My Grinder Sucks - Grinder reviews

[hank4elk]

Got the bacon going on the smoker and opened up the LEM box. 3/4hp #12. Cleaned the parts & got them in the freezer. Attached the foot pedal.
Started cutting up 6lbs elk neck, 4lb WT roast and 2lb half a pork shoulder and a couple pounds of pork belly for sausage.
Used the 10mm course 1st, after mixing up the meats. Mostly frozen still too. Nothing to it,10 minutes maybe.
2 6lb bowls . I got some seasonings from High Plains in CO., Wild Game sausage & Breakfast sausage (Basic). 1 tblespn per pound,hand mixed into the still ice cold meats.
Ran it through again with the 4.5 fine plate . Took a little while longer than the 1st go through.

Just had a patty of each with some fries. Very good!

Of course the cooling hickory bacon got me....dessert,4 slices. Damn good!

 

[np307]

Every single time this thread pops up my mind thinks we're talking about angle grinders (work).

 

[Jrrrrr]

Meat Your Maker #32 1.5 Model: 52023206 on rear

Commercial-Grade Stainless Steel Meat Grinder #32

 

[JEL]

I stripped the gears on my kitchenaid so I got one of these for light duty day to day stuff. It works pretty well for the price. If we are doing big jobs I drag out an old crank grinder my FIL had that he added an electric motor to. That thing would grind up a whole cat.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I have the KitchenAid Artisan mixer with the KitchenAid grinder attachment. The two biggest issues are the grinder has aluminum parts, and the Artisan has an anemic motor. Aluminum parts are hard to sanitize because the metal reacts with heat and chemicals. The grinding is a little slow - maybe 12 lbs./hr once through with no second grind required.

If I were to do over I would get the high-end KitchenAid ProLine mixer which is much more powerful (1.3 HP vs. 0.325 HP), and a compatible aftermarket stainless steel grinder attachment. I use the mixer a lot anyways for baking and cooking, so I really have no use for a standalone meat grinder.

I used to borrow my friend’s LEM - I don’t know which model for sure, but I think it was the Big Bite #8 or #12. It was “OK” - really nothing impressive for the cost.

+ @Bigjay73

My MIL got us the kitchen aid 600, so 575 watt which I think is ~.75hp?

Should I spend the money on the meat grinder attachment kit, or do I wait and buy a 1.5HP size grinder?

My wife prefers using ground for meals over roasts, so typically grind a decent portion of whatever animals I kill.

Probably looking at maybe 50-150lbs of grind a year, 150 being the high end. I imagine if I get a moose, bison, etc I will take it some place to be done. So let’s say a elk + a whitetail a year average.

I don’t mind freezing meat and doing multiple batches in a few sittings, but at the same time I don’t want to get super frustrated with an anemic grinder… been there done that.

 

[Redman]

+ @Bigjay73

My MIL got us the kitchen aid 600, so 575 watt which I think is ~.75hp?

Should I spend the money on the meat grinder attachment kit, or do I wait and buy a 1.5HP size grinder?

My wife prefers using ground for meals over roasts, so typically grind a decent portion of whatever animals I kill.

Probably looking at maybe 50-150lbs of grind a year, 150 being the high end. I imagine if I get a moose, bison, etc I will take it some place to be done. So let’s say a elk + a whitetail a year average.

I don’t mind freezing meat and doing multiple batches in a few sittings, but at the same time I don’t want to get super frustrated with an anemic grinder… been there done that.

I would recommend getting a LEM grinder vs the Kitchen Aid attachment for doing that much.

 

[Nameless Range]

+ @Bigjay73

My MIL got us the kitchen aid 600, so 575 watt which I think is ~.75hp?

Should I spend the money on the meat grinder attachment kit, or do I wait and buy a 1.5HP size grinder?

My wife prefers using ground for meals over roasts, so typically grind a decent portion of whatever animals I kill.

Probably looking at maybe 50-150lbs of grind a year, 150 being the high end. I imagine if I get a moose, bison, etc I will take it some place to be done. So let’s say a elk + a whitetail a year average.

I don’t mind freezing meat and doing multiple batches in a few sittings, but at the same time I don’t want to get super frustrated with an anemic grinder… been there done that.

Buy the attachment. The metal one costs more than the plastic one, and I am on my second plastic one. I think it’s 40 or 50 bucks so if you don’t like it you really aren’t out that much.

Over the past decade my KitchenAid has gone through well over 1000 pounds of meat, and this year went through two Elk and two deer.

Definitely not as fast and efficient as a larger grinder, but I don’t do any freezing of meat or freezing of the implements. I just get after it and get it done and run it through the finest plate on first pass and it does a good job.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I would recommend getting a LEM grinder vs the Kitchen Aid attachment for doing that much.

Have you used the 1.3 kitchen aid?

Wondering if it’s worth the hassle or trying to exchange this one and sizing up… but if the 1.3 isn’t that much better I will just wait and get something heavy duty.

 

[Redman]

Have you used the 1.3 kitchen aid?

Wondering if it’s worth the hassle or trying to exchange this one and sizing up… but if the 1.3 isn’t that much better I will just wait and get something heavy duty.

