meat grinder?

[D-Rock425]

Ill be looking for a meat grinder this coming year and would like some advice on some good ones to look at.

[high country]

Look no further than the 1hp model cabelas sells. I just ground 120# of burger last night. It took about 15 minutes. It could be faster if I could feed it faster. It will take the shank meat from an elk or bear and not even slow down. Having burned up half a dozen import and attachment grinders it was tough to spend the cash....glad I did, its the real deal.

[D-Rock425]

That's what I'm after the real deal.   I think it would almost pay for itself in a years time.  I on average take about 3 animals a year in to get cut and wrapped so if I can start doing it myself I could save some cash.

[wrongway]

  I have done 5 elk and 3 deer in two years works good, trim the meet well

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

  Great machines!

[TheHunt]

Just look at the grinder and make sure it does not have plactic gears.  If it has plastic gears you need to be a bit careful in your feeding the machine.

[uplandhunter870]

like said above take a serious look at the cabelas professional series. i got a cabelas heavy duty grinder and its good but just doesnt quite toe the line. we do 3 to 5 animals a year plus beef and pork parts for random smoking. i will be getting the cabelas professional 1hp

[kckrawler]

 I have the Cabelas Commercial Grade 1 3/4 hp. It's awesome but expensive. Just a few weeks ago we did a bear, deer, duck, and pheasant on a Cabelas Commercial Grade 1 hp and it performed flawlessly, just a little slower than the bigger model. I'd recommend either one of them but I wouldn't recommend going under 1 hp if you plan on using it a lot 

[losdaddy7]

I can't say enough good things about this grinder, and the company who makes them (American). STX TURBOFORCE 3000 SERIES 
This is a heavy duty grinder, only sold through Amazon (out of stock until 1/16/12) and a couple other retailers.  You wont find a better grinder for the price.   Check out the product reviews on Amazon.com...

[jaymark6655]

I have the LEM one.  I went with it because when I researched ( a couple years ago) it did not have plastic gears, metal only.  Get as big as you can afford.  If you want to do sausage, the pedal is the way to go.  Only time I have had trouble with mine is if I try to grind frozen meat (I think I have the .25 HP, I was broke when I bought it).

[high country]

I would suggest a #22 as a minimum and if it weighs under #25 expect it to burn down the first time you toss a bear shank in it.

[fishingnut71]

Minimum .75hp. I have that one and it is AWESOME.(Cabelas) As fast as you can feed it will take. litterally if you stuck a 1x2 in it it would devour it. AWESOME

[coyotewallace]

The Cabela's one is top notch...buy the biggest one you can afford

[bobcat]

I got the Cabelas 1HP grinder a month ago and it was on sale for $399. Really happy with it. I did a half an elk and a deer in less than 30 minutes. I couldn't feed it fast enough. It was probably only about 15 minutes of actual grinding time.

I see they still have it on sale but it's $479. Still a good price since regular it is $519. And you can get $20 off if you order before January 5th.

[Bigluke1981]

+1 on the cabelas 1 hp. It is the smoothest grinder i have. I did 6 lopes this year and and have done a few deer, an elk and a bear and I never had a problem. It will pay for itself in no time.

[scudmaster]

    It is a great grinder. See if a hunting partner wants to go half in on it.

[Bean Counter]

I picked up a Cabelas 3/4 HP Commercial at the Bargain Cave. Normally $350-400 but I got it for $280 just because the box was damaged. 

I don't really need a faster one even though it has chewed through many pounds of deer and elk and made much sausage. I could see if you lived back east and needed it to go through 15 whitetails a year that the 1-3/4 HP would make sense.

BTW, as a great bonus it comes with a sausage stuffer 

[fishingnut71]

SORRY guys. Mine is a 1.5 hp instead of a .75 as I said.  Just looked at it and dont know what I was thinkin. Anyways great grinder.

[D-Rock425]

So I need a cabelas grinder the bigger the better.

[woodswalker]

So I need a cabelas grinder the bigger the better.

yup, I'm saving my pennies for one, the 1hp if i cant get more $$ the 1.5 if i can.  We wont talk about the number of Rival, Kitchenaide and other brands I've burned out over the years.  yea i get them cheap at yard sales....$5-$10 for the whole kit...but its not worth the hassles of the ssllooww grind or burning one out in mid critter. 

[KillBilly]

Mine is a 1/2 hp Hobart that weighs in at about 300 lbs. It is 220v and would grind a whole elk feathers and all if you could feed it.

[D-Rock425]

Since we're on the topic of meat grinders what do you guys mix with your meat and to what ratio.

[Alan K]

I've got the Cabela's 1 HP and it'll grind the meat basically as fast as I can feed it.

I go about 90% wild game, 10% beef fat.  That's a guesstimate though, I just rough it.  I prefer my meat as lean as possible while still holding a burger together.

[elkboy]

I'm with previous posters- the Cabela's professional grade grinders are amazing.  Sinew, fat, whatever- it will just get chewed, and in a hurry.  I've done the grinding from six deer with one, and it impresses me every time. Easy maintenance, too!

[DoubleJ]

I go about 90% wild game, 10% beef fat.  That's a guesstimate though, I just rough it.  I prefer my meat as lean as possible while still holding a burger together.

 

For burger meat, I like the flavor of pork fat better if the meat will be used soon but, if it's going to sit in the freezer for a few months, the beef fat seems to hold flavor better so that's what we use.  Kids like the flavor, not too fatty, and I get good beef fat for $0.01/lb. 

This year will be the first year I have made anything with my animal.  In the past, I have cut up the animal into steaks or burger only.  Steaks get steak treatment and burgers get cooked as burgers.  Sometimes I add spices to the burger meat and make a ghetto breakfast sausage.  Tastes pretty good.  Sometimes it gets thrown into hamburger helper.  The wife is an anti and won't touch the stuff.  She saves the beef hamburger for family meals and uses the wild game burger for the kids' meals.

[Whitpirate]

If one were choosing between the 3/4 and the 1HP is there a huge difference?  I typically would be grinding less than 30 lbs at a time (who knows maybe this will change) but the 3/4 is in stock and the 1HP is backordered.  I've got some gift cards burning the holes through my trousers and that 20.00 off coupon is nice too.  Anyone have the 3/4?

[jaymark6655]

I thought I read somewhere that one of the gears in the Cabelas model, inside the motor was plastic.  Maybe it was just a rumor started by a competitor. 

[Bean Counter]

If one were choosing between the 3/4 and the 1HP is there a huge difference?  I typically would be grinding less than 30 lbs at a time (who knows maybe this will change) but the 3/4 is in stock and the 1HP is backordered.  I've got some gift cards burning the holes through my trousers and that 20.00 off coupon is nice too.  Anyone have the 3/4?

see my post above? Sure the 1.5 hp would be even faster.but I haven't once found myself saying that mine is slow. Nor have I found myself wishing that it had a reverse mode.

I would consider saving the difference on a.heavier grinder and looking into a mo betta vacuum sealer. I'm starting to wish I had spent more than $130 on a Food Saver.

[danderson]

If your serious about getting a good meat grinder, go with a Hobart.

[whack em]

We butchered on average 20 whitetail a year for the last 3 years in New England and used a Cabelas 1.5 hp grinder.  The machine is a beast, and also took on an elk and two boar with zero issues.  We bought the patty mold attachment which is cool but definately a two man operation.  The sausage stuffing tube system works great but I highly recommend that you go with the previously mentioned foot pedal to control meat flow.  I have a vertical stuffer, and for sausage, it is absolutely the best.  As far as my ratios for sausage, I typically do a 4:1 venison to pork butt.  If you want to try something real good for burgers, go 3lbs of venison for 1lb of bacon (any old bacon will do).  Grind it, then mix in high temp cheddar cheese (comes pre-cut in little cubes) to your liking, and patty it.  For a good processing resource, check out Con Yeager spice co out of Pennsylvania, they are mom and pop going commercial, have great products and I am thrilled with their customer service.  Here's their link: http://www.conyeagerspice.com/

[kckrawler]

I thought I read somewhere that one of the gears in the Cabelas model, inside the motor was plastic.  Maybe it was just a rumor started by a competitor. 

The gears in the Cabelas grinders are steel. BUT, I have the green stuffer with aluminum gears and it's a pile....

[Huntbear]

Mine is a 1/2 hp Hobart that weighs in at about 300 lbs. It is 220v and would grind a whole elk feathers and all if you could feed it.

I have an old 1/2 hp Westinghouse commercial grinder.  It will take anything I can shove down the feed tube and just grind it to a pulp...  been thinking I wanted to sell it, but now, am thinking I will keep the old fashioned better made one rather than get new.....

[luvmystang67]

So, I know this is not going to be super popular, but I did a lot of web research and bought one that APPEARS to be cheapy and plastic.  It is a Tasin TS-108.  I was really only able to find it at one online jerky store.  It is 1200 watt (peak) which correlates to 1.6 hp.  I threw three blacktails through it this year for myself and my friend's animals.  We did 75 lbs of venison, 7.5 lbs of beef fat, mixed them both and then reground together and wrapped and were done in probably ~3 hours.  The grinder is a hog.  All the reviews online are good, I have nothing bad to say about it.  The best part is the price... $150.  I know what you're thinking... cheap crap... but it worked fine for me and has for many others.  For the price and the hp rating I don't think it can be beat and I was overjoyed with the speed.  (It also has reverse). 

Worth looking at, mine has nearly already paid for itself.

[Huntbear]

As long as it works for you, and you are happy with it, it is good to go.  Heck, I know guys that like Chevys..   

[Special T]

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,23812.0.html

I plan on building one of these... Plus you "Could" use it hand powered in a pinch.

[elkontherun]

I have the cabelas 1 hp and it is great we do at least 3 elk and up to 10 deer every year.  We burned it up half way through my elk this year I figured it out and it did around 25 elk and over 30 deer it had a good life. We just boxed it up took it to cabelas and they replaced it no questions asked. They didn't even open the box. We had it for 4 1/2 years and they come with a 5 year warranty!

[high country]

So, I know this is not going to be super popular, but I did a lot of web research and bought one that APPEARS to be cheapy and plastic.  It is a Tasin TS-108.  I was really only able to find it at one online jerky store.  It is 1200 watt (peak) which correlates to 1.6 hp.  I threw three blacktails through it this year for myself and my friend's animals.  We did 75 lbs of venison, 7.5 lbs of beef fat, mixed them both and then reground together and wrapped and were done in probably ~3 hours.  The grinder is a hog.  All the reviews online are good, I have nothing bad to say about it.  The best part is the price... $150.  I know what you're thinking... cheap crap... but it worked fine for me and has for many others.  For the price and the hp rating I don't think it can be beat and I was overjoyed with the speed.  (It also has reverse). 

Worth looking at, mine has nearly already paid for itself.

If you need any parts I have most of that same one here. Good luck. Don't ever grind bear shanks....I burned down two on bears.

[BOWHUNTER45]

I have the cabelas 1 hp and it is great we do at least 3 elk and up to 10 deer every year.  We burned it up half way through my elk this year I figured it out and it did around 25 elk and over 30 deer it had a good life. We just boxed it up took it to cabelas and they replaced it no questions asked. They didn't even open the box. We had it for 4 1/2 years and they come with a 5 year warranty!