For those who home process their game

Titan 08

Titan 08

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WMU 248, Sherwood Park, Alberta
I have been fighting for years with a kitchen aid meat grinder, the kind that goes on a mixmaster. Yesterday my wife tried it. We processed two deer, she saw what a pain that grinder is. Today she kicked me out the door to go buy something decent, I never complained to her about it before. We did the research, checked the reviews and I picked up a LEM Big Bite, .5 hp grinder. We did 40 pounds in ten minutes without having to use the plunger. Very heavy duty stainless steel components and unit. She got into it and wouldn’t let me do the grinding which I have always done. She told me to get a good one, screw the cost, $545 including gst. Easy to operate and very quiet, easy to put together and take down, no reverse though, however from what I saw I won’t need it. It is also a sausage stuffer. I’m not advocating you go out and buy this one, but if you home process your game, do yourself a favour and don’t procrastinate like I did. I just love that lady, also tells me to buy any firearm I want as she knows it’s better than throwing it away on beer and wings, which are also a great thing. You just gotta love a good woman, 40 years together and it only gets better.

PS, between my son and myself we have a bull moose, one mule deer buck, one mule deer doe, two WT bucks and two does. It sounds like a lot but with specialty products and normal cuts it all gets used. My son can’t eat beef, he reacts strongly when he eats it.
 
I went ahead and purchased the 3/4 hp #12 big bite before this season started and I love it. Between myself my hunting buddy and family we have processed trim from 3 moose and two white tails so far this season without a single hiccup. It just chews it up and spits out burger. I love this thing.

Hurketthunter84
 
while power ones are very nice, for the couple deer I do a year I just hand crank my $50 grinder. Sure my arm gets a bit sore and I need the odd break, but I'll keep doing it by hand before I ever spend that kind of coin on a good one.
 
Have heard good things about the lem brand. We were fortunate enough to purchase a HD grinder from a failed butcher shop. I'm convinced it would grind a bull moose if you could get the nose started down the chute.
Had I not come across the used beast I would've bought a LEM.

Used to have an old cast (size of a 5 gal pail) sausage stuffer, talk about work. Now have a LEM one, maybe 6 or 8" across? Pleasure to use. While you're at cabela's they're meat tubs are excellent and cheap.
 
i have the standalone kitchenaid (?) counter top electric model.
7 years old and still gets the job done.

I would only upgrade if I thought it would save me time..... and the wife and I enjoy the entire process from field to cutting table, from cutting table to the freezer.

i suppose it would be nice to have an all stainless power sausage stuffer that holds 30lbs of ground at a time
 
I find that for the kitchenaid grinder attachment you have to have lots of fat to make it work and you need to follow their instructions to slice 1 inch thick pieces of your meat before putting it in. Granted, ive only done goose and turkey, doing 2 whole deer must take forever. Congrats on your upgrade!
 
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My dad found a good deal on a #32 hand crank grinder. He found a reduction gear box and repurposed a 1hp motor and fabricated his own powered grinder. It may not pass csa approval, but it works great and chews meat up in no time. We can grind a couple hundred pounds of beef in 15-20 minutes as long as the cutters are sharp, a smaller animal like a deer is done in no time.
 
There was a time I used a hand grinder, then on to the Kitchenaid because of some arthritis in my hand, and now this. This was my 52nd season in the field, trying for another 15-20, as we age, so does our equipment. It’s all good.
 
FishHog said:
while power ones are very nice, for the couple deer I do a year I just hand crank my $50 grinder. Sure my arm gets a bit sore and I need the odd break, but I'll keep doing it by hand before I ever spend that kind of coin on a good one.
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Me as well.
I have an ancient hand crank grinder but if I get a bit of frost into my meat it goes through the grinder just perfectly.
 
A 1hp Hobart that in most cases takes longer to clean than to grind 30lbs of meat. Neither task is time consuming and if you can fit it in the chute this machine will grind it and rarely will the motor slow a beat.
 
Heard good things about the LEM's ! Glad your happy with it ! Cabelas are supposed to good as well . It would be good to find a used Hobart or Biro in 120 V but you usually only find them in 240 V
Leavenworth
 
Titan 08 said:
I have been fighting for years with a kitchen aid meat grinder, the kind that goes on a mixmaster. Yesterday my wife tried it. We processed two deer, she saw what a pain that grinder is. Today she kicked me out the door to go buy something decent, I never complained to her about it before. We did the research, checked the reviews and I picked up a LEM Big Bite, .5 hp grinder. We did 40 pounds in ten minutes without having to use the plunger. Very heavy duty stainless steel components and unit. She got into it and wouldn’t let me do the grinding which I have always done. She told me to get a good one, screw the cost, $545 including gst. Easy to operate and very quiet, easy to put together and take down, no reverse though, however from what I saw I won’t need it. It is also a sausage stuffer. I’m not advocating you go out and buy this one, but if you home process your game, do yourself a favour and don’t procrastinate like I did. I just love that lady, also tells me to buy any firearm I want as she knows it’s better than throwing it away on beer and wings, which are also a great thing. You just gotta love a good woman, 40 years together and it only gets better.

PS, between my son and myself we have a bull moose, one mule deer buck, one mule deer doe, two WT bucks and two does. It sounds like a lot but with specialty products and normal cuts it all gets used. My son can’t eat beef, he reacts strongly when he eats it.
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I wish you were closer to me; I have a meat band saw, 3/4 hp with a meat grinder attachment. I no longer use the band-saw, but the grinder sure works!! I'm getting older, and it needs to go. We blew the gears out of our kitchen aid; got new ones off the internet, put them in the mixer and pitched the grinder attachment.
 
Titan 08 said:
I have been fighting for years with a kitchen aid meat grinder, the kind that goes on a mixmaster. Yesterday my wife tried it. We processed two deer, she saw what a pain that grinder is. Today she kicked me out the door to go buy something decent, I never complained to her about it before. We did the research, checked the reviews and I picked up a LEM Big Bite, .5 hp grinder. We did 40 pounds in ten minutes without having to use the plunger. Very heavy duty stainless steel components and unit. She got into it and wouldn’t let me do the grinding which I have always done. She told me to get a good one, screw the cost, $545 including gst. Easy to operate and very quiet, easy to put together and take down, no reverse though, however from what I saw I won’t need it. It is also a sausage stuffer. I’m not advocating you go out and buy this one, but if you home process your game, do yourself a favour and don’t procrastinate like I did. I just love that lady, also tells me to buy any firearm I want as she knows it’s better than throwing it away on beer and wings, which are also a great thing. You just gotta love a good woman, 40 years together and it only gets better.

PS, between my son and myself we have a bull moose, one mule deer buck, one mule deer doe, two WT bucks and two does. It sounds like a lot but with specialty products and normal cuts it all gets used. My son can’t eat beef, he reacts strongly when he eats it.
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Not a sausage stuffer !
 
LEM are good grinders but be aware that when you need parts they have to come from the USA and the shipping cost often is much more that the part.
 
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