I have an electric grinder, but I'm sure this would make a hand grinder go faster as well. I don't use any hunks of meat bigger than a 1 inch cube. I prefer pork fat as well and I like Shed's idea of using bacon ends. Bacon makes everything better.:D
Get an electric grinder...........you will NEVER regret it. They can be had for $99 and do a great job if you don't overload it. I have this one and you could put a deer in it feet first and it wouldn't even slow it down. It was about $250 I think a few years ago.........got my money's worth out of it in the first couple deer we did. It also has sausage attachments that feed right into the casing as you grind. A cuber is a sweeeeeet buy as well.
Thanks Atlas--I just ground up about 30-40 lbs of meat and it took me 2 hours of cutting, processing, and adding the ingredients. I am going to cook some of the burgers on the grill in a little bit.
Electric is the ONL:Y way to go ......don't any of you guys buy your wive's a Kitchen Aid MIXER???? What the heck is the matter with you boys? Their grinding attachment makes short work out of grinding ... I am not sure why you would want to grind the meat twice .... but I grind it once and that is coarse ... I like my burger with a little chew ...and believe me, the chew is little. I don't add anything to my burger, especially pork until I am ready to make whatever I am making .... we make alot of chili (Cooper's recipe ...AWESOME!) ... tacos .... sloppy joes ... then I will pull out 5#s or so venison and do 3# pork butt with it and make Italian sausage .... I am burping up venison tacos right now
The Kitchen Aid grinder attachment is what I use for grinding as well. Works good. Doesn't stuff so great so I have an LEM stuffer for that.
Got a similar hand grinder - I find it very easy for one deer at a time - I do it all myself. I don't add anything to meat - figure will just do that if/when I would want to - typically all ground meat I use never gets anything added as it's going in Chili, sloppy joes, spaghetti, tacos, cheesy dip, etc. for wrapping we just use good 'ol freezer paper - very cheap - but ALWAYS double wrap - only an extra $1 or 2 and will last up to a year. I've had chili and b-fly chops so far this year from my bow kill...you got me craving some more...need to set some out of deep freeze.
Sounds good Brett! My daughter and I ground up 3 deer one night a couple weeks ago. She LOVES doing it every year, possibly better than anything else in the world...which is kinda strange. LOL I have a big electric grinder, its awesome. I pack mine in quart freezer bags, about 1.5lbs per bag. Push the meat flat and to the front as you zip the bag, it basically gets almost all the air out, and they stack great for the freezer and last a long time before freezer burning. Plus when you go to thaw, you can just throw it in a pan and it will thaw out without defrosting. I personally don't use freezer wrap, the ziplocks work better for me done this way, and actually keep longer in my experience.
One other note on wrapping it ... saran wrap! Wrap it twice .. make sure all the air is out ... it would last for years ... I know that cuz I have cleaned out some family's freezers of their old deer .. also when a package or two have got hidden by something else ...
I agree. I got the same grinder. Actually there are 3 or 4 different options with the LEM I think. Different price ranges for how much power you want I believe is the difference. I got mine a couple years ago and was the best investment I made. I think mine was around $400. The thing loves to eat. Like atlas said, you can just about feed a deer feet first in the thing and not slow it down. You don't really need one that expensive though. I think mine is a little bit overkill. But it is an awesome machine that loves to eat.
Oh yeah, like someone said cut all your fat off before grinding it. Also, when you are actually cutting up your deer and setting aside pieces to go to grind, cut them in grindable strips before you decide to grind all of it. Nothing more of a pain in the but to run into a piece that you are going to grind and have to trim it or cut it to fit in the grinder. Have it all prepared before you start grinding so you don't have to deal with it while you're grinding it.
I ground up a bunch of meat yesterday and actually made some venison burgers with some bbq seasoning mixed in....it was fantastic!
1 hp Cabela's Commercial-Grade Electric Grinder is what we have. Great machine with a forward and reverse although we have never had to use the reverse. This thing is an eating/grinding monster. We could have gotten by with a smaller model but the we also butcher beef and pork when we come across a good deal. The money we have saved with it has payed for it many times over. Great machine !! It comes with a bit of a hefty price tag ( $ 430 ) and weighs in at 58 LBS. Comes with a fine and medium plate. We just use the medium and grind twice. Clean up is a breeze. Well that is what the wife says as she stands over me while I type. LOL Definitely a good grinder if you do a lot of grinding !! Tim
I was thinking a lump of coal but we might be needing that too if the cold continues !! LOL I have a hand crank you can have !! Tim
