Meat grinder recommendations

[Adkhunter3]

Budget is $1500. Preferably 220v and Stainless steel. We butcher about 6 cows a year and 4-8 deer. I’ve looked at several different brands and models but I have no idea what’s good and what’s junk.
It’d be nice to have a stuffer attachment to package the burger in tubes so I don’t have to handle it all again to vac seal it. Thanks in advance!

 

[roadrunner]

Weston, #32.

 

[elkguide]

Very happy with my "MEAT" grinder. Call them. They are very helpful and knowledgeable.

Meat Grinders | Commercial Grade, Affordable Price | MEAT

Step-up your meat processing game with commercial-grade meat grinders from MEAT! Choose from a selection of quality meat grinders at affordable prices.

www.meatyourmaker.com

 

[intunegp]

Meat Grinder Recommendations

Well, the time has finally come to get a new meat grinder since my old $250 STX Turboforce crapped out this week. I'm currently looking at the LEW #32 and MYM #32, both 1.5HP units, and trying to weigh the pros and cons. With the MYM sale going on, there is a substantial price difference between...

rokslide.com

 

[Boarmaster]

Love my LEM.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Check out Meat Processing Products. A large selection of grinders and other meat processing products well within your budget.

 

[CMF]

I can't recommend a brand, but I will say a big heavy duty grinder with the stuffer attachment is light years ahead of an $80 hardware store grinder.
My buddy just brought his out on our hunts and my 2 kids and fil couldn't cut fast enough to keep up with it. We probably did 100lbs in less than 30 minutes.
I'll be investing in a good one the next couple years and definitely with the stuffer.
He had a cabelas, it was old and the motor must have weighed 60lbs, but it would do some work...

 

[HeavyAssault]

Weston #22 user here. My initial decision was based around using it to prep chicken/lamb for dog food. I watched plenty of people feed in half-frozen/frozen chicken into this size which didn't slow down this grinder. We use it for any other meat prep for ourselves at this point. This thing will chew through meat like nothing.
If you hunt around you can get it cheaper than retail. I lucked out getting mine with an additional "coupon" or discount.

Weston® Pro Series™ #22 Meat Grinder

Grind farm raised & field fresh meats for handcrafted burgers, meatloaf, sausage and more with a Pro Series Grinder.

westonbrands.com

 

[Yarak]

MEAT is the best Ive ever used and will produce quicker than I can act on it

 

[TaperPin]

Your budget is high enough you might consider a commercial Hobart, or at least one that’s built with an interchangeable commercial attachment (#12) between power head and grinder. New Hobart is crazy expensive, but lightly used Hobart equipment has all parts available if needed and will out live us all. Hobart knock offs are everywhere and almost anything aimed at restaurants will have the #12 attachment point.

The same grinder attachment can be used with a simple power head or a big commercial mixer. If your family bakes a lot of bread, or makes a lot of pizza, a 12qt Hobart mixer weighs about 150 lbs and doesn’t break a sweat mixing twice the dough that would kill a kitchaid mixer. The mixer in the picture has the proportions of of a home mixer, but it’s much much larger. We have a different brand and it would be hard to go back to non commercial for big mixing and grinding.

The Hobart clone grinding attachment shown is typical and only runs about $350. Many lower quality stand alone grinders say they are commercial grade, but the meat tray has to have extra supports because the metal is thin, the blades and plates are thinner, the grinder and power head have a proprietary attachment, and overall are cheaply made.

A restaurant supply store can be a good place to put eye on something like this, but just searching for Hobart meat grinder will turn up a lot.

edit: First time I read the original post I missed that you’re looking for a bigger 220v grinder - these are only about 3/4 hp 115v. disregard

 

[Adkhunter3]

Your budget is high enough you might consider a commercial Hobart, or at least one that’s built with an interchangeable commercial attachment (#12) between power head and grinder. New Hobart is crazy expensive, but lightly used Hobart equipment has all parts available if needed and will out live us all. Hobart knock offs are everywhere and almost anything aimed at restaurants will have the #12 attachment point.

The same grinder attachment can be used with a simple power head or a big commercial mixer. If your family bakes a lot of bread, or makes a lot of pizza, a 12qt Hobart mixer weighs about 150 lbs and doesn’t break a sweat mixing twice the dough that would kill a kitchaid mixer. The mixer in the picture has the proportions of of a home mixer, but it’s much much larger. We have a different brand and it would be hard to go back to non commercial for big mixing and grinding.

The Hobart clone grinding attachment shown is typical and only runs about $350. Many lower quality stand alone grinders say they are commercial grade, but the meat tray has to have extra supports because the metal is thin, the blades and plates are thinner, the grinder and power head have a proprietary attachment, and overall are cheaply made.

A restaurant supply store can be a good place to put eye on something like this, but just searching for Hobart meat grinder will turn up a lot.

edit: First time I read the original post I missed that you’re looking for a bigger 220v grinder - these are only about 3/4 hp 115v. disregard

I looked at Hobart at first but dang they are wicked expensive. I know they make good stuff though. The lems and all those on Amazon just look like cheap Chinese junk. If I was only doing a few deer maybe bit that’s not what I’m looking for. I prefer 220 but it’s not a requirement.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

If you're doing that much, I'd go minimum #32. A Hobart would be a good investment.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Grinders offered by the hobbyist/home-use brands (e.g., LEM, MYM, Weston) are going to all be 110V and top out at 1.5-2 hp motor size due to the simple fact that most homes aren't equipped with a general use 220V circuit. If you truly want 220V, you'll need to look at a commercial brand like Hobart. That said, I think a 110V 1.5-2 hp #32 grinder would suit your needs just fine. I personally use a #32 MYM and it eats faster than I can feed it.

 

[MikeSommers]

I've had a Weston and now have a MEAT grinder. Both have worked great. The new MEAT dual grind looks intriguing.

 

[Marble]

We have a Meat brand grinder @1.5 hp. It is the biggest throat before being considered a commercial grinder.

I have no complaints.

We do 12-16 lambs yearly, 4 at a time, 1-3 elk, 4 - 6 deer. Very happy with it.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Adkhunter3]

Anyone have experience with a “meat gear M22” grinder SS. It’s $1200. 220v. Claims to do up to 28#per minute. 2HP.

 

[TaperPin]

I looked at Hobart at first but dang they are wicked expensive. I know they make good stuff though. The lems and all those on Amazon just look like cheap Chinese junk. If I was only doing a few deer maybe bit that’s not what I’m looking for. I prefer 220 but it’s not a requirement.

There are a lot of commercial brands that aren’t familiar, so in the past I have looked at as many online restaurant supply stores as possible and many of the smaller names come up across the board and of those, some suppliers will describe some models as lighter duty than others. I was curious and did a few quick searches and there are a huge number of brands I’ve never heard of at all price ranges.

Even if you’re not crazy about a used machine, I’d search craigslist and Facebook market place once a day and it might be surprising what pops up. For a year I searched for big mixers and there’s a lot of commercial stuff of all kinds hoarded away until someone has to move, a business closes, business plan falls through, or a shop upgrades and gives an employee the old one, or even schools or other light users surplus things for pennies on the dollar.

I worked part time for a game processor as a kid and I do remember how handy a grinder with large top pan like in this photo was - setup close to the cutting table you just toss grind meat directly on the grinder and it saves a step over taking up countertop space with a tub, then transferring into the grinder. It was probably a 2hp 220v #32 machine like you’re looking for.

Oh, and stainless steel 2” x 6” meat bag filler tubes seem to be readily available for standard size grinders (#12, #22, #32) for around $30.