I have processed my own deer for years, was a professional meat cutter in another life. Last several years, I was boning and chunking up my deer,taking to the local processor, he would grind them and package, 15-20 minute job for $25, since most of the work was done. Last 2 years I weighed the meat before I took it, last year, last 2 deer wife and I killed, we only got back about 1/2 of what we took. I weighed it in a hanging bag before. I could see losing 4 -5 pounds as waste, not #45. I talked with him about this, he got mad, said he wasnt doing anymore deer. Long story short, I am looking at buying one on ****, some other reputable dealers online, just wondering if any of you guys have your own electric meat grinders, looking for feedback, pros/cons. All feedback appreciated. I utilize every scrap I bone off, makes some good summer sausage, bratwurst for the grill, chili, lasagna, etc. We dont buy hamburger period, wife and I and my daughter have gotten so used to venison last 30 years, we prefer it. And with the price of beef, I cant talk myself into butchering one of our beefs that I can sell at top dollar. The wife and I usually kill about 6 deer a year, and may get one or two given to us that other local hunters wont eat. I am hoping to be adding an elk to that # in about 7 weeks.
I bought an electric grinder from Northern Tool. Was about $120 and its been worth every dime. I've ground up several hundred pounds of wild hog and so far this season about 20 pounds of venison scrap meat and its served me well.
Try to get a good heavey duty one that comes apart easy for cleaning. I went through two cheaper ones before investing in a good one and have been using this one for several years now. A little pricey but well worth it in the long run.
We've ground venison burger for years. My folks bought the grinder probably 20 years ago - one of the white plastic electric ones from Cabela's - probably $100. I bet Mom has put well over 100 deer through that old grinder. If I were going to buy one myself (especially in your shoes as an ex-meat cutter) I'd do some research and get the best one I was willing to pay for. The little one Mom uses takes a long time - you get a semi-commercial version and you'll be better off.
Cons - if you try to put too much silver-skin through it the meat will have some strings in it and be pretty wet. She usually grinds on "coarse" then regrinds some of it on "fine" if needed.
Pros - you won't end up with other people's deer (that were not taken as good care of as yours) mixed in with yours. You can also choose what (if anything) to add (fat, pork, etc). We never added anything.
R
I watched an online video, was alot like the one you describe Ryan, pretty fast though and they even put chicken legs whole through it. The good ones, all stainless,1.5-2hp are going for around $200, and have 2-3 year warranty's. If you guys have the websites, please PM them to me. Thanks.
I bought a Waring Pro 450 in 2006. I grind about 100# a year and I share it with a hunting buddy who probably grinds about the same.
So far, so good.
There are other ones out there that cost more but I got mine for $150. I think it was a good buy but you may be looking for something a little more stout. I usually grind about 10 - 20 pounds at a time. Grind time for me is about a minute per pound.
Swampdrummer is right I bought one from Northern Tools also and it has worked very well.
I bought one from Northern Tool several years ago. I only do maybe 3-4 deer a year but I am very pleased with it. I caught it on sale w/free shipping and got it for $90
It has a 1000 watt motor vs the one from Cabelas has a 500 watt motor for more money.
If i was doing a lot more I would have looked at one of the better one that will run $3-400.
Buy a good heavy duty model not a cheap one.
I got one that was a commercial one at a auction and it will go through the meat in no time.
Look for a large throat area or you will need to cut all small chunks.
Just the head (cutting area)of my machine comes off for cleaning and takes all of 5 minutes to do.
One with replaceable parts and the stuffer is nice also.
If you buy a nice one a person can make some extra grinding others. Or gdind for part of the meat with agreed upon amount.
I dont remember how much it was but, the wife bought a Kitchen Aid mixer. We got a grinder attachment for it and it works great. It also serves double duty in the kitchen so its serves multiple tasks.
When I found out I wasn't getting the deer I dropped off I started doing My own... Backstrapes, steaks and ground meat.
I would never carry another deer to a processing center. Like you said some of your meat will dissapear and you are probably not getting YOUR deer back. I carried a small doe I killer on a permit hunt out of state to be processed and when I came to pick it up the local game warden was waiting. Luckily I was legal but I still thought it was rotten for the butcher to call in on me.
As other have said, make sure you get a heavy duty version. We used an old Hobart with a 5 horse motor on it the last time we had a grinding party (2 elk). Put a chunk in and it wouldn't load down at all. Best grinder I ever used - unfortunately it burned up in a fire shortly after that. I used to grind burger in the grinder attachment for an Oster Kitchen Center but neither the motor nor the gears (plastic) could handle it, it was just too light duty.
