Meat Grinders

[Mr.Lubie]

Just wondering what meat grinder set-up you use for game processing.I process all my deer and have always used the ol' hand grinder.Huge pain in the butt and you spend more time cleaning then anything else.
Last year I processed at my cousins house and he had a #12 LEM electric grinder.He does a lot of elk,bear,deer hunting and does all his own processing with the LEM.After I used it I was blown away by how much faster and easier grinding venison was.
So with that experience I decided to start searching for a new electric grinder.What I found were prices that seemed to be all over the place and most had crappy reviews.Seems that most until you starting getting in a high (for my budget) price range that they most have plastic gears and most don't survive the first deer that gets fed thru them.After looking online at several different makes I read a lot of people griping about cheap finish and rust issues.
Ended up going to the Bass Pro Shop website and found they carry the LEM brand and with 51 reviews they still had a 4.8 out of 5.0 rating.Looking promising especially since I loved the one I had used at my cousins house.Oh wait they all have steel gears,can all use the same attachments rather it be a #22 or even a #5. This point I'm getting excited and start checking the prices.Hmmm $500 bucks is to much,so I scroll through the models and bam! Find the #5 rated at .25hp and will grind 4lbs a minute.Hey thats all I need.I doubt I can keep up with that anyways.Check the price and it's normally $269 but it just happens to be on sale for $199
Needless to say I have a brand spanking new LEM #5 electric grinder heading my way and fedex will have it here by Monday! She weighs 35lbs according to fedex

It got me curious what you all use and if you have good/bad experience with different makes/models.

Also if anyone is around the Jackson County area and would rather come and process there deer instead of sending it off to a meat locker and paying out your butt and not even getting your own deer meat back then I will be happy to let you come and use the new LEM and try your hand at processing your deer.
All I ask is that you bring your own freezer paper,freezer tape and freezer bags,no alcohol and you bring trash bags to cart off your carcass,and help me clean up the area.Tips are appreciated lol.I process outside so you better dress for the weather.I'm not a expert at any means when it comes to doing a professional butcher job,but then again I don't care what my steak looks like as long as it taste great.
I will be on vacation during the whole firearm season so any day of the week is good as long as I am not hunting that day.Shoot me a PM and try to give me at least a 24hour notice so I can let you know for sure that I can help you process or if you should make other arrangements.
Looking to help out 2-3 people this year.
Be safe and have a good hunt!

 

[Mike H]

Here is what I do.
I process my own deer. Debone and package as steaks, backstraps, and hamburger.
I don't care for roasts.
Hamburger meat is everything thing that is not steak or backstraps.
I do not pre-grind before freezing. I put small chunks of deboned meat [no sinew,fat etc.] in 1 lb. pkg. and freeze.
When we need hamburger I defrost a pkg. for about 3 minutes, cut semi frozen meat and grind it in a food processor. Grinding the meat semi frozen produces the nicest crumbly vension hamburger you ever seen. + it's fresh ground. Don't try this with fresh or thawed meat. It will ball up in a hurry.
It's fast and easy. No expensive grinder.
I've been doing this for appx. 30 years and it works for me.

 

[jsr77]

Processing your own!
We hang our deer for a day or two (weather/temp. permitting)
Then we debone everything (If roast are wanted, cut them at that time)
Next we cut tenderloins
All the meat trimmings are cut in smaller pieces (typically no longer than 3"x3")
We usually grind right away if the deer is nice and cold at boning.
Then we use the larger grind screen & grind the meat for the first round
We typically use 7# of beef trimming fat w/ our burger.
Next we chill the meat for about 20 min. & grind again using the smaller screen.
(using a commercial hobart grinder bought on Craigslist for $50)
We then make some patties...rest in 2 & 3# packages.
Wrapping is done in a wrapping paper bought a GFS. One side is waxed.
After wrapping we use a clothes iron to quickly seal the tail of the wrapping.
Sames money, know it's your deer, and tastes better. Several ways to do, this just happens to be how we like to approach it!

 

[simpleman44]

U will get lots of use out of your #5 lem grinder. I've had mine for 5 yrs now and have ground about 40 deer with it.

 

[Sailor]

I use an attachment to the kitchenaid mixer. Works fine for the low volume I do.

 

[PistolBob]

I quit using a meat grinder when I bought a meat cuber machine about 10 years ago. I don't care for ground venison and I think it is a waste of good meat. I take my steaks out, and my back straps, and the "football" roasts off the hind legs. The rest I just start cutting into chunks and toss it into the cuber. I usually bag up about 3lbs of cubed meat per package. This is how I cook it.

Take a cake pan, layer in the cubed meat so it covers the bottom of the pan. Diced up an onion and sprinkle on the meat, diced up a cup or two of fresh mushrooms, and sprinkle on top of that. Now mix up a cup of red wine, 2 packs of brown gravy mix, a couple of shakes of garlic powder, and 1.5 cups of water. Pour that over the meat.

Bake in the oven on 350 for about 90 minutes. Serve with smashed taters.

You'll never grind your meat again. Word of caution...a decent meat cuber will set you back $500. Mine is a commercial model I bought at an auction for restaurant gear, I paid $320 for it. Worth it's weight in swiss steak.

 

[Sailor]

Canned venision tastes more like beef than any other method imo. I grind it so I can make italian, breakfast, and summer sausage

 

[PistolBob]

Canned venision tastes more like beef than any other method imo. I grind it so I can make italian, breakfast, and summer sausage

We can our venison in chunks, but we do grind it when we make sausage...which isn't all the often unfortunately. A guy down in TN showed me a trick he uses. He takes 5 lbs of ground venison, and grinds it with 2 lbs of Jimmy Dean sage pork sausage. Puts it all in a big covered container and lets it sit in the fridge for a couple of days. Then he stuffs the casings, and it is the best breakfast sausage I have ever eaten. Just the right amount of fat and the seasoning marry into the venison really well.

 

[Hoosierdood]

I just bought a new Sam Baere SB-500 grinder. They use all metal gears, are rated at 200 lbs per hour, and are powerful enough to grind up soft bones (like poultry). They have them on their web site on sale for $144.90 plus shipping, but I found the same model on eBay for $123.80 shipped. Looks like a good grinder. Can't wait to use it.



Sam Baere SB-500 #10/12 Grinder

eBay - Sam Baere SB-500 Meat Grinder

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxzq_kRavqc[/ame]

 

[rn7554]

I got a panasonic off Amazon for $110 couple years ago.