# Electric Meat Grinder



## gimpy

Aren't there any functional electric meat grinders (that don't cost a fortune) that are NOT made in China? It seems all the manufacturing has been outsourced over the last 10 years and what comes back is simply incompetently made. Old reliable brands are now pieces of junk riding off their old name. Ideally every week or couple of weeks I need to grind 20-30 pounds of meat and I'm tired of having to wait, delay a project for a grinder or other piece of electronics to arrive in the mail only to have to send it back. They never reimburse shipping. I think they intentionally have defective products and make their money off shipping. But, that's another rant. Every manufacturer I wrote to with a grinder under 500 dollars has been made in China.

Putting a motor on a hand grinder is not an option for me. There are NO butchers in the region. A Hobart seems ideal, but those are well over a thousand bucks.


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## Our Little Farm

Do you have a kitchen aid mixer? The grinders that go on those are fantastic.


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## Solarmom

This may or may not help- but I got a #12 grinder with reverse from www.northerntool.com for $129 I think- It works great -I've made ground round,pork,chicken, summer sausage,bratwurst, you name it- I don't know if it was made in China or not. Cabelas has very nice commercial grinders if you can spend $200-500. And they sell several attachments that make me swoon  I'll get one of those one day- this Northern too grinder was the first for me and I am very happy with it!


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## gimpy

Yeah, I've been eeking by with my kitchenaid that but it's really a "food grinder" and not a "meat grinder". The parts are plastic. It's really intended to make couscous, not burger and according to the kitchenaid people they have discontinued their "meat grinder" which went on their commercial stand mixer and was all metal. 

You can hear it strain the motor. It heats up too fast for what I need it to do and you have to cut the pieces so small that it's bad for my arms/nerve damage. Still it works, very slowly, but it's better than the half dozen or so actual grinders that I've tried.


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## gimpy

I tried Northern and it was so horrid that I went back to my kitchenaid. they too recently moved their production to China.
Cabella's..now China.
Sam Baer...China...and that was just dangerous. The thing would turn itself on and turn itself off, shoot out sparks, and clog faster than the kitchenaid.


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## judylou

Check out LEM Products grinders (lemproducts.com) All of their meat grinders are manufactured in Italy.



> L.E.M. meat grinders are manufactured by Fabio Leonardi, Inc., to comply with
> L.E.M. Products, Inc. specifications. Leonardi is one of the oldest grinder manufacturers
> in Italy.


I have used this model http://www.lemproducts.com/product/4259/electric_grinders for over 7 years now and am thoroughly pleased with it.


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## gimpy

I wrote to LEM. They too have now outsorced to China.


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## grannybones

It's really hard to find anything not made in China. I have had a Cabela's 1 1/2 HP #32 grinder for several years. I love it! It works wonderfully, and is easy to clean. I have never found a chunk of meat that can slow it down. Yes it was pricey, but by the time you have gone through several smaller grinders and all the frustration of clogging up the grinder plate- it has been well worth the $520.


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## 7thswan

China? But I was amased at the grinders they had at our local gun shop, the other day.


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## fishhead

I'm happy with my Northern Industrial. I can run an entire deer through it in about an hour.

I think I bought it at Fleet Farm or Northern Tool for under $150.


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## derm

gimpy said:


> Yeah, I've been eeking by with my kitchenaid that but it's really a "food grinder" and not a "meat grinder". The parts are plastic. It's really intended to make couscous, not burger and according to the kitchenaid people they have discontinued their "meat grinder" which went on their commercial stand mixer and was all metal.
> 
> You can hear it strain the motor. It heats up too fast for what I need it to do and you have to cut the pieces so small that it's bad for my arms/nerve damage. Still it works, very slowly, but it's better than the half dozen or so actual grinders that I've tried.


Yikes, I did not know that, I was going to say my Kitchenaid mixer would be perfect. 20# of meat is not a problem with it. It however is a 50 year old mixer with a 20 year old meat grinder made of metal. Did not know they went with cheaper stuff nowadays


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## Solarmom

judylou said:


> Check out LEM Products grinders (lemproducts.com) All of their meat grinders are manufactured in Italy.
> 
> 
> 
> I have used this model http://www.lemproducts.com/product/4259/electric_grinders for over 7 years now and am thoroughly pleased with it.



