NSTEELE

Wheatly,

I use a 1 hp grinder myself and the book says it can do 236 lbs an hour. the grind works great it is a #12 and shoots meat out without any problems. I dont add fat to my wild game. My family likes it all natural. I do use a soy protien binder which helps keep the meat together. I have used this to make brats, breakfast sausage, sausage patties, jerky, and snack sticks. Turkey and deer for wild game so far but hoping to add an elk to the grinder this year. Good luck to you and LEM.com is where I buy my binder if your interested in trying it. Just season to your tasting and use natural pork casings and your good to go.

Phil from Maine

I like my Anvil and it works great for me.. It came with 2 different grinder heads and of coarse a sausage stuffing tube. The 3/4 hp would of been enough for me to use though.. I also am a fan of putting bacon ends into it to mix with game.
What kind of grinder are you using NSTEELE? Because with a 1 hp you should be able to grind alot more than that if you wanted to.

Wheatley

Most of the 1HP models show something around 360 lbs or more per hour. I would never be able to feed somehting that fast. I would be lucky to do about 100 pounds in an hour.

Potterco

Cabelas grinders are made by LEM they work but are pricey. Shop Ebay and look for a 1hp SS grinder I bought mine there and with shipping it was around $300 new an grinds most anything.
Grinding meat is MUCH easier if the meat is nearly frozen..the stiffer the better.
Here's a slick trick to add flavor to burger and some fat at the same time...buy some thick sliced slab bacon and for every pound of meat you drop in drop in 1 slice of the bacon..yummmm

Phil from Maine

I am not trying to argue with anyone, but if you look at Cabelas you will see listed for a 1 hp grinder it can do 720lbs. per hour.. My Anvil can do 660lbs. per hour.. While the 1/2 and 3/4 hp is more in the range you folks are saying.. I also agree that I do not need one that is this big. However I do not want to take forever grinding up meat and digging it out every time I turn around. So I want the power to grind up any tendons that may be in the meat that I did not get cut out of it. So it all depends on what you want it for I guess more than anything else..

Potterco

the size of the motor has less to do with it than the blade. what you want is a blade/grinder plate set..by set I mean a pair that is worn to eachother. keep each blade and plate together and change from the coarse set to the finer set when you do you second grind...also keep your meat as cold as possible that will aide you ALOT.
At work we had grinders big enough to drop a 30# chunk of meat into whole and they only had 1.5 HP motors..also those weights per hour that some of you are talking aboutis the rating not the actual production rate...a butcher would laugh if you told him you expect to be able to grind 600+# of meat/hr with any portable grinder..the one we used at the shop had a throat opening 11"across and if you could push it in that opening it would take it away and grind it...it only had a 3hp motor and did about 100#/hr with 2 professional meatcutters feeding it.

Big Guy01

How big a grinder you need depends on what and how much meat you want to grind. I personally wouldn't bother with anything less than a 3/4 horse motor and a size 22 head.

For a decent pepperoni you need 25-30% fat, It must be ground semi frozen and it should never get warmmer tha 36 F or the fat will just smear and it will be a mess. Next you add your spices and mix until it binds, the meat will become a sticky mass then your ready to go on, keep it cold, if its too warm I put the ground meat back in the freezer for 30 minutes before mixing. Next stuffing, get a propper stuffer, the attachment on the end of your grinder just won't do, especially if you want to stuff the smaller casings. Keep it cold, 25% fat and mix well, maintain cold temps and stuff its that simple.

skeeter 7MM

I have a Hobart commerical grinder as well...excellent but spendy. I know guys who own the LEM and they are all a hunter reallyneeds. However I'd suggest going with the #22 or #32 models vs the smaller units. These are both still single phase but have larger tubes and 1hp & 1.5hp motors restpectively. A nice side bonus to the LEM and I see cableas are the same is the mixer and tenderizer attachments you can add to them. If doing sausage,etc the mixer is a big plus and god sent really. The tenderizer is great for turning the not so choice cuts into minute steaks if you prefer less trim meat for sausage and ground.

In reference to fat distrub. in fully cured meats such as peps you need min. 30% pork. Of this I prefer 50/50 trim and fat. For sausage I use 20-30% pork and the same 50/50 ratio. Beef trim/fat can be sub for pork if you prefer and has a longer freezer life. Though if your like me fresh, then just do smaller batches as it doesn't matter about shelf life as it gone before it becomes an issue. In terms of ground or hamburger I package it in 1lb batches all venison. Then if doing a dish that requires fat (like bbq burgers) i simple add ground beef for a 50/50 mix when preparing the meal. Venison if packaged right has a much longer shelf life then domestic meats, so I tend to freeze it seperately then add when its time to use it.

der Teufel

Wow! You guys are big time!

Me, I don't grind that much meat at a time, maybe eight to ten pounds normally, perhaps twice that if I'm making sausage. I have an old Hobart KitchenAid mixer with a grinder attachment and that's what I use. But, I'm obviously a small-time operator in these parts.