Costco Meat Grinder

[tightgrouper]

Hey all,

Just thought I would post my positive review on my meat grinder that I bought at Costco online for $150 with free shipping.

I had been looking and looking for a good meat grinder. I had one from Canadian tire for 100$ but while it is still working and grinds fine it, like allot of grinders will not pump burger for sausage stuffing. The costco one does! I was pleasantly surprised. I now do not have to get a stuffer.

Also, the other day we processed 5 DEER between 3 of us and ground up most of it. We had one guy skinning and on person d-boning and I was grinding and the grinder kept up no problem. I think it is made by nesco.

Just sayin':-D

[coach]

Is it electric or do you grind by hand? You said it worked great on dear. Would it also work on wild game, such as deer? :???:

[mark]

Is there a model no. or do they just have one model???? Im interested also.

[Whonnock Boy]

I assume it is this one.


http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10343715&search=nesco&Mo=3&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-CA&Nr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&Sp=S&N=0&whse=BCCA&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&Ne=4000000&D=nesco&Ntt=nesco&No=3&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

[Spy]

Is it electric or do you grind by hand? You said it worked great on dear. Would it also work on wild game, such as deer? :???:
LOL:-D Im sure it could grind many Dears!:-D

[tightgrouper]

"oh dear, I'm going to grind you, then stuff you into a casting." Haha. Sorry for the typo.

Yes it is the nesco one that WB posted. they only have one model.

[coach]

Looks good, tightgrouper. I'll be checking it out. Thanks for the info.

[darrin6109]

i have one as well, seems to work great!

[tightgrouper]

Good then, and again the thing that impressed me the most is that it would pump already ground burger...awesome!!!

[tightgrouper]

It is a bit loud though. I wear earmuffs when I use it but i am also big on protecting my ears.
I see the price dropped a bit too.

[Philcott]

Is it mostly plastic or is the body metal?

How long did it take you to grind up three deer?

[tightgrouper]

We did 5 deer( 3 reg size(mainland) and 2 really small(island)) in 3 hours but I was not grinding the whole time I had to stop and cut all the chunks into strips. at the end we had a regular sized cooler filled and piled high so about 200lbs of ground in less than a hour and a half of grinding. Occasional i had to clean of the cutters but I think that is the same with all grinders. The machine has revers to, which is nice. I should time it some time but really the de-boning guy has never been able to keep up so it is fast enough for me.

The housing is all metal.

[darrin6109]

made these babies with it.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s320x320/297145_10150283148051863_708141862_8209209_8028600 68_n.jpg

[Philcott]

made these babies with it.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s320x320/297145_10150283148051863_708141862_8209209_8028600 68_n.jpg


Yummy looking sausage.

[tightgrouper]

Nice!!! It pumps burger well eh. How was it with air bubbles. I have not pumped much with mine I just tested it because it is the problem with most grinders I read.

[darrin6109]

i was worried about air pockets but i have to say it wasnt a problem at all.

[3kills]

this is the one I use and have never had a problem with it however I have never tired to make sausages with it but I am starting to think about giving it a go.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/8/KitchenBath/2/Appliances/SpecialtyAppliances/PRD~0432331P/Cuisinart+Waring+Pro+Meat+Grinder.jsp?locale=en

[tightgrouper]

I have that one too and have ground up about 10 deer with it. It grinds fine but I have had to jerry rig it to keep it working because of the drive connection. It does not pump burger but what I did was spice the meat before you grind it. then grind it right into the castings. It is the only way to stuff with that thing. The problem is it is hard to blend in pork this way. I found that when mixing in pork it was hard to get it to mix consistently. There were pockets of pork in the sausage.

[darrin6109]

I have that one too and have ground up about 10 deer with it. It grinds fine but I have had to jerry rig it to keep it working because of the drive connection. It does not pump burger but what I did was spice the meat before you grind it. then grind it right into the castings. It is the only way to stuff with that thing. The problem is it is hard to blend in pork this way. I found that when mixing in pork it was hard to get it to mix consistently. There were pockets of pork in the sausage.

are you sure you are talking about the same grinder?

[Ddog]

i just got me the 1HP from Cabelas and it is freaking unreal, after burning out 3 grinders and having to wear earplugs with one of them i decided it was just time to shell out for the good one, for $600 delivered to my door it will last a lifetime, solid SS and is as quiet as a mouse. LOVE IT.

[tightgrouper]

are you sure you are talking about the same grinder?

yup. sure.

[tightgrouper]

i just got me the 1HP from Cabelas and it is freaking unreal, after burning out 3 grinders and having to wear earplugs with one of them i decided it was just time to shell out for the good one, for $600 delivered to my door it will last a lifetime, solid SS and is as quiet as a mouse. LOVE IT.

