Inexpensive grinder?

[ResearchinStuff]

I love my lem #12 with the screw on double grind attachment. Working solo i double ground, packaged and sealed 60# in 35 minutes earlier this month. I have been doing an elk and 2-5 deer a year with it since 2021 and it still runs like new.

 

[BLJ]

I have an STX and it’s done great for me in 2 seasons.

 

[ColPenguin]

I’m surprised to see as many people being cheap on their grinder. What’s it cost to get a deer ground these days? I feel like one saved trip to the butcher would pay for a nice grinder. I’d run a cheap scope before I had a cheap grinder!

The cheaper options will probably work for a while. But many of those budget options will have plastic gears and mechanical components that will wear out over time. Whereas a pro/commercial grade unit will have steel or cast aluminum mechanical components that last for much longer with higher volume use.

I'm easily putting 100 lbs. of meat through the grinder per year to turn out burger and pork/venison breakfast sausage.

There are folks on here spending thousands on rifles, scopes, gear in the pursuit of acquiring wild game meat. There are some that justify spending money on, what I think is, overpriced hunting clothing unnecessary to put meat in the freezer.

I treat the grinder like any other investment in a hunting gear purchase. You have to weigh tradeoffs and personal priorities. For me, it would be a bad investment in mediocre equipment that is likely to wear out in a couple of years with higher volume use.

 

[TimberHunter]

For instance
Last time I used my meat 1.5 I ground 40lbs in 2 min 40 seconds

And I believe the 2nd grind was 4-5

I think I was 12 min set up to take down.

I just don’t have a need to grind 40lbs in under 3 minutes. I’m totally good with 40lbs taking +-10 minutes. My current setup would likely take 30+ minutes and it more smears the meat than grinds as you use it longer


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[Clovis]

I use the metal Kitchen-Aid brand grinder attachment. Not the Amazon one lol It's solid. Not real fast, but it does a very good job. I've done a few deer and a bear with it. I'm very happy with it.

this has worked well for me--I had a cheaper plastic bodied KitchenAid attachment that wasn't so good but replaced it with an all steel version that works well for me. For a few animals a year it is fast enough for me.

 

[noisy]

If my cheap grinder somehow resulted in an inferior final product that wasn't ground properly or tasted bad, I would spend the money on a better grinder. But that's not the case. So far so good. If it breaks down I will reevaluate. Only reason I got into processing is because the guy I've taken animals to for years retired. Glad I did though and I wish I'd started long ago. I enjoy it and don't kill enough animals to feel like I need to race through it.

 

[TimberHunter]

I’m surprised to see as many people being cheap on their grinder. What’s it cost to get a deer ground these days? I feel like one saved trip to the butcher would pay for a nice grinder. I’d run a cheap scope before I had a cheap grinder!

Can’t grind what you can’t shoot lol

Trying to be cheap because I haven’t paid a butcher fee in years


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[TimberHunter]

Are these $120 countertop LEMs any better or they just as bad as the other cheap options?

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[BRTreedogs]

Are these $120 countertop LEMs any better or they just as bad as the other cheap options?

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I just simply would never use the #8 again

It just takes to long, needs for fed, and the longer it takes the warmer it gets , causing the smearing

 

[BRTreedogs]

I’m not saying u need the biggest/best

But I’m saying an upgrade makes it significantly, it’s not kinda sort ok maybe I can tell a difference better.

It is night and day.

 

[MuleyFever]

Are these $120 countertop LEMs any better or they just as bad as the other cheap options?

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It will work just fine.

 

[realunlucky]

Are these $120 countertop LEMs any better or they just as bad as the other cheap options?

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I used something like that for years- one year it did a couple deer a couple elk and a buffalo. The throat is small so you gotta trim the grind pieces to fit which adds time for sure. My hunting partner hated the extra prep and waiting on the machine so he bought me an #8 the following year.

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[realunlucky]

I’m not saying u need the biggest/best

But I’m saying an upgrade makes it significantly, it’s not kinda sort ok maybe I can tell a difference better.

It is night and day.

