Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire LEM Meat Grinders, plate size/techniques for venison

Good day,

I've searched the archives already but thought this may be a timely subject since deer seasons are in full swing. After years using a Northern Tools $100 grinder I decided to up my game and got a LEM #12 and foot petal. What a beast! I flew flew through the initial grind and the coarse plate. You can't feed this thing fast enough to keep up. Upon a second grind/bagging it really bogged down and I had to use the pusher. The meat was cold but not partially froze and was well trimmed but not completely free of all sinews that occur in the middle of the larger roasts. I'm thinking: 3/16 plate is just too fine for deer or maybe the meat needed partially frozen. The machine is really nice and definitely has the power but the once ground meat wanted to hang up on top of the auger. The 3/16 plate also seemed to get gummed up. I was initially using the large plastic stuffer to fill bags as I went.

I'm thinking about ordering the 1/4 (6mm) plate and using this for my final grind. Questions are....

1) Will the 1/4 plate produce a fine enough grind for burgers etc?
2) Is the 2 inch stainless tube needed to stuff bags on the final grind or will the large plastic tube work?
3) Is it helpful or needed to have a separate blade for each plate (matched set)?

Love to hear tips/tricks from longtime users. Thanks

Bigger the better.

Regardless of the size plate you use, you always want to cut your grind pieces as short as you can across the Silver skin and meat grain. I try to cube them into 2" cubes or less. I don't recall the plate size I use but one grind into the plastic tube into the bags works for us. Mix it with a little breakfast sausage to make it stick together.

Interesting point Colorado1135. I never thought of the length of the cuts matter and have always just down strips to diameter that works through the initial grind.

I use a 7mm plate and only grind once. I mix in about a third 73 27 beef burger. Thinking about going with a bigger plate and running it through twice to mix it better.

I don't grind shanks or neck anymore as I've found better use for them. I also leave a lot of meat around the joints since I boil them for soup. I'm not terribly picky about the silver skin but most of the tendons left are pretty small.

Bucktail,

The shanks can really 'gum up' a smaller grinder. I usual go the osso bucco route with them too.

I did the same thing too, just whatever chunks fit would go in, if they were long even better easier to feed. Then one day just decided to cut them into smaller chunks for my daughter to grab easier when she was helping me and I never had an issue with it bogging down and there was little silverskin on the plate when I removed it. been doing it ever since and have zero issues. The lower shanks if cut fine have no issues (did them once just to test my theory) but I save those for canning, it's a much better use for them. there's a thread in the deer hunting subforum right now about canning actually.

Always double grind. Get the second grind batch nearly frozen. It helps a lot to use cookie sheets instead of the meat lugs for the second grind so they’re more evenly chilled. Also, while you’re freezing your second grind batch, toss your grinder components in the freezer, too. When it’s slowing down, it’s the fat warming up and starting to cake a little. The second grind is always going to be a little slower because you don’t have big chunks to throw through there.

I can get through my second batch just as quickly with smaller first batch cuts as I can with big chunks in my first grind, makes no difference so I’d leave them big so you can go faster and keep the grinder parts cooler.

No clue on the stuffing question but bigger is better if you’re stuffing bags right from the grinder. I have a sausage stuffer and just use that for stuffing bags.

Good luck, keep us posted.

Freeze the meat to a "popcicle" consistency. Freeze the ginder nck and auger too. Extra big plate for first one, keep it cold, then smaller grind second and package.

I grind twice through the coarse plate, colder the better.
YMMV

I only double grind venison if I am mixing fat in with it. I grind a lot of straight venison and I only grind one time using the size plate for the use of the meat. Taco salad meat, no added fat and small plate. Chili, no added fat and large plate. Spaghetti, no added fat, small plate. Stuffed sausage I have done several ways but think that I have settled on 60% pork shoulder and 40% venison, ground separate once, and then mixed by hand before stuffing. I use a stuffer instead of the grinder. I am still kinda new at the stuffed sausage, and still experimenting but the kielbasi that I made this way turned out great. Also some summer sausage too. miles

He shouldn't have a problem with the lem getting hot although chilled/half froze meat does grind easily. The Cabela's brand grinders suck for that, they'll get hot enough to cook the meat. I bought the biggest one they make a few years ago. After one deer I brought it back and ordered an lem the same size. My first lem I bought 12 years ago in college was one of if not the smallest they made at the time. But with that thing I did 30+ deer, two dozen antelope and a dozen elk. And it never missed a beat and is still going strong. Sold it to a friend and fellow member here when I got the bigger one. The only reason I went bigger was to grind the meat quicker when I started processing game on the side. I should have never tried changing brands, Cabela's grinder sucks and I openly apologize to LEM. I tried the other brand so I could save a few bucks and it wasn't worth it at all and ended up costing me more in the long run. I'll never buy anything other than LEM from here on out as long as they keep up what they are doing.

COLD, seems to be a common thread here. I also use large cooking sheets for meat and usually am working with two of them. I'll put one in the freezer, while grinding the other. Meat stays cold but not real cold. I may just need to take a break and let meat crisp up before trying a fine second grind next time. I usually just want to push through and get the job done. Single ground meat can get very sticky, and makes sense it doesn't want to feed smooth.

On mixing in fat; I understand this for sausage, but part of the reason I do venison is the healthiness. No fat in my meat. In my experience it is not needed for sauces, chili etc. When making a burger I add in some olive oil and a egg yolk or two. It will hold together just fine.