# Meat Grinders



## Phoney (8/7/12)

I'm in the market for an electric meat grinder and I have little idea where to begin. I havent been able to find them in any retail stores where I can chat to a salesman, so I've been doing some research online and holy moley it's a whole new world out there that honesty I'm finding a bit daunting. There are so many options & features that I have no idea whether I need or not. 

The main purposes I want one for are sausage making, making my own fresh mince for hamburgers, relishes etc. So sufficient grunt, different grades of coarseness and sausage filling attachments are my requirements I suppose. There are plenty on ebay ranging from $60 to $600, most are brands I've never heard of so I'm a bit dubious & cautious of buying one without at least some recommendations. I'm hoping to spend around $100. $200 if it's worth it. I'm happy with my Maxkon vacuum sealer so I was considering this Maxkon grinder.

Do you have an electric meat grinder? What make/model? Where did you get it from? Are you happy with it? Is it easy to clean? Any other tips & suggestions?

Cheers!

:icon_cheers:


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## domfergo (8/7/12)

I have done a bit of research and want to buy one also. I buy most things off kitchenwaredirect.com.au. I have been thinking about buying the telfal branded one. It has great reviews and is it my budget. I only worry about being able to source parts for it if needed. 

There is a lot better ones on there for more money. 

From what I have been told the most important thing is being able to pull them down for cleaning


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## benno1973 (9/7/12)

I have the Tefal 'Le Hachoir' grinder. Not sure what the price is as it was bought for me, but it really is a great grinder. Easy to strip down, and it's got loads of grunt. We've minced 200kg of pork for dried salamis and it didn't miss a beat. My brother has also modded his to drive his grain mill, so it definitely has the torque required.

I also have a Kenwood with the mincer attachment. It's good, but hasn't had a lot of use since the Tefal came along.


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## mr_tyreman (9/7/12)

Bulk Buy!!! h34r: h34r: 

hahaha

shh

but count me in


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## punkin (9/7/12)

mr_tyreman said:


> Bulk Buy!!! h34r: h34r:
> 
> hahaha
> 
> ...



I'd be in for the tefal one if there was a saving to be had.

I do like my #8 Spong, but it can take a long time to process a small amount of meat, especially if it's as fatty as i like it. Plus it's just hard work.

Did you find you were dissassembling the Tefal one very often during the 200kg session?


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## benno1973 (9/7/12)

punkin said:


> Did you find you were dissassembling the Tefal one very often during the 200kg session?



Not once. We ran the fat through fairly cold, and if ever the fat clogged it up we just ran through a lump of meat to clear it out. Everything was pretty cold though, close to freezing, which mean that it sheared rather than smeared. And we used the coarsest plate because it was for salami. The only time we disassembled was when we cleaned it down at the end. Can't see it being any different for finer plates though - we did 15kg of sausages a few weeks ago and only disassembled to change the plates over from coarse to fine, and then to change over to the stuffer.


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## punkin (9/7/12)

Cool, i'll be looking for one then. Got the blade sharpened on the hand grinder, meat was close to frozen and still had a stack of problems with the fat on my hand grinder on coarse.


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## domfergo (9/7/12)

Well that's another great review for them! Looks like I will order one, I get a lot of buffalo meat give to me and it's really no good as steak. Ever wondered why you only get buffalo sausages and hamburgers on menus.....


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## Phoney (9/7/12)

Thanks guys, looks like I'm sold on the tefal.


