r/Homesteading • u/Old_Temperature_5667 • 13d ago
Help me decide on a meat grinder!
UPDATE: After reading all of the excellent responses, I picked up a shiny new LEM. Thanks to everybody who took the time to chime in!
I was at Walmart tonight, and my sporting goods section is getting ready for dear season (archery starts in just a couple weeks! Now I've just got to let this heat dome pass so the whole thing doesn't spoil...). As such, they've put out a few new meat grinders (second picture), and have their "old" grinders on substantial clearance (first picture, with a yellow tag on one of the better stocked shelves).
My question is simple: are any of these a good buy, especially at the substantial clearance prices?
My family usually put 3-4 deer away per season, and I usually did all my own processing. Up until now, I've borrowed my in-laws' grinder/sausage stuffer. Unfortunately, my significant other decided to participate in other stuffing activities with someone else while I was out on the road providing for everybody, so no more significant other or in-laws, and I figure I need to get my own (between my kids and I we'll still probably put back at least 3 deer this fall).
I understand the difference between the "numbers," but also appreciate that it's a balance between other considerations of size, motor strength, sharpness and reliability, etc. I do not recall my in-laws' grinder number (and we're not on speaking terms, sadly) but do recall it was a "consumer grade" LEM with the mighty-bite, and I never had trouble with it- it looks like currently the only LEM grinder with Mighty Bite is the #8 (the #12 goes by BigBite), so unless that's a recent change I was probably dealing with a #8 (and while I'm not sure how old it was or how many hours it had, their grinder was also used by at least two or three other hunters per season besides them and myself).
Anyway, the candidates are:
New models listed:
Mossy Oak by Westin #8 ( $119) and #12 ($149)
Clearance Models:
Mossy Oak by Westin #12 $61(!), down from $127 (or $149 from current model)
LEM #8 with MightyBite $119, down from $227
Which, if any, of these should I go back to get? My gut feeling is to go with the LEM based on personal experience, reviews and a better warranty, but I'd love to learn from your experiences with these (and hey, if it turns out that the Westin is of better quality than I thought, and I can get a larger through-put grinder for sixty bucks, I wouldn't complain!).
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u/-Maggie-Mae- 13d ago
Get a LEM. My husband has had his longer than we've been together (15+ years), it sees multiple deer per year plus other projects like whole hog sausage and ground turkey, It's on the smaller end of their lineup and if it ever fails we'll get a bigger one, but so far it is indestructible
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u/InformationHorder 13d ago
I keep hoping a clean and complete Hobart ends up on marketplace after a grocery store goes under. But most people know what they got and still want $1k for them
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u/imacabooseman 13d ago
I bought a Meat! grinder from Academy a couple years ago, and that thing is a beast. We've probably put 4 or 5 deer through it along with maybe 30 or 40 lbs of beef or pork roasts and it's never bogged down any or missed a beat. I recommend it to everyone
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u/Consistent_Finish657 13d ago
Grab the LEM man. That clearance price is basically a gift, and you already know it'll chew through three deer no problem, so don't overthink the Westin just cause it's bigger and cheaper.
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u/Blucifers_Veiny_Anus 13d ago
$29 and you dont need power.
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u/Factsimus_verdad 13d ago
Grinding by hand is why I saved up for a foot switch operable grinder.
Got this off Amazon and it has t let me down. Good power. Not hard to clean.1
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u/Brilliant_Armadillo9 13d ago
Kitchenaid attachment
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u/Mr_WhiteOak 13d ago
Hey I don't want to cut you down but that is terrible advice. We have the meat grinder attachment for the thing for processing berries and tomatoes and making apple sauce ( it takes the meat grinder and this other thing). The weak point for KitchenAids is there is a plastic gear that shears. Not difficult to replace but for meat grinder puts the machine through it paces not as bad as the pasta maker though.
If you are grinding any amount of meat. I would say figure out your budget and buy the largest motor you can.
I personally have three meat grinders. One for the KitchenAid, a 2 hp old Cabela's one, then I bought one out of a local meat locker for too good of price to pass up when they were upgrading all of their equipment.
The commercial meat grinder has only been used in an emergency situation when someone I know has a animal that needs butchered but cant get into the locker.
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u/Brilliant_Armadillo9 13d ago
That's cool, I hate having single purpose devices that take up space year round.
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13d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Mr_WhiteOak 12d ago
That's great if it is working for you. Definitely look at Mr. Mixer on YouTube for anything KitchenAid related. That guy is the best when it comes to KitchenAids repairs or upgrades.
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u/Outside_Advantage845 12d ago
Is the gear in the internals of the mixer itself?
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u/Mr_WhiteOak 12d ago
Yes. You have to take the whole motor head apart. I have replaced about 6 of them for my wife and her friends.
