The Best Meat Grinder for 2023
Having a meat grinder in your indoor or outdoor kitchen will give you the option to create some of the healthiest, cheapest and best tasting food you’ve ever had. Using meat that you have put through your own meat grinder means that you know exactly what is in it. There will be no more worrying about extra preservatives or additives. You get all the natural goodness of the meat at the exact thickness you want so you can create the very best tasting food exactly how you want it. You can even make healthier pet food for your four legged friends with a meat and bone grinder.
Rather than having to scour the internet reading the many meat grinder reviews out there, we’ve compressed hours of research and testing into a comprehensive guide that will make choosing the best meat grinder for you as easy as possible.
What is a meat grinder?
A meat grinder is a very simple appliance that’s main application is to grind up chunks of meat to make it more useable. Meat grinders usually come with several different plates that will alter the thickness of the grinded meat. They also come with other accessories such as sausage stuffing tubes.
There are generally two main types of meat grinder, electric and manual. An electric meat grinder will have the advantage of being quicker, easier and can handle a higher volume of meat. Whereas a manual meat grinder will usually be cheaper.
Grinding your own meat might at first sound like adding in an unnecessary step to your cooking, but there are many benefits that you might not think of at first, such as:
- You know exactly what is going into your meat – This will generally mean that the meat will be healthier and will have no added preservatives or additives.
- You will save money – After a few sessions of grinding your own meat you will find that even if you buy the cuts of meat you’ll be saving money. If you hunt your own meat then it becomes even more beneficial. We’d also recommend reading through the King of the Coals vacuum sealer guide as vacuum sealing your food will help preserve it and save you even more money.
- Grinding your own meat gives you more versatility – As you can choose the thickness of the grinded meat you can make it exactly how you want for the recipe you choose. There is a huge range of things you can make with a meat grinder. From simple sausages, to burgers, meatballs, meatloaf, jerky gun mix, horseradish and other veg. You can use it as a way to make your own bulk crushed garlic or even grind up potatoes for a very interesting mash. There are so many options more than just ground meat. If you’re a jerky fan, check out our guide to the best jerky dehydrator and how to make jerky in a smoker.
Best Electric Meat Grinder
STX International Turboforce II – (STX-4000-TB2-PD)
The STX Turboforce II is an electric meat grinder that features a maximum power output of 2000 watts with 3 different speed settings to give you one of the most functional and easy to use meat grinders on the market. The Turboforce has a lot of power, roughly 2.5 HP but you also get a lot of versatility with the different speeds: high, low and reverse. This will comfortably be able to grind up any meat that you choose, whether it’s chicken, beef, pork wild boar or venison. It can manage anything quite comfortably, even smaller bones and is one of the best meat grinders for venison and deer meat that we’ve tried. The STX Turboforce II includes an optional foot pedal control system that allows you to control the grinder without using your hands. This was surprisingly useful and meant that we managed to make our way through a lot more meat than with other grinders. It also has a build in safety circuit breaker to protect you from any accidents.
If you buy the STX Turboforce II you’ll be getting everything you need to grind meat and even make sausages. Features include:
- 3 stainless steel cutting blades.
- 5 tempered steel grinding plates. This will give you enough versatility to create anything you want.
- 1 beaner plate. This is used for sausage stuffing.
- A set of 3 stuffing tubes for making sausages.
- A Kubbe attachment. A Kubbe is a middle eastern dish that is made by encasing finely minced, spiced lamb in a wheat based shell.
- This grinder is size #12 and comes with a meat hopper for easy and safe inserting of the meat.
The STX also has a patented quad air cooling system that helps to keep the grinder cool when it’s being used. This is a great feature and means that you’ll be able to keep grinding for a long time. The manufacturers claim that it’ll even double the life of the product.
Overall, the STX Turboforce II is a great option if you’re looking for an electric meat grinder. Being electric means that it takes all the effort out of grinding the meat in exchange for a heftier price tag. Depending on where and when you buy this, you’ll likely be looking at less than $200 for the grinder and all the accessories. This makes it very good value as you’re getting a great product with a range of accessories and is probably the best meat grinder for the money. It’s not perfect though, it can run quite loud and isn’t particularly easy to wash. Also, using the sausage stuffers can be tricky, especially if you’ve never done it before. You’ll get better with practice and we’d highly recommend doing so as some of our homemade sausages turned out amazingly well.
So, despite some slight problems the STX Turboforce II is still a brilliant product that we highly recommend. If you’re looking for the best electric meat grinder then this is the one to buy.
Check the latest price on Amazon.
Best Budget Meat Grinder
Gideon Hand Crank Manual Meat Grinder
With a mostly plastic build and a suction cup base you be forgiven for thinking that the Gideon Manual Meat Grinder isn’t worth your time. Most highly plastic and very cheap meat grinders will generally not work very well or break within a few uses, but the Gideon is a fantastic little meat grinder that is well worth your money. It’s made from a heavy duty plastic and the plates and screens are made from stainless steel. Not only is the build quality good, but the design is clever and safe. It completely enclosed the blades and uses an easy turn handle and smooth auger to move the meat into the actual grinder.
