Meat Grinder

[jecucolo]

I am thinking about making sausage and wonder what type of recommendation my pit folks would make. I don't plan on making a whole lot. Any help would be appreciated.

[ComfortablyNumb]

Depends on how much you are making and what kind of budget you have. I use Weston products and am happy with them. Whether you go with them or not make sure the company has parts and you can get it serviced if need be. LEM is another well known brand.

[lonnie mac]

I have the LEM #12. WAAAAAAYYYYY way over the top I know. But I do love the thing. In retrospect, the grinding attachment for my KitchenAid mixer is totally adequate for what I need. Heck, there are some great hand grinders out there too.

http://www.lemproducts.com/product/big-bite-grinder-12-head-size/butcher-meat-grinders

LEM also makes some fine hand grinders too. If you are into a burger or two, or a pound of sausage every now and then, then this may be the way to go. Don't be like Lonnie Mac.

[texastweeter]

Both me and Dad use the Kitchenaide to grind at home. Grammy uses a hand grinder older than both of us. Both get the job done. For bigger portions her hand grinder is a beast, assuming you have enough great grandchildren and grandchildren to power it.

[RonB]

If you have a Kitchenaide, they make a meat grinder attachment that works well for smaller amounts.

[lonnie mac]

Tell me about it brother!

[Karon Adams]

we use our kitchen out for daily burger grinds and small batch fresh sausage

[hoovarmin]

It's good to get an endorsement on the kitchenaide from trusted sources. I've had my eye on it for a while but wondered if it was a good investment. Thanks dudes.

[bbqoaf]

I agree with the kitchenaide endorsement, love mine.

[Livermoron]

Oh...it's worth it. You'll end up buying a few attachments, but it will become your kitchen workhorse.

[texastweeter]

Do it and never look back

[Psinderson]

I have a Gourmia that works well. I haven’t used it extensively thought...but I would like that to change.

[Jerod Broussard]

Definitely go small. I have a 1/2 horsepower that I really need for deer processing. But I am seriously considering a stainless hand crank for small jobs cause that 1/2 horsee is a pain to lug around. It's only a #8.

[Sephon]

I'm going to agree with the Kitchen-aid endorsement. I use the grinder ALL the time. But I want to state for the record, I AM NOT endorsing the sausage stuffer for the Kitchen-aid.

I bought a dedicated stuffer after many many disappointments with the Kitchen-aid stuffer.

Best advice for using the Kitchen-aid grinder is to use almost frozen meat. After I cube it, I put it in the freezer with all the metal parts for the grinder and stuffer, for about 30-45 minutes.

[JCBBQ]

Yes! Great advice.

[TripleB]

Spot on concerning the sausage stuffer attachment. If you don't make sausage a lot, like me, you need a hand crank to regulate the speed, composition, etc.

[(Lance)]

I too use the Kitchen-aid grinder and stuffer attachments. Sephon my first stuffer experiment with the attachment was a disaster because I was pushing as much ground meat the hopper and tube can handle; however, the product tips and tricks page says to feed "pinches" of meat into the tube. I have success now when after grinding and mixing sausage I make 1" meat balls that can be dropped down the tube and get caught in the auger. Not ideal with an added step in the process and I still have to use the pusher once in a while, but I am no longer throwing a temper tantrum in my kitchen

[Locotech]

I love makin' sausage. My rig is a little more homemade..lol. works great though. Motor, 57x speed reducer and an old #30 manual grinder.

[jecucolo]

This is my kind of sausage maker

[Black99vette]

Love the mod!!!

[TripleB]

Check out sausagemaker.com. They got it all.

[Hulagn1971]

This is the model I have and it works great https://www.amazon.com/Waring-Pro%C2...grinder+waring
Has yet to fail. I do as others have mentioned and make sure the meat I am using is almost frozen and the metal attachment parts have been in the freezer for at least 20 minutes prior to grinding.

[Dr ROK]

Kitchenaide is probably the way you want to go if you are doing smaller batches. You may be interested in the following:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/06/how-to-buy-use-clean-and-maintain-a-meat-grinder-attachment-recommendations.html

[JimLinebarger]

I have the LEM #8 coming next week. Just went through looking. I googled "the best meat grinder 2017" and checked out a few of the review sites. I looked at the following models:

Home kitchen series
STX INTERNATIONAL STX-3000-MF Megaforce (can see it on Youtube)
STX International Model STX-3000-TF Turboforce
WESTON #8 HEAVY-DUTY ELECTRIC MEAT GRINDER
REALTREE OUTFITTERS® #8 650 WATT ELECTRIC MEAT GRINDER
Kitchner #12 ELECTRIC MEAT GRINDER
LEM # 8 575 WATT COUNTERTOP GRINDER
Cabela's Deluxe Grinder

The Pro models I looked:
LEM #8 BIG BITE GRINDER - 0.5 HP
WESTON PRO SERIES™ #8 ELECTRIC MEAT GRINDER (¾ HP)
Cabela's Pro Series DC Grinder

Things I considered:
Price.
How much I would use it.
What I would use it for.
Availability of parts.
Reputable company.
Do they have a website?
Can I actually find the company or just places that sell the item?
Will the company still be in business years from now?
Construction of grinder.

I have been using the attachment for my KitchenAid mixer. I already lost one mixer to a piece of bone and since we are now grinding our own ground beef and stuff, don't want to loose a 2nd mixer.
Most of the home versions use plastic internal gears. They can take a beating but if you have a piece of bone in the meat they can strip. The STX Megaforce seems to be a good unit and all of the review/rating pages I went to had one or both of them. (The main difference is the Megaforce has a cooling fan.) I looked to see if I could purchase replacement or additional grind plates and knives. For most of the home kitchen versions there were no additional plates or even replacements plates available on their sites. (STX does have them at https://mercantilestation2.com/).
After watching a home user run his LEM #8, I started leaning heavy on the LEM over the STX or Weston's. Also, grinding and associated things is all that LEM does. The price was what was a little harder to get over. But I want something that will outlast me from a reputable company that seems like they will be around for a long time. I also wanted metal gears. My wife and I are now talking about grinding our own hot Italian sausage for our homemade pizzas and thinking about more uses than just hamburger.
If you don't push the ones with plastic gears they can work out well. The STX video had a guy forcing frozen chicken parts in the grinder and it handled it. Also, keeping the plates and the knives sharp will help. I am going to look for a wide diamond sharpener to keep them sharp.

[EdF]

Looks like a great deal!

[DWCowles]

Kitchenaide works fine for me.