I've used everything from the kitchen aid to a 2hp grinder. While the machines do definitely grind faster but, I like to remove all the silver skin and other imperfections and after all that prep work I've have not seen a difference in meat quality in small vs big grinders. I do think a #8 is plenty for most hunters grinding 4 or 5 deer a year.

That said there is a huge a improvement in attachment options as grinders go up in size. I didn't think it would matter but as the years go by I like trying new things and stream lining the process. The more things you kill the more often you need to drag everything out so time from start to finish does become more important.

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[BRTreedogs]

I've used everything from the kitchen aid to a 2hp grinder. While the machines do definitely grind faster but, I like to remove all the silver skin and other imperfections and after all that prep work I've have not seen a difference in meat quality in small vs big grinders. I do think a #8 is plenty for most hunters grinding 4 or 5 deer a year.

That said there is a huge a improvement in attachment options as grinders go up in size. I didn't think it would matter but as the years go by I like trying new things and stream lining the process. The more things you kill the more often you need to drag everything out so time from start to finish does become more important.

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Maybe the 2 small grinders I had were really bad.

One broke mid elk.

It took me at least 3 hrs to do the grind from a spike bull and I had to force it thru with the little plastic thing.

At the time meat didn’t make the #22 so I got the 32

2 people can stand with 4 tubs and double hand feed it as fast as possible and there’s no having to smush everything thing.

All I’m saying is you could spend and extra 2 hours at work or side work and buy the better grinder and it will save time every time you use it. And out pace the work it took to make the money most likely the first year.

But to each his own, to me it’s a chore and I only have so much room to store meat and need to get it done and move onto other stuff.

How much more is a #12 vs a #8?

$100-200 bucks?

 

[realunlucky]

Maybe the 2 small grinders I had were really bad.

One broke mid elk.

It took me at least 3 hrs to do the grind from a spike bull and I had to force it thru with the little plastic thing.

At the time meat didn’t make the #22 so I got the 32

2 people can stand with 4 tubs and double hand feed it as fast as possible and there’s no having to smush everything thing.

All I’m saying is you could spend and extra 2 hours at work or side work and buy the better grinder and it will save time every time you use it. And out pace the work it took to make the money most likely the first year.

But to each his own, to me it’s a chore and I only have so much room to store meat and need to get it done and move onto other stuff.

How much more is a #12 vs a #8?

$100-200 bucks?

Yes the difference is 200$ give or take. #8 1/2 hp vs #12 3/4 hp is 7 pounds a minute vs 11 pounds a minute.

A #32 like you bought is 3x times the horse power and 5x times the pounds per minute. So undoubtedly a noticeable improvement.

I think the stand out features are that the bigger throat size does equal less prep time and if you double grind it's possible that no one ever notices the silver skin not being removed which would definitely be a huge time saver vs cutting it out.

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[ResearchinStuff]

I just simply would never use the #8 again

It just takes to long, needs for fed, and the longer it takes the warmer it gets , causing the smearing

That sounds exactly like the way any grinder performs when the cutting blade is in backwards. I've made that mistake more than once.

 

[TimberHunter]

That sounds exactly like the way any grinder performs when the cutting blade is in backwards. I've made that mistake more than once.

I may have done this myself… I thought it was common sense but now I’m rethinking it. Is there a rule of thumb which way the cutting blade goes in any grinder?


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[dlee56]

This stainless kitchen aid grinder from Amazon will work for you if you’re set on cheap ($70). I always prefer stainless so that I can throw everything in the dishwasher no problem.
Stainless Kitchen Aid Meat Grinder

If you’d like to spend more this thing has been a beast for me. 1.5hp grinder for $330 is hard to beat and it will chew thru an elk in no time.
Amazon 1.5hp Grinder

 

[BRTreedogs]

I may have done this myself… I thought it was common sense but now I’m rethinking it. Is there a rule of thumb which way the cutting blade goes in any grinder?


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Flat side of blade against the plate with holes in it

It literally would not cut at all if it was in backwards.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

One of my blades can absolutely go in backwards. I'll get a Pic later.