I built this one last year. Modeled it after one I found online. Works like a champ!
If you go this route, please be careful, or build some gaurds for it. That motor isn't easy to stall. I'm betting it would take your whole hand, and half your forearm before over loading.
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Grinder-1.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Grinder-2.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Grinder-3.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Grinder-4.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Grinder-5.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Grinder-6.jpg)
(http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o203/Apex-Predator/Grinder-7.jpg)
I have been using one for the last 4 years that I bought at wally world for about $70. I only use it for our deer season so it only does on average 3-4 deer per year, It does a great job for what I do.
We do our deer, hogs, elk whatever each year. Have a 1 hp from cabelas. It flat will grind meat. That and a industrial vacumn packer and your good to go for life.
Mike
Have a grinder at the lodge in Alabama. Don't recall make or hp of motor but do remember it was around $350. Worth every penny, we normally will quarter deer and remove backstrap and tenderloin then chill overnight. With 3 people working we can bone, cut, grind and vacuum pack 3 deer in about an hour.
Know exactly where meat came from, how it was handled, and what's in it. Usually don't add fat of any kind but will on occasion.
I never have and never will use a commercial Processor. JMO
I have been grinding everthing but the backstraps and tenderloins for years and use most for jerkey.
We, my neighbor and I grind about 1000 lbs a year, between the hogs, nilgai, and deer, using a grinder like pictured above, we usually grind twice, once coarse, and once fine 1/4 vs 1/8. The grinder is getting ancient and we have to sharpen the knives at least once.(by honing). It makes a lot of smoked sausage, we keep three smoke houses full. (back yard variety)
We do wait till we see a cold front coming as it can be warm down here.
I bought mine from Northern tool on one of the specials... about 6 years ago... The price I just found under Google was under $100.. look at a catalog or check online for coupon codes... and you may do even a lil better....
I did my homework, I figured it was a relabelled chinese made TASIN grinder.... But this thing is used by many folks for many different things... The thing that amazed me is how some folks had been using one on a weekly basis to make a homemade dog food recipe for "BARF." These folks grind up bones as well to make this pet food... often weekly!!!! Since I use it 3-4 times a year and the worst thing I use is thawed pork fat for making brats and kielbasa.... This thing has an easy life...
The only thing I can say is this.... It works great!!! But it utilizes some very cheap components... it will work fine, but you will upgrade and buy some stainless grinder plates and knives(the cutting tool in the grinder itself...) And do not use the dishwasher on the aluminum AS IT TAKES OFF THE PROTECTIVE COATING AND ALLOWS FOR OXIDATION...
All in all with the sale and about 15 deer under it's belt and a bunch of pork fat for sausage... I will say, I have gotten my moneys worth!!! And it still works like a champ... As most home processing goes... you start and stop a lot, so the issue of overheating is minimal... Now if you have 3 folks working in tandem like a production line... you may pop the breaker... only happened to me once... But a cool beverage of fermented hops and barley later, everything was cool and worked till enough venison and pork fat was ground once rough, mixed and ground again... mixed with the sausage spices... then stuffed into casings and smoked!!! 60# and figure everything had to be run through 3x... It did very well!!!
A verifiable bargain... just use it within it's capacity and you'll be fine!!! In time realize that you will want 3 meat tubs... the silicone spray and brush... and a stainless knife and a large grinding plate and a fine gringing plate.. and if you do cased sausages, a stuffing plate...as for stuffing tubes, I stick with the plastics cheap ones and sand the edges becuse they work better with the dried/rehydrated salted casings....
From this level up, I can't see how you could go wrong!!!
guy got pissed because you caught him red handed stealin your meat.i had a butcher try and pass half a 6x6 elk off as a whole one once.'tried'.we argued for ten minutes or more about the amount of full boxes which was only four.get 8 out of a cow i told him. then i said i weighed it before i brought it in and there wasnt much fat on it because i debone and trim well so i have less to pack out. i told him to show me the weight slips.he suddenly remembered he had left 4 or 5 big banana boxes of my meat in the freezer.my ass i told him,get my meat ya thief and be snappy so's i can get out of your establishment and spread the word you're a no good lyin thief....should of seen his face,thought he was gonna either hurl or piss himself.ya think they'd figure it out huh. :dunno: :dunno:
I also have a 1HP from Cabelas and it works great.