Which grinders did you wear out?

[Ddog]

The grinder from Canadian Tire burnt in 2 deer, just not worth the $130 it cost, one of the other ones was cuisinpro from ebay, this meat grinder was strong and powerful and went through anything in no time, but it was LOUD! the last one is from Wal-mart its called open country meat grinder, it is better than the other two but if i did not have a larger plate and different blade to put in it i would have taken a bat to it, the one that came with it just weren't big enough holes and would constantly get plugged.

If anyone is interested in buying a meat grinder then i would strongly suggest spending a little more money and getting the industrial ones from Cabelas, they are the best, super quiet and powerful, i ran mine in the kitchen with my 3 year old sleeping in the next room and it did not wake her. JMO
cheers...D

[Tank]

I have used a couple different grinders over the years until finally going to an LEM grinder from BassPro. Hands down the best grinder I have used so far. We have the .35hp and it can grind 10x faster than you can cut, and it will do it quietly to boot. We invested in the next size up for Willqbc's shop 2 seasons ago (he goes through up to 30 animals per year) and had the same results. can't remember the cost...maybe in the $400 range? but well worth it IMO.

my two cents

[IronNoggin]

The grinder from Canadian Tire burnt in 2 deer, just not worth the $130 it cost...

AGREED! Cooked THREE of those same units in one fall two years ago. :(Constant drive failures.

Went with a Cabela's unit, and have never looked back. :mrgreen:

Cheers,
Nog

[ElectricDyck]

i just got me the 1HP from Cabelas and it is freaking unreal, after burning out 3 grinders and having to wear earplugs with one of them i decided it was just time to shell out for the good one, for $600 delivered to my door it will last a lifetime, solid SS and is as quiet as a mouse. LOVE IT.

Likewise, still have to push using the plunger for stuffing sausage, but we double ground over a hundered pounds of elk in no time by just dropping it in.

[3kills]

hmmm i have never had problem with the one i got from canadian tire i guess i lucked out, its been used lots only problem i have had was this year when doin up the white tail doe it wasnt feedin through properly took the plate off cleaned it back up and put it back together and it was good to go. i didnt have the plate in tight enough the first time so it was human error. when usin a grinder u should always hand tighten the lock ring and then as soon as meat runs through it give it another crank to tighten it back up and never run it with out meat in it.

[scoopy]

The Canadian tire ones are hit and miss, it is a manufacturing flaw in the drive/auger attachment. The auger won't go deep enough into the machine to fully engage, and this causes it to round out very quickly. I went through 3 OF THEM on one afternoon!!!! I just kept exchanging them and the 3rd one I returned as defective when my deer was done POS!!!!! I just purchased a new one from a restaurant supply place in Langley, Budget Restaurant supply i think???? They have one there for 169.00 and it works great. Ground and stuffed til the wee hours of this morning, the machine is awesome, I would recommend this one over all as it is commercial grade and the price was reasonable. Back to my Chorizo making....

[scoopy]

Here is the location.

http://www.budgetfoodequipment.com/contact_us.php

[Marc]

AGREED! Cooked THREE of those same units in one fall two years ago. Constant drive failures.

Went with a Cabela's unit, and have never looked back.

Cheers,
Nog

Have to agree with the Cabelas 1 hp grinder. I have a local supplier of chicken backs with the necks still attached and I can feed the whole thing in starting at the neck and it grinds it up no problem bone and all! I butcherd up half a side of beef last spring and I was feeding foot long strips into this thing no longer needing to cube, we're talking close to 3 inche diameter pieces of meat and it pulls it all in. Keep your fingers out of it though : ) For all of you who are paying an arm and a leg for raw dog food here is your answer! What used to cost me $1.62 lb is costing me 72 cents plus freezer bags! First picture is chicken backs and necks through the grinder bones and all.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/IMG_8379.JPG

Here is a picture of the grinder and some bear meat I was preparing for sausages.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/bear_burger.jpg

and sausages stuffed with this baby!

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/in_the_smoker.jpg

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/cut_sausage.jpg

[Hydrojet]

I have the cuisinart one from sears home and only put 6 deer through but works great...it is flipn noisy tho. Sausage and burger no problem...double grinding and mixing just needs to be helped down the pipe as it doesn't go down as well as the chucks do, but understandably.... nice looking sausage marc!.....geez...a guy has to watch how that is said! Good job any way!

[tightgrouper]

I could only dream of having the cabela's 1hp grinder. If you have one you are a lucky duck! Ya cutting long strips is the way to go.

[tightgrouper]

I have to make a retraction here.