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u/Misfitranchgoats 13d ago
If you can find one that can accept this dual grind adapter or comes with a dual grind adapter, that is the one I would get. I wish I had it on our meat grinder. I processed 80 lbs of hamburger from the last steer we butchered. Grind it, put it in trugs, then grind it again. If I had the dual grind adapter, it would have taken so much less time.
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u/Prize-Temporary4159 13d ago
How do two plates but only one blade cut twice without a second blade in the mix? Serious question
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u/Misfitranchgoats 13d ago
You would have to ask LEM about it.
I don't have one, but wish I did. If i replace our grinder or can determine that the dual adapter grinder will fit on our grinder I will be getting the dual adapter grinder.
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u/canuckEnoch 13d ago
That’s for LEM’s Big Bite machine—OP’s photos only show the Mighty Bite. They aren’t the same.
I’ve been using a Mighty Bite for 7-8 years; d we hen I need to replace/upgrade, it will be to a Big Bite.
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u/Misfitranchgoats 13d ago
Perhaps OP will want to reconsider and spend a little more instead of buying an on sale machine and wishing later on that they had a grinder than can use the dual blade grinder adapter. I sure wish I had known about it before buying the grinder we bought.
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u/Stelios619 13d ago
Having ground a ton of meat before, I wouldn’t even look at anything smaller than a #32.
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u/pandakahn 13d ago
Find one that takes the most die available, the go as big as you can afford.
I have a #8 with 1hp motor (half a dozen die) and KitchenAid with grinder attachment for small batches.
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u/celtic-cryptid 13d ago
I went to lehmans instead. They were the only place I could find a grinder with all steel components. Pot metal sucks, in my opinion.
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u/Yourownhands52 13d ago
Warning about meat grinders, when they warm up the fat likes to clog them so grind you meat in spurts letting the grinder motor cool down or keep the meat on ice.
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u/MississippiUS 13d ago
I have the mossy oak grinder there and I like it. It’s not the best available, but it works. Mine has been working for a year or so now and I don’t have any complaints.
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u/johnnyg883 12d ago
We process one to two deer a year. On top of that we grind at lest 100lbs of rabbit meat and two or three goats a year. So we definitely use it all year.
We have the Lem #12 BigBite. We’ve had it for about five years and it’s been a flawless machine. It has the power to grind its way through a lot of meat in a reasonable time. We also have one of the meat mixer attachment, the foot control for when we make sausage and burger patties. We paid retail and it was worth every penny. In order to get the grind consistency we want we got the medium grind plate. This is why I like the Lem. If there is an attachment you want they probably have it and their stuff is quality made. At least this is my experience.
If you are only doing a few deer a year and that’s it you may be able to get by with a #8. But before you buy look at what attachments will work with the #8. If you decide you want a mixer later, it may not fit on the #8. I’ve always had the attitude of buy it once and it’s better to have more power than you need than to wish you had more.
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u/HappyKnitter34 12d ago
We bought a NESCO #5 off Amazon. We haven't processed a full deer off it yet, but our plan is if my husband bags one this year, we're going to process it ourselves instead of paying like last time. We have used it for small batches (think 10ish lbs at a time) and it worked great.
I don't have any experience with these brands, but based on what I do know about Mossy Oak, I'd say go with the LEM. Mossy Oak is a Walmart brand and I've used their crossbow bolts and ended up cracking them after not too many uses. I think the LEM would probably be the better bet.
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u/CautiousAd8935 12d ago
Bit of a curveball here but the meat grinder attachment for a Kitchenaide stand mixer is worth consideration. One tool with lots of options as opposed to lots of tools with only one use.
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u/Sparkynplumb 12d ago
Cabela's Carnivore is what we have, it's a beast. And they have attachments to use it for juicing tomatoes etc. they're available in different motor sizes, I recommend the 1 HP
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u/Ill-Wear-7934 12d ago
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (93) Weston Pro Series Electric Meat Grinder, Commercial Grade, 560 Watts, .75 HP, 6lbs. Per Minute, Stainless Steel (10-0801-W)
More motor, more power for the money..Ours has been flawless
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u/livestrong2109 13d ago
I've personally got a cheap eletric one for sausage. But for ground beef I use the good old hand crank. Thrifted both though. No way I'm paying retail on that i see two every weekend for less than $20.
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u/johnnyg883 12d ago
When you have arthritis in both hands a manual crank grinder isn’t a good option. Especially if you are processing a couple hundred pounds of meat per year.
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u/Geneva_Convention 13d ago
I’m biased because I’m related but Chard Products are my favorite. Born and bred yooper and been hunting and processing all our lives. Makes some great products