4 hp version but the have them in 1hp and even bigger. i use a manual hand crank meat mixer for my sausage but you can buy a meat mixer attachment for the cabela’s grinders that is powered by the grinder head. i also have the cube steak attachment and it works great. you can buy replacement blades for the cuber that will also cut your meat into strips for jerky. cabela’s also stocks all the replacement dies and blades for the grinders. check them out you will be impressed, my 3/4hp version is 52lbs the 1hp is 64lbs! they are built right https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/cabelas-commercial-grade-1hp-carnivore-meat-grinder
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I need a good recipe for Italian, anyone care to share? The one I used last time I didn’t care for.
 
I need a good recipe for Italian, anyone care to share? The one I used last time I didn’t care for.
This is the one I used. It is one of the many recipes I received from Bill Dumas' class and I was very happy with the flavor and texture. I did double this recipe since my stuffer holds 10 lbs. I also made a slurry of pinot grigio and ice to equal 1/2 cup. I added the slurry to the meat after the second grind.

Day 1 - I trimmed the pork and added the seasonings. Let it sit overnight to marinate.
Day 2 - I did the grinding and linking and back into the fridge to rest overnight.
Day 3 - I cooked some and froze the rest.

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Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving.

To the point:

I am shopping meat processing gear and would like to hear what the RT/forum folks are using for meat grinders. I am tired of looking for wild game butchers (the good ones I have been using over the years are gone).

I am steering toward a 1HP unit. Any thoughts? Some years it will get used more than others depending upon the harvest. I plan on a mixer as well. I have a commercial vac sealer, sausage stuffer and dehydrated. So the obvious is a meat grinder.

Would appreciate all opinions.
Several years ago I bought a grinder from Cabela’s, now bass pro shops. They seem to last forever between me and my friends.
 

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