I have a Cabela's meat grinder. It does not have a model number on it but it is 400 watts and weighs about 4 pounds. From the specs on some others mentioned (LEM and larger Cabela's models), >25# seems to be the norm.

I used the plate with the largest holes and partially frozen meat and fat to make hog sausage yesterday. One of the other posters had a great write-up that mentioned using ice cubes and water intermittently during grinding which helped a lot.

My result was a great tasting sausage that was ground way too fine - almost as if it had been in a food processor. This is what happened the first time I used the grinder but I attributed that to not knowing to use partially frozen meat.

Is it me or is it the grinder? My wife says it is me (because the new grinder I have in mind is $300). I think it is the grinder (because I want a new bigger one).

Trying to compare models is very confusing. The LEM .35 hp lists lower wattage and hp than a Cabela's model in the same price range. LEM has a Big Bite auger that, in my opinion, reduces some of the need to push meat into the chute but isn't necessarily any faster. From what I can tell, the pounds per minute may be the best factor in determining grinding capacity. I don't know what factor would eliminate my "too fine" problem.

Speed is not my goal. If I am processing no more than 20 pounds of meat at a time, 1PPM or 6ppm is insignificant in the total time spent.

What do you more experienced wild hog meat grinding hunters say?

Try some fully frozen meat.

Thanks!

Do I cut it to grinding sized chunks before freezing?

The more frozen chunks did seem to grind better. Maybe a faster grinder would help. We started with about 12# of meat and the bottom of the pile was mostly thawed by the time we got to it.

Are you running the meat through the grinder twice?
Sometimes, if you get a lot of sinew around the knife and plate, it will not feed the meat through. That causes it to back up and turn it into paste. When you see it bogging down, just clean the knife and plate.

I generally thaw mine only enough to be able to cut it with a heavy knife.

That did happen. We cleaned it pretty often. I probably didn't clean it as much as I should have. It seemed like it would take all day if I unscrewed it every time it slowed.

Do any grinders handle that better than others? So far, it seems like I should have the meat more solidly frozen and be prepared to unscrew the unit a lot for cleaning.

None handle it well, you just have to keep an eye out.you'll see it when it plugs up.

chilled meat cut into manageable sizes helps (colder the better) for the grind. However if the meat is not trimmed well you will see a difference in the grinding and length of time to complete the grind. Hang in there you will get the hang of it and it will be easier the next time. I grind up several deer and hogs(all year long) with the little 8# LEM grinder and it works out well. Matter of fact bought another one for $49 just before Christmas in case this one kicks the bucket this year.

Make sure you have the blade turned the right way...you want the sharp edges facing out towards the plate

It sounds like the blade is the wrong way to me as well.

Fortunately, for me, the blade can only go one way or the plate won't seat.

It works fine for a second but then the number of holes pushing meat through slowly decrease. Very frequent cleaning (more than I did) is necessary. I've read reviews of other units and some say the model they have chews all that stuff up just fine.

I do hate to drop $300+ on a new grinder only to find there was a secret I missed.

I'm new to grinders, but have heard of people using bread to clean out the grinder during the grind.

I bought a LEM grinder the other day for $100. It works awesome, ground 10lbs of meat with no trouble with sinew or anything, no clogs or anything, it ground meat as fast as I could put it in.

This one:
http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/sport...02401/cat100467

Most gristle wraps around the stem. I don't see how bread will clean that. This seems to be a different problem. The grind is too small. I've never heard of that. The home grinders do have smaller holes in their plate.

Here is what I have found while grinding tons of meat. I usually NEVER get the collar that holds the plate to the blade tight enough. I found this out when realizing that my grinder came with a spanner wrench to tighten the collar. It has to be TIGHT or else the sinew will wrap around the blade and cause the meat to "push" thru the plate rather than be chopped by the blade. This emulsifies the meat causing the mushy texture Ekrich sausage has.
Tighten then loosen then re-tighten!

Not to be a smarty... Make sure the cutting part of the knife is against to plate. I had mine backwards one time and all I got was mush.

