Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Best meat grinder?

I thought it was maybe General Melchett.

I have an old (was in my Grandfather's butcher shop that he started in '46 it is a heavy beast but boy does it grind meat. If it died I would look into buying a used one at a used restaurant supply store or auction.

My BIL has a LEM #22 with the 1 hp motor. I've used it a couple of times and decided it was too big, so I bought the LEM #8 with the 1/2 hp motor. So far, it's done good.

That's the one I have. It's adequate. I would like a #12, about all I need.


Travis likes 10"....

Hmm, no idea.

How would you know?

Where is the connective tissue clogging?
If it’s at the grinder plate I have noticed a big different when I got new grinder plates and a bought a dedicated knife for each plate and kept them paired up as opposed to one knife and a few different plates.
In the neck and alongside the along the auger?
I have learned to cube up the meat and put it on cookie sheets one layer thick and set in the freezer as I go then take out and feed the grinder. I get much less clogging from frosty meat than cool but totally thawed meat, also I take the neck and auger attachment off when I am not running them between batches little breaks etc. and set in a meat lug full of ice water to keep it chilled.
It seems to me the clogging gets as temperature of the meat and the grinder go up. That’s another reason why I think a bigger grinder works better because it goes faster and has less time to get hot.

Tag

We have had the Cabelas 1.5 hp. It has been an awesome grinder for ten years and is still like new. We grind 4-6 animals a year.
Get the bigger grinder. The little ones struggle with sinew and heat. At least 3/4 hp IMO.
Also, the $60.00 foot peddle is awesome. Starts and stop with a foot switch. Way better control and you don't have to use your greasy hands to turn switches on and off/reverse.

Glad this got bumped ‘cause I posted the wrong info. Got the grinder out last week to make pork sausage and discovered I actually have the 1/2HP #8 Carnivore. Everything else was true . Doing just as much but with a smaller grinder than I remembered.

I have a Toledo Chopper from a deli that closed. You can put in a whole deer, and meat flows like water. I don't use it, because it is too big to bring up from the basement.
Good machine for a camp with a lot of deer to be processed.
If any one n PA needs it, I could sell it local.

Well I ordered a LEM Big Bite #12 and LEM accessory kit, can't wait.

I just finished with a cow elk. The LEM #12 was great. No issues at all!

you did good!

In my experience you might be money ahead to find a used commercial grinder rather then some of the home use ones I have seen. My first (which I still have as a backup) is an old hobart #12 I found on ebay for $300-400 about 15 or 16 years ago. It was old then. Not the biggest and not the most powerful but it ate a lot of meat. I ran a beef through it once which I would not recommend unless you don't mind feeding a grinder for hours on end.

I upgraded to a Hobart 5 HP 3-phase with a phase convertor that I bought from a grocery store for $500. It worked ok but you lose 1/3 of your power unless you go with a rotary convertor. If I had to stop/start with tempered meat in the head it would sometimes struggle to start. No problem if it was at full speed.

Finally sold that and found a good used Biro single phase 3 HP. I had to pay up to get it but I still paid a fraction of a new one and I am sure I could sell it today for more then I paid. I am sure my grandkids will be grinding with this one.

Sorry, I thought this was about my ex-girlfriend.