As it’s a manual meat grinder it is incredibly simple to use. Firstly, you use the suction cup base to hold it firmly in place. This works very well and it will stick to pretty much any flat surface. This is strong enough to hold it in place for even the toughest of meats. You then place the meat in the top and begin cranking the handle. Obviously you won’t be grinding bones or large chunks of meat in such a cheap meat grinder. You’ll have to cut the meat up into small chunks first and then you’ll be able to grind it.
Other features include:
- Full portability as the design is lightweight and compact. You can easily take this with you outside for your next barbecue.
- Comes with two stainless steel screens, a fine mincing plate and a course mincing plate.
- Most of the parts are dishwasher safe. All you have to do is take it apart and place the dishwasher safe parts in the dishwasher. The rest will simply need a quick wipe down and you’re done.
Overall, you’re not going to find such a capable meat grinder for such a low price. If you’re looking for occasional and small scale meat grinding for a family barbecue or small get together then this is ideal.
Check the latest price on Amazon.
Best Manual Meat Grinder
LEM Products #10 Stainless Steel Clamp-on Hand Grinder
If you’re looking for a manual meat grinder then the LEM range of meat grinders are some of the best around. Our favorite is the size #10 clamp on hand grinder. This is a heavy duty, fully stainless steel grinder that uses a wide opening clamp to secure it to table tops. The build quality is very good, it has a great finish which allows it to be easily cleaned and is rust resistant. The clamp is easy to use and provides a solid grip on the table which holds the grinder firmly in place.
Other features include:
- Two stainless steel plates, one course and one fine.
- A set of three stuffing tubes are included.
LEM have a great range of grinders which all are of a high quality and equally high price. This hand grinder is no different. It’s high quality and expensive. But for the money you get one of the best manual grinders on the market.
The handle turning action is smooth and easy enough for a three year old to comfortably manage large chunks of meat and once you’ve finished the clean up is even simpler. You get enough options for different thicknesses of the meat and the sausage stuffing tubes were effortless to use. We probably think that this was the easier way to make your own sausages we’ve come across.
Overall, the LEM #10 is almost everything you could ever want from a manual meat grinder. It has the same slight problems that most manual meat grinders have, such as it sits a little low and is generally much slower than an electric grinder. But if you’re okay with these problems then you can enjoy the best manual meat grinder on the market.
Check the latest price on Amazon.
Best Meat Grinder for Bones
LEM #22 Big Bite 1 HP Electric Meat Grinder
Most meat grinders can just about grind up bones if you spend a while crushing them before putting them in the grinder. But if you want a meat grinder that can fully grind up whole bones then you’ll need something a little more substantial. These will generally be heavy-duty meat and bone grinders that will cost more than what we’ve reviewed here previously.
But why would you be grinding bones in the first place? Bones contain a lot of nutrients and minerals that are perfect for your dog. Raw food diets, made up of bones and other meats, are becoming increasingly popular because of the notable health benefits and without the risk of feeding your dog a potentially dangerous full bone. It also helps to cut any preservatives or fillers that bought dog food may contain and helps you to use up bones without wasting them.
If you’re thinking of picking up a meat and bone grinder that can handle pretty much whatever you want to grind, we’d highly recommend the LEM #22 1 HP Electric Meat Grinder.
What makes it so much better than the other products we’ve reviewed is that it is basically a commercial meat grinder that has a 1 HP motor that is capable of grinding up almost anything you throw at it. Also, the chute is big enough to handle larger chunks of meat and bone, which means you won’t have to spend ages crushing the bones up beforehand. If you stick to softer bones, such as poultry and rabbit and your dog will love their new meals.
Other features include:
- Completely stainless steel construction makes it incredibly strong and durable whilst still being easy to clean.
- Includes: 1 meat stomper, 1 stainless steel knife, 1 stainless steel stuffing plate, 2 stainless steel plates (Coarse, Fine), 3 stuffing tubes
- Size #22 chute that can fit very large chunks of meat and bone.
- Five year factory warranty.
This is a great all round meat grinder and is one of the best meat grinders for bones that we’ve tried due to the very capable motor and large size. It’s very well made, being made completely from stainless steel. It’s easy to use and is very effective and efficient. It generally beats the STX International Turboforce II in build quality and the amount of meat you can grind but we didn’t choose this, or any other LEM product as our best electric meat grinder, as they generally cost a lot more than the STX. The prices are justified but for the average person looking to grind up some meat for their own burgers or meatballs it will be too much.
Check the latest price on Amazon.
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Tips and Tricks
Follow these quick tips and tricks to help you start grinding meat as easily as possible:
- For most grinders you will need to cut the meat into smaller chunks or strips first. We’d recommend doing this for all meat grinders as full cuts of meat can get stuck in the grinders.
- Make sure your meat is quite cold, but not completely frozen. This is to give it a bit of rigidity to make the grinding process smoother and cleaner.
- Don’t force the meat through the grinder with force. If in doubt, reverse the grinder (if possible) and try again.
- When cleaning be careful to not leave meat or water on in the grinder. This can cause rust and bacteria to form. All of the recommended grinders in our list are very easy to clean but this is something to be aware of anyway.
We hope this has been useful and you’ve got a better idea of what is the best meat grinder for you. If you need more help then leave a comment and we’ll get back to you.