Apex,
Thanks for the pictures of your home made setup. I've got the grinder already, I'm an industrial mechanic in a place that throws away literally tons of stuff that would work. I've got an old but I think unused motor in the garage and a pile of scrap wood so I guess I have no excuse except finding some pulleys.
Where did you get the big pulley on the back of the grinder? Did you modify the connection at all?
Gonna have to make one of these setups for sure....
Dave, I believe the large one came from an outlet that sells grinders. I used this guys plans, but modified it some. I used a #32 grinder and a 1 hp motor. Most of the stuff came off the big auction site. The base is a box with a removable bottom to access the mounting hardware.
http://www.sausagemania.com/grinder.html
I shopped around a couple of years ago and ended up purchasing an LEM gringer off of fleabay. Basspro sells the same brand. I bought the .35hp model. I believe it sells at big stores for around 275, plus tax. Or, maybe that was the sale price. Either way, I got mine for 250 shipped which is not bad cause they're pretty heavy. From my experience, I would not purchase one any smaller. I kind of wish I had gone with the .50, or .75hp model as they have the reverse switch. That comes in real handy if the grinder wants to stall. I've turned mine off and then when I turn it back on, it's locked up. A reverse switch would save me the trouble of taking the feed tube off and cleaning the blades. As long as I keep it turning, it's fine though. I owned two of those plastic housing grinders for around a hundred bucks and burnt both of them up. If you're going to get one which will last you for years, I'd say you're going to spend close to 300 bucks. If you're smart, you'll spend a hundred or so more bucks extra and go with something which has a 1hp motor. I know that's what I'd do if I could. Good luck.
I've got a question for all you grinders out there. I am still using a hand crank model and it works ok. My only complaint is that I get a lot of meat that comes out at the end that is ground mush. I.E. It has been over processed in the grinder. I'm using the largest diameter end on the grinder but I still have this happen. My wife complains that she doesn't like the texture of deer and I think this is part of the problem. Anyone dealt with this problem. Any solutions?
If your meat is kind of like mush, there are two reasons I'm aware of. First, your cutting blade probably needs to be replaced as it may be dull. Second, if you cut your meat up and put it in the freezer until it starts to freeze, but not hard, it will go thru any grinder much better. It's a world of difference and you'll have to try it to see the difference. Also, I make sure that I tighten down a bit on the grinder head after I turn it on and I apply a touch of cooking oil to the blade and screen prior to assembly.
Chris another reason is sinew/sliversking wrapped around the cutter, slows down the movement of ground burger int he grinder and makes the mushy burger. I have had the same problem with a hand operated grinder. I appreciate all the feedback guys. Now if the deer and elk will cooperate.
I have that grinder from Northern Tool also. Awesome buy. They run it on sale every year. I don't remember what model, but it gobbles up the meat and does not bog down. Paid around a $95 five years ago. I still see it on sell.
Yup Chris, partially frozen meat cuts a LOT better.
On my hand crank that seemed to be getting a little dull, I put some comet cleanser all over the cutting surfaces and cranked it to try to lap the blades to the grinder face. Seemed to work somewhat but then I got to thinking that I'd have to do every single plate and each one might be changing the mating surfaces so I gave up on that idea. Still, the blade did seem to cut better afterwards.
I have a 1 1/2 horse power that works really well; it takes time; but its worth it.
I cut meat commercially for a while; as an employee. A lot of meat gets tossed if it has dirt on it or gravel - as gravel can ruin grinder blades.
We processed an elk once that was shot with a rifle; once through the front shoulders; once through the back legs; once up both back straps; and one through the neck. I think we got about 50 pounds of meat off that entire elk!
Most butchers have a rule about deer- you get so many steaks; so many roasts and so much burger.
A good meat processor will take care of all the meat- do each deer once at a time; and return all the meat to the hunter. As it should be.
Hey Dave- I was thinking that if you had a setup like the one shown above - the right switch might be from a sewing machine- so that you can just move your foot and not lose your arm... the humongous grinder we used at the processor had a knob you could hit to cut the power instantly.
10 % beef suet is a way to flavor up the burger some...
I have a hand-operated grinder just like Apex Predator's; I automated it a little bit differently though. I used a 90 degree, 10 to 1, gear reducer and attached that to my drill press. I am turning at about 35 RPMs and it seems to be working all right. Curious about how fast grinders are supposed to be cranking (RPM)?
I use 1/2 hp one from Cabelas. You can grind a couple hundred pounds of meat in a few minutes. I use it for stuffing sausage also.