The costco grinder did not stuff burger as well as I first thought. Originally I just ran a bit through and thought it worked great,but after my most resent pepperoni venture I am more than certain that an actual stuffer is required. Maybe it could be done with 2 persons but alone was not possible.
I have halted production and waiting for my new 15# LEM vertical stuffer to arrive so that I can continue.

The deer pepperoni I did finish turned out really nice. Can't wait to finish it.

Sorry for misleading anyone. MY BAD

[shaydog65]

Crap. I've got one coming in the mail right now. I'm a total sausage noob, so let me get this straight... With this grinder, I will have to mix in the pork with my venison trim and spices before grinding. Then it will stuff sausages but the mixture will be so/so.

Or I can buy a vertical stuffer and just use this to grind?

What about manual machine options? I'm only gonna be stuffing 40-60lbs per year.

[naes]

I have one grinds ok, Just did a bunch. I do have a vertical Stuffer so that is not an issue for me. I did find out the hard way that it is not dishwasher friendly!

[tightgrouper]

Crap. I've got one coming in the mail right now. I'm a total sausage noob, so let me get this straight... With this grinder, I will have to mix in the pork with my venison trim and spices before grinding. Then it will stuff sausages but the mixture will be so/so.

Or I can buy a vertical stuffer and just use this to grind?

What about manual machine options? I'm only gonna be stuffing 40-60lbs per year.

The only inconsistency I think would be the mixing of the pork. But if you can have a helper than it is not such an issue. Otherwise get the lem 5 or 15 lbs stuffer but it aint cheap..

[M.Dean]

My Wife bought me a Meat Grind from Cabela's, it's the Pro Series one, come with 3 different size cutting plates, and, what you have to have for stuffing meat into casings, a Sausage making ring, 2 Sausage Tubes, and so far has worked flawlessly! The Sausage ring act's like a cutting plate, but has very large holes in it, reason is it holds the feed screw even in the Feeder head, and allows the Sausage mixture to come out way easier than through a cutting plate. Also, you shouldn't have a cutting blade on when stuffing the casings. I used a cheaper Model this year a buddy of mine lent me, it worked great, we did 2 Moose and a Deer with it, made tons of Burger in no time, but for making Sausage it sucked! I think this one was around 250 dollars when the smoke cleared, but well worth it!

[M.Dean]

And P/S, I've got a brand new Sausage Stuffer in the closet, we bought it from WSS this fall, tried to use it once, washed it all off, put it back in the box and never used it again, I didn't know you had to be a 350 pound weight lifter to push the dam lever down to get meat to come out the end!

[tightgrouper]

There are all kinds of issues with stuffing sausage. One thing for sure when making snack stick(the slim ones) it take way more pressure to push it through sucha small hole. I think I will avoid that.

I think what guys do is thin their burger mixture with water and other things. I even read of one guy who lets his mixture warm up a bit to get it to flow easily.

[cdub]

Never let the mixture warm up unless you like to shit your pants. To make it easier to stuff you add more ice water to the mixture.

[tightgrouper]

It is not a good idea to let the mixture warm up, no.

[bosch]

I bought a SAM BAER SB-500 grinder on ebay 4 years ago for 140 bucks to my door, it has a 1.6HP motor which if you watch the video on line, shows a guy grinding a whole chicken,bone and all, in it, without missing a beat. This convinced me to buy one and it is one skoocum machine. I have ground burger, made sausage and stuffed them. Thing is just awesome. If you want a reasonably priced grinder that works like a professional one try this one.

[jhackler]

Has anyone tried the other meat grinder listed on costco.ca - Hualing Meat Grinder Item # 306073 ?

I tried to find reviews or comments, but there does not seem to be much out there, so I thought I would ask the forum members.
I am not sure how it compares to LEM or Cabela grinders.

What are people's thoughts?

[tightgrouper]

I bought a SAM BAER SB-500 grinder on ebay 4 years ago for 140 bucks to my door, it has a 1.6HP motor which if you watch the video on line, shows a guy grinding a whole chicken,bone and all, in it, without missing a beat. This convinced me to buy one and it is one skoocum machine. I have ground burger, made sausage and stuffed them. Thing is just awesome. If you want a reasonably priced grinder that works like a professional one try this one.

That does sound like the best unit going.

[ratherbefishin]

I was told that if you put the meat in the freezer and get a little frost in it-the meat grinds easier-is that true?

[Boner]

That's what we noticed over the years grinding by hand with a number 22.

[SeaScene]

I live on a boat so was wondering if anyone uses a hand grinder and if so what would be a good one and where can a guy buy it. ... thanks

[bridger]

The grinder from Canadian Tire burnt in 2 deer, just not worth the $130 it cost, one of the other ones was cuisinpro from ebay, this meat grinder was strong and powerful and went through anything in no time, but it was LOUD! the last one is from