Honestly I haven't but I would hate to burn up my wife's Kitchen Aid grinding meat. I started out with a hand crank, moved up to a little electric grinder which served me well for a few years but took awhile to grind and eventually burned up the motor. I bought .5 HP LEM Big Bite and realized I should have done that a long time ago! The time savings was worth the money. I later bought a foot switch and wished I would have done that from the get go. Again I can't say how well the Kitchen Aid attachment works but those things aren't cheap if you make the magic smoke come out. LEM are tough and if you do have issues they will take care of you. I have heard good things about MEAT grinders but have never used one.

 

[Addicting]

Have you used the 1.3 kitchen aid?

Wondering if it’s worth the hassle or trying to exchange this one and sizing up… but if the 1.3 isn’t that much better I will just wait and get something heavy duty.

We killed several, waste of money. They are for if you want to make a burger. If you want to actually grind burger get a meat grinder.

 

[el unit]

Weston 1 hp grinder. Love it, but need to get the foot switch to make it easier and less mess.

 

[TOGIE]

put 15 lbs of grind pile from a gifted elk shoulder through my little dinker cabelas grinder couple days ago. still did great, the actual grinding probably took 30 minutes. i got that shit probably a little too frozen before grinding though.

that said i had 50 lbs of frozen grind piles that i had just dropped off at the processor like a day earlier. that had more to do with having a 3 month old baby and a day job than the grinder tho.

 

[Redman]

We killed several, waste of money. They are for if you want to make a burger. If you want to actually grind burger get a meat grinder.

Did you kill the attachment or the mixer? I love our mixer and see the attachment as useful for a quick grind if you want to do a quick grind of a small portion of meat. I just wouldn't risk doing a large amount and think it would take a long time as well.

 

[Derek44]

BOCO. And it’s not many tears. Just buy a grinder, you’ll thank yourself later

 

[Addicting]

Did you kill the attachment or the mixer? I love our mixer and see the attachment as useful for a quick grind if you want to do a quick grind of a small portion of meat. I just wouldn't risk doing a large amount and think it would take a long time as well.

Actually both, I think we did 2 attachments and then the gear inside the mixer. I ordered a new gear and food grade grease and repaired it. It always stunk afterwards. Junked it and got a new mixer and use it for just mixing now. No issues since we quit trying to make it a meat grinder.

I have a LEM Big Bite now with a foot pedal. No comparison and would absolutely never go back.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

My little $99 lem grinder is still going strong... At this point I must have put 700# through it over seven years... Still not the quickest, but for a budget friendly grinder I don't think it can be beat!

 

[bonniecutthroat]

We killed several, waste of money. They are for if you want to make a burger. If you want to actually grind burger get a meat grinder.

Same... eventually burned the motor on our Kitchen Aid processing an elk and a deer. I was a grad student at the time and tried to make do. Not worth it. We switched to a real grinder (older cabelas 3/4 hp) and the return on investment from just the time savings (exponentially faster than the kitchen aid) is considerable, not to mention that it is also much quieter than the kitchen aid.

 

[Redman]

Actually both, I think we did 2 attachments and then the gear inside the mixer. I ordered a new gear and food grade grease and repaired it. It always stunk afterwards. Junked it and got a new mixer and use it for just mixing now. No issues since we quit trying to make it a meat grinder.

I have a LEM Big Bite now with a foot pedal. No comparison and would absolutely never go back.

That was kinda my fear but didn't want to mislead @wllm. Better to have a good designated grinder and it will pay for itself in time saved.

 

[Khunter]

+ @Bigjay73

My MIL got us the kitchen aid 600, so 575 watt which I think is ~.75hp?

Should I spend the money on the meat grinder attachment kit, or do I wait and buy a 1.5HP size grinder?

My wife prefers using ground for meals over roasts, so typically grind a decent portion of whatever animals I kill.

Probably looking at maybe 50-150lbs of grind a year, 150 being the high end. I imagine if I get a moose, bison, etc I will take it some place to be done. So let’s say a elk + a whitetail a year average.

I don’t mind freezing meat and doing multiple batches in a few sittings, but at the same time I don’t want to get super frustrated with an anemic grinder… been there done that.

I have the newer model (metal) kitchen aid attachment. I use it on our 35 year old KA mixer. Much better than the old white plastic body models. Works fine for my small 2-10 pound batches. When I get an elk/moose etc I take it to a meat cutter, minus the straps, tenders and briskets. And cut my own deer/lope sized critters so have not been in your shoes regarding quantity you deal with. ut adtwr 2035 yers have not burned up the kitchen aid (knocks on wood).

Most of my grind is the scraps we feed dogs daily on their dry food. Have meat cutter package stuff that would be tossed out as they do my elk…plus maybe 30 pounds in addition of burger or chili grind for us of the trim from deer/lope/bighorn/goat etc. that I am cutting myself

I would NOT want to tackle a deer plus an elk with it annually. Way to slow.

Better still, see if you can cook some of your own meat/meals. Missing out by grinding so much of what could be great steaks and roasts and stew meat. Texture matters in cooking, IMO. (Note I dod not suggest askimg your wife to change what she is doing, LOL).

Do not have a stand along grinder so no comment on those. ut am seriosuly contemplating gettimg a decent set up that includes quality stuffer ability. Too cheap to pay for snakck sticks, summer sausage at meat cutter and tired of doing without that good stuff.

 

[kwyeewyk]

Ain't pretty but might be worth a look, hard to beat old stuff, get a good stuffer or slicer with the savings.

IBM Meat Grinder - general for sale - by owner

Old IBM Meat Grinder. Very powerful, two sets of blades.

grandrapids.craigslist.org