Also the knife and plate will wear with use and may need to be resurfaced, similar to turning a brake rotor if you will.

Ours seems to bog up more when the knife and place need this done. A butcher shop should be able to do it.

A few things here ( I believe you read my thread and I'm sorry you're having problems):

1st: sounds like you need to cube your meat into f
Smaller cubes.

2nd: the cutting blade goes against the plate. It will wear. When it does, take some 1000 grit sand paper, lay it flat, lay the blade down on it flat and buff it in circles. It re hones the blade.

3rd: you're pushing too hard. If you have to shove the meat through, with the plunger, it ain't right.

I'd check your blade sharpness first, cube meat smaller 2nd.

i have owned 2 cabellas grinders and have had issues with both. the first did not turn on from bringing home. The grinder brags on all metal gears but after a couple uses it began to have issues. opened it up and noticed that it had metal against plastic gears and chewed them up. I have made tons of sausage and many people recommend grinding twice but i like my sausage more texture so grind with biggest plate once making sure meet is clean of things that can clog.

I have the LEM .35 hp and it does the same thing because of the lack of trimming I do sometimes. I generally sit down to grind 2-3 deer at a time and as time passes, the quality of my trimming goes down.This was my first year attenpting sausage and I used the largest of the grinding holes for first gring. Separated the leanest meat to be used for sausage . Mixed seasoning and fat to lean meat. Ran thru same large grinder straight to casings. Worked OK.

If you have the grinder set up correctly and the knife and plate are in good working condition, it should cut and grind frozen to warm meat with no problem. I like it to be a little icy because it takes a while to stuff a couple hundred pounds of meat and the colder the better.

I prefer to cut my meat in longer narrow strips it helps the grinder feed them, once you get an end started it will just suck it through and help push whats in the grinder through better. I will never double grind, it is a waste of time in my opinion. I just put the fine plate on and grind it once.

redchevy, don't the longer strips tend to conceal sinew and other stringy stuff over cubing the meat? From what has been posted, it looks like I did a poor job of preparing my meat. What grinder do you use?

I used wild hog forequarters, bacon ends and pieces, and spices. The meat and fat was partially frozen at the start but most had thawed by the end.

So far, it looks like I need to do a better job of trimming the meat. How much time do you guys spend doing that?

I processed a deer years ago on the kitchen sink and it took all day. Trimming the silver skin and sinew was tedious. Is there a trick to it?

I don't have to worry about that again. My wife forbade me from bringing another dead animal with the head attached home again. My only salvation is we don't have to keep sex attached to hogs.

I have the LEM 1.5 and don't have a problem if you do get the LEM make sure it has the BIG BITE auger most deffinitly makes a difference i have used both

For future reference. I don't think you have to keep proof of sex attached for deer, they usable meat can be quartered on ice while the head is laying in a feed sack in the bed of the truck. If not then we have been breaking that law for a long time!

We trim our meat well before we freeze it. In my opinion if tendons etc are building up on the plate and knife and stopping it up then your grinder isn't set up right. We will grind up to 400 pounds of meat on occasion and never have to stop. The grinder should cut the tendons also.

We use either a 1.5 or 1.75hp cabelas grinder I cant remember which. It has always ran great, Im glad my hand wont fit down the tube, because I think if it got my fingers started that thing would just suck all of me through! Every couple of years you will need to have the knife and plate resurfaced. I know someone mentioned using 1000 grit sandpaper, but Ill leave it to the local butcher supply. For us the longer pieces have been the way to go.

Thanks redchevy. I didn't really mean to say the deer head had to be attached, just that it had to accompany the quarters to the final destination. My orders are not to bring a head on the property - whether in the back of the truck or in a bag. I could put it out by the curb for trash pickup but that would freak out my neighbors who think meat only comes from the grocery store.

I hope the grinder HP is only for speed. Cabela's had their "employee discount" sale so I bought their 3/4 HP model. It looks like it should do the job as long as I pay attention to preparation. I won't be doing that much grinding. I guess a couple of deer and hogs a year plus making some of my own hamburger and sausages.