Meat grinders?

[Tacticalii]

I'm thinking about trying to butcher one of my deer this year myself. I don't have a ton of money to spend on a grinder and am open to suggestions. Anyone have experience with hand grinders? Do they work well for venison, or do I really need an electric grinder? Thanks guys.

 

[Furious_George]

I bought the electric one from Harbor Freight last year to make all of my sausage. Ground up about 30 pounds of it without a problem. It's not the fastest electric out there but it definitely does a good job.

 

[257wby]

I bought the cheap one from bass pro and it works great for what it is. It isn't the fastest, but if you are only doing one or 2 deer at a time it is great for the money. $100 or so.

 

[iluvlabs]

Well, I'll tell you. I used a cheap one for years. But this year I picked up a #8 LEM and it works awesome. Grinds it faster than I can feed it. It is the .35 model. You can get one at Academy for $280 I believe. It will be one of the best investments you make for hunting.

 

[ElkStalkR]

Definetly go electric. Hand grinders work, but they are a work out.

 

[HiredHand]

The KitchenAid stand mixers have a meat grinder attachment. I'm not sure how well they work.

 

[Tacticalii]

Thanks for all the input guys. LEM seems to be the brand that pops up most.

 

[Davs2601]

Ive used the kitchen aid one before. It worked ok, biggest thing is to partially freeze the meat. If i remember correctly the attachment was expensive

 

[jmiller45]

I too have a lot of experience with a LEM. It is a great investment.

 

[Devon]

I have a Thunderbird meat grinder and it has been a good one. Might mention that for deer burger, I have had the best results with the grinding plate that has the smallest holes. I'm not sure, but I believe it is 1/8". A toothpick fits the holes perfectly for cleaning.