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## Andyd (9/7/12)

$79 for the maxxon if you get in quick...


http://www.shoppingsquare.com.au/p_399731_...ge_Maker__Micer

Andy


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## domfergo (9/7/12)

Just ordered mine from kitchenwaredirect.com.au ( no affiliation) free shipping and $15 off on a coupon code that ends today "FIFTEENOFF"

$214 total


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## punkin (9/7/12)

Massatomic said:


> Just ordered mine from kitchenwaredirect.com.au ( no affiliation) free shipping and $15 off on a coupon code that ends today "FIFTEENOFF"
> 
> $214 total




Thanks for the code, got mine too. B)


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## punkin (9/7/12)

http://www.pricepirate.com.au/ProductDetai...00W+MEAT+MINCER

Of course i've found it now for $202 free freight


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## wobbly (9/7/12)

If you follow up on Mercsown site and subject on salami making you will see that he speaks very highly of the Sunbeam and reportedly puts 10s ok kilos each year making his salami

cheers

Wobbly


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## brettprevans (15/7/12)

The salami thread has a lot of reviews. I read those before making my decision on what brand to but. I bought a tefal. Figured I may as well spend a bit more and be assured that it will last and is up to the task of big batches

Edit. Maybe edit the thread to incl a vote/pole on possible grinders. Problem solved for future generations.


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## domfergo (17/7/12)

My mincer turned up today! Moved a 5kg bag of chuck steak out of the freezer last night in anticipation...

Put it straight to work and it chewed threw the beef no problems at all.

It is a lot noisier then I would have thought!

Just going to put this out there but this could be the best thing since sliced bread!


Photo 1

Photo 2

Mmmmmm

Mass


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## punkin (18/7/12)

Got mine yesterday, going to run 5kg of Jerky topside through it today and convert to mince as a trial.

Damn right about it being noisy.  

Bloke on another forum i hang out on bought one from ebay. He said it's tween 50-55lbs B) 

Nice looking bit of gear, wish i could have justified one of these instead.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...#ht_2911wt_1165


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## punkin (18/7/12)

Chewed 5 kgs of topside in good time. never looked like it was straining. pieces have to be smaller than i'd like to fit down the chute, but nonetheless happy with this purchase. 1 pass on the medium strainer looked like it was about right for beef mince.

I'll have to get some of my hard won Long Black- Wild Sow mixed mince out of the freezer and do some Pork and Apple Bourbon Sausages. B) 


They looked like this last time..


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## benno1973 (18/7/12)

punkin said:


> Damn right about it being noisy.



I hadn't really noticed how noisy it was. I guess its all relative - my Kenwood made far more noise and really felt like it was straining...

Those sausages look good punkin. A recipe would be great. Do you soak dried apples in bourbon or what?.


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## punkin (18/7/12)

Kaiser Soze said:


> I hadn't really noticed how noisy it was. I guess its all relative - my Kenwood made far more noise and really felt like it was straining...
> 
> Those sausages look good punkin. A recipe would be great. Do you soak dried apples in bourbon or what?.




Yes mate, soaked in bourbon and apple juice. Also works good with other dried fruit like mango.

I base them on this recipe, including the home made rusk.



> Pork and Apple from Welsh Wizard
> 
> Thread
> http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=3213.
> ...


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## domfergo (18/7/12)

A little off topic I guess but I am putting in a order for some sausage gear as we speak. 

What type of skins do you use for them, from all accounts the natural ones are a pita to use?

Are the Colagen ones any good? Easier to use for a first timer?


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## manticle (18/7/12)

I've never used collagen so can't compare but natural ones are fine in my experience. As they are natural there will be variation and they will not all have the same filling/bursting point so be aware of that but they make sausages.

Bear in mind also that I currently use a piping bag to fill but I can't imagine that makes them any easier to fill.


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## benno1973 (18/7/12)

I've used collagen and natural. Collagen are slightly easier to fill, but will still split and look and taste like crap in my opinion. Natural casings are slightly harder to fill, but still easy once you get going and would definitely be my recommendation, even for a beginner.


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## punkin (19/7/12)

I use natural casings. They look at their best if they are turned inside out with the tap as in the pic above. They taste the same if not, but have fatty wrinkly parts on the outside which are a little unsightly. They are no trouble at all to fill, store easily and a $30 or whatever it was hank will last for many years in the fridge and make kilometers of sausage.