Thank Judy! I now have yet another company to drool over!! Kris


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## Our Little Farm

derm said:


> Yikes, I did not know that, I was going to say my Kitchenaid mixer would be perfect. 20# of meat is not a problem with it. It however is a 50 year old mixer with a 20 year old meat grinder made of metal. Did not know they went with cheaper stuff nowadays



I borrowed a friends grinder recently for my kitchen aid. It is not old at all, and has metal blades and seems very sturdy. It coped very well with grinding a goat for us and took no time at all.

Here is an ad for them
http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/product_detail.asp?T1=KTA+FGA&.

If you wanted an all metal one?
http://cgi.ebay.com/KitchenAid-Meat-Grinder_W0QQitemZ400162019595QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=178797646350


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## Sparkey

Several years ago a friend & I "assembled" a meat grinder that gave us many years of use. The basic components used were an older type 1/4 HP electric motor, a large size 'universal type' meat grinder and a transmission from a Maytag wringer type wash machine & belt & pulley's as necessary. We mounted this on a 2 1/2x 31/2 piece of 3/4 in. plywood.

A mechanically inclined person should be able to easily engineer & build a serviceable grinder from these components.

Charlie


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## gimpy

Are the grinder attachments for the kitchenaid stand mixers universal? I have the residential model, but I can hear the motor straining and the motor housing gets hot. If I were to buy the larger model which is rated commercial, would this 

(1) solve the motor problem? and 

(2) still accept the grinding attachment that I have for the smaller model?


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## Susie

judylou said:


> Check out LEM Products grinders (lemproducts.com) All of their meat grinders are manufactured in Italy.


Ditto on LEM. I purchased a 1.5 hp LEM grinder almost four years ago. I process over 200# of meat for my dogs a month, several deer and at least two elk a year. I was so happy with my grinder I also purchased the 50# mixer and a dehydrator from them. All I have had to replace are knives and plates on the grinder. I have purchased several inexpensive grinders in the past and I am so happy I bit the bullet and paid for a good one...you get what you pay for!


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## Paquebot

This may seem strange but I can't recall any USA made electric home grinders despite having once been in the business of repairing same for almost 10 years. The first ones came out in the mid-1970s and they were Moulinex, made in France. I knew two people who had one and they were they were OK for short runs. In the early 1980s, Sausage Maker sold one in roughly the $70 range. Their bigger grinders were USA but that home model was from Poland. I'm thinking that it was 1984 when I bought one and since have sent at least 50 deer through it without a hiccup. Only problem is that that model hasn't been available for probably 5-6 years. Standard for homes, of course, has always been the Kitchenaid mixer with grinder attachment. 

Martin


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## suitcase_sally

I have a manual #32 grinder made in Czech-made. It's called a Porkert.

Chop-rite is USA, but manual also.

https://www.lehmans.com/store/article/1297?Args=


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## suzyhomemaker09

gimpy said:


> Are the grinder attachments for the kitchenaid stand mixers universal? I have the residential model, but I can hear the motor straining and the motor housing gets hot. If I were to buy the larger model which is rated commercial, would this
> 
> (1) solve the motor problem? and
> 
> (2) still accept the grinding attachment that I have for the smaller model?



In my experience all Kitchenaid attachments are completely interchangeable...the only thing that will not switch from unit to unit are the bowls.


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## Susie

gimpy said:


> I have the residential model, but I can hear the motor straining and the motor housing gets hot. If I were to buy the larger model which is rated commercial, would this
> 
> (1) solve the motor problem? and
> 
> (2) still accept the grinding attachment that I have for the smaller model?


From my experience and having a professional 5 series if you grind a lot of meat the motor housing still gets hot and struggles.


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## Wyobuckaroo

We have a Kitchen Aid meat grinder.. It is the plastic body with steel plate and cutter. Has worked well for all our uses.. It helps to lube the drive shaft and O ring seal where it goes through the brass bearing with food grade grease. 

At the last spring parking lot garage sale, Sweetie got a half horse power counter top grinder for $20 CDN.. Turned out to be a model that is $229 new at the local auto, farm store.. Also works well.


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## weaselfire

Try your local restaurant supply place. Ours has used equipment, including grinders, for reasonable prices. Butcher shops and restaurants are always closing.

Jeff


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