What meat grinder do you choose to process your game

[Sgt. grizz]

I'm new to Processing my own meat, so I'd like to ask people that have been doing this for a while now, what are some of the better meat grinders available? What meat grinder do you choose to process your game? And can you make sausages and summer sausages with those meat grinders and not just hamburger?

 

[PNWGator]

We use a Cabelas 1hp carnivore and have for several years and have been very satisfied. I certainly would not purchase anything smaller. We have their large meat mixer attachment for incorporating seasonings and fat and it's worth it's weight in gold. We have a separate sausage press and do not use the grinder for building sausages or snack sticks.

 

[Chuckrub]

I have a Pro-cut kg12fs grinder, ksds 12 slicer, lem 25lb mixer and a 15lb stuffer. I agree don't go small. I looked at it as life investment tools browse the meat processing websites both forums and equipment sites.

 

[jimbires]

I agree with the other guys , go big or save your money longer until you can buy a big one . you will not be happy with a small grinder .

I have a home built one , it works great . it's a #32 grinder that I had belt driven with a electric motor from an old clothes drier . that drier motor wore out so I bought a new motor for it . it's 1 hp . this thing does grind now . I can't find a pic with the new motor and all put together , but I do have a few pics to show you . when I updated the motor I also raised the grinder so I could put a deeper pan under it . the way I have it set up now it really works well . I'll guess at todays prices , you could build this for under $300 . if you're handy building things this is another option .


EDIT to correct motor HP

 

[Chuckrub]

jimbires home made option is a very durable option for the budget minded. Yes they make sausage stuffing tubes for most grinders.

 

[ARCaveman]

I have the Weston #22 and couldn't be happier. Like the other guys said go bigger than you anticipate needing. You'll never hate have too much power.

 

[jimbires]

jimbires home made option is a very durable option for the budget minded. Yes they make sausage stuffing tubes for most grinders.

I bought the stuffer tube , the knife , and the special stuffer plate from Lem . I use these to put my ground berger into the 1 pound bags . it does this well . I didn't think I would need the special stuffer plate , but I did . using a standard grinder plate with the stuffer tube all I got was a mess .

 

[MachV]

Processed a lot of critters with minimal equipment but a few years ago my little electric grinder broke down and the hand grinder proved to be more work than I wanted.
The only grinder Sportsmans had left was a Lem #12 3/4 horse unit.....More $ than I wanted to spend but it has proven over the last couple of years to be a good investment!
The next year a Lem 10# sausage stuffer was added to replace trying to do it with the grinder. Much easier and faster! In hindsite I would go bigger with this.
The next year a bigger electric smoker was added. Now its very easy and fast to make snck stick and brats....and we make a lot ofem ;-)

 

[jimbires]

I just took a few pics . I put a 1 HP motor on it , it had the same size shaft as my old motor . the next larger motor had a bigger shaft , and I would have had to buy a pulley to fit it .


if you want a shopping list let me know .

 

[okie man]

I have a smaller electric grinder I bought 12-15 years ago. Probably ground 40-50 deer with it. It's not super fast but I don't grind big batches. Usually 10# at a time, making sausage. I freeze my trimmings this way , thaw, add fat and seasoning grind and stuff or packages.

 

[Elkeater]

Love my 1/2 horse cabelas carnivore. Annually processes several elk, deer, antelope, bear or whatever else I get to shoot. Had it for 4 years and it's probably done 30-40 animals ranging in size from small antelope to moose. If I had to do it again I would go with a next bigger size or maybe 1hp size for the number of critters I'm doing but if I was only doing a couple deer or even an elk the 1/2 horse size is plenty.

 

[buzzyb]

Hobart

 

[Varmint Hunter]

My wife has one of those heavy duty KitchenAid mixers which she uses for baking. I bought the meat grinder attachment for $50. It works great for moderate volume grinding. Just this morning we ground up 2 deer with no problems at all.

 

[338 dude]

We use a Cabelas 1hp carnivore and have for several years and have been very satisfied. I certainly would not purchase anything smaller. We have their large meat mixer attachment for incorporating seasonings and fat and it's worth it's weight in gold. We have a separate sausage press and do not use the grinder for building sausages or snack sticks.

I have the same grinder but have not bought the mixer yet This is my little processing shop for my personal use only