Google the inside out thing, it's easy enough to do, although a bit of a pita.


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## Bribie G (22/2/13)

Necro,

Aldi have this meat grinder next Wednesday for $70, looks very similar to a $200 one posted on the forum last year. Comes with sausage adaptor.


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## benno1973 (22/2/13)

Adding to the necro... I bought casings recently from The Casing Boutique. I think the price is pretty good, although it's been a long time since I bought and remembered the cost of casings. Service, communication, packaging, ordering, website, etc were all excellent. And there's a pretty big range there too...


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## Eggs (22/2/13)

Bribie G said:


> Necro,
> 
> Aldi have this meat grinder next Wednesday for $70, looks very similar to a $200 one posted on the forum last year. Comes with sausage adaptor.


just a note on these grinders. I have one, as does a mate. he shoots and butchers his own animals and is very happy with his. Mine started to mince metal out the front when i switched it on. it had been in storage beyond warantee so i had to have a mate modify it on a lathe to make it useable. so if you get one, and for the price i suggest you do, just make sure its ok and return it if its a dud. they are as noisy as hell too by the way!


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## Brand (2/2/14)

Hello everyone, I'm new and joined up to reply to this thread.

I'm also in the market for a meat grinder, and have come across the Tefal Le Hachoir meat mincer as well. 

My question is do you think this grinder would be powerful enough to mince through soft bones such as chicken thighs? 

I'm hoping to be able to make my own pet food and am looking for a grinder to do the job but there doesn't seem to be much information out there on the web. I can find heaps of reviews about overseas models, but I'm wanting to purchase one from within Aus if possible.

At the moment these are the two models I'm tossing up:

The previously discussed Tefal Le Hachoir: http://www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au/Appliances/Mincers/Tefal-Le-Hachoir-Meat-Mincer-800W

And this kenwood, which is more expensive, around $300, here: http://www.kenwood-australia.com/training/MG700/MG700_Technical_Data.pdf

Do you think either could handle chicken bones well?

Thanks in advance, I appreciate any advice or reviews on both the models.

Cheers.


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## Snowdog (8/2/14)

I was considering getting the Tefal, but am looking around for others. Will have to take a look at this Kenwood.


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## wide eyed and legless (8/2/14)

Kitchen Aid, has an adapter for meat grinding/ sausage making.


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## QldKev (8/2/14)

I've got one identical to this, from Aldi for about $80 and it has never missed a beat.


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## Snowdog (8/2/14)

QldKev said:


> I've got one identical to this, from Aldi for about $80 and it has never missed a beat.


That Lumina from Aldi looks pretty good and would likely serve my purposes well. Has yours had a lot of use?


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## QldKev (8/2/14)

I've had it a couple of years. We do snags occasionally, but also do mince often from a rump as I get get rump cheaper than mince. Once you have had rump mince, you will never eat floor dropping mince again. Rump mince even tastes like meat. The machine sounds like it will run for a long time to come, but has already paid for itself.


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## dago001 (8/2/14)

I have one similar to kevs, but mine is white. Worked well, currently using it to drive my grain mill. Plenty of grunt with them.
Cheers
LB


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## Snowdog (9/2/14)

Good to know! I could buy 2 of these for the price of the others.


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## Linkn (8/3/14)

The Maxkon has been mentioned a few times but i can't see if anyone has actually bought it and can provide a review? 

The Tefal seems to be by the best. Might just get that. I'm struggling with spending that sort of cash just to make some sausages every now and again. What else do you use a mincer for?


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## QldKev (8/3/14)

Linkn said:


> The Maxkon has been mentioned a few times but i can't see if anyone has actually bought it and can provide a review?
> 
> The Tefal seems to be by the best. Might just get that. I'm struggling with spending that sort of cash just to make some sausages every now and again. What else do you use a mincer for?



Why not go with the Aldi/Lumina one? There doesn't seem to be a lot of $ difference


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