meat grinder recommendations [General]

2013 Jan 16
I am interested in obtaining a good quality meat grinder.

I'll be doing quite a bit of grinding (pork, veal, beef, turkey and chicken), so I'm looking for recommendations on what brand names will give me the power I need, long term quality (I'd rather spend a bit more now, than have to replace the thing in a years time), and it would be nice to know properly cleaning after grinding is a possibility, and not a huge hassle that will take as long as the grinding itself.

One that has a sausage stuffer attachment would be nice, but not essential.

I looked through old posts, but I didn't come up with much. Any suggestions?


2013 Jan 16
Some stand-mixers have attachments. Do you currently have a stand mixer?

2013 Jan 16
Stay away from the Kitchen Aid meat grinder attachment. I bought one and it doesn't do a coarse grind very well. The holes in the grinding plate may be a little small for a good coarse grind.

2013 Jan 16
I assume you are going to want more of a commercial setup no? i.e. commercial volumes

Get a Hobart

This in general might be useful to you

ottawa.kijiji.ca

or just the grinder

ottawa.kijiji.ca

2013 Jan 16
The one we had at the butcher shop where I worked had a handy hose attachment for cleaning. Crank your water heater up past the legal limit and give 'er!

2013 Jan 16
The KA attachment is crap.
The Waring is crap.

Please do not waste hard earned $$ on those even if bought in the US ;)

Consider an older Hobart A200. They can be had for about $500 and then there are aftermarket grinder attachments for them. Well worth the money and you will get your $$ back if you decide to sell it. Works wonders on pizza dough too.

I know some may laugh but my little hand crank Porkert can spew out meat as fast as you can jam it in. The key on any of them is to make sure the cutter is sharp. As a bit of a woodworker I have sharpened mine on an 8000 grit stone and I could shave with it (but I tend to go for the scruffy hipster look). Even on an electric the cutter will smear fat against the plate and frustrate you if not sharp.

Properly sharpened a little Porkert is a great way to grind some serious meat on the cheap. A number #32 is a good starter for some sausage.

The other thing too, upgrade to a stainless cutter and grinding plates. You want this until to be super clean when done with it. The tinned main part of it does not wear much.

As for a stuffer attachment, a standalone piston type 5# is the way to go. The stuffer attachment for a grinder will just mess up your meat. The horn stuffers are not efficient either. Zym's old employer is a great place for casings though there are some classic vids on U Toob some old school Europeans cleaning out intestines for stuffing.

Happy sausages!

Krusty

2013 Jan 16
I was looking to stay away from the kitchen aid type things, as I might be grinding up to 100lbs at a go. So, yeah, something a bit more commercial. I'm too lazy to hand crank that much. ;-)

I've heard that the Hobarts are really good, and I did see some of those kijiji listings. I was debating if the cost of a new one with warranty would be a better idea rather than a used one that I may never know the history of. Even though I'm big fan of used-comes-without-all-the-packaging stuff.

And, maybe this is silly because I know the units can be cleaned, but the idea of other meat having already been run through is icky to me. Is that ridiculous?

I like the idea of having a hose attachment Zym, as we do have hot-as-heck water now that our hot water heater has been fixed up. :-)

I might be able to get some kind of small farm business grant that would give me up to $1000 towards this, so that allows me to spend a bit more than what I might normally be able to.

I did come across this one from Hendrix, anyone ever use or hear of this brand? www.hendrixequip.com

2013 Jan 16
A new Hobart mixer will be in the order of $4000+ so it a steep investment. If you get a used one, you can buy a new meat grinder for it for a couple hundred $$. That way you can ensure your meat never touches another appliance. BTW lye is your friend when needed.

2013 Jan 16
There are a few used stores around too. Capital Cutlery in LIttle Italy has a bunch of new and used commercial kitchen gear as well. There is also another place up near where the 168 market used to be by the O Train off Somerset. And a really good place in Gatineau called Liquidation Plus

2013 Jan 16
Costco used to sell new Hobarts but now they sell this one

www.costco.ca

It seems to have mixed reviews

2013 Jan 17
Yeah, I wondered how much a new hobart would cost, krusty. But I do like the idea of the used motor and new grinder attachment! That would probably fit my budget too!

I'll be sure to check the places that you mentioned, Zym, thanks!

2013 Jan 17
The Hobarts Costco used to sell used to be about the same price as the one they now sell. It's been maybe 5 years since they switched over. So if you looked around you just might find one in that range, I dunno.

2013 Dec 16
I went out to Princess Auto on the weekend to look at these, and I came home with the 1/3 HP one for $50. Pretty happy with it so far - only real issue is that the plunger is really cheap thin plastic so I'll have to find a good hardwood dowel to fit it - or something else. It is a bit loud as well but hey, that's what comes with power :-)

www.princessauto.com

The 1/2 HP one is on sale for $100 - it is a fair bit bigger and too big for my use.

www.princessauto.com

And then there is this baby for $400 but that is WAY too big - it is a commercial unit.

www.princessauto.com

2013 Dec 16
You could also try Russell Restaurant Supplies on Preston. They sell both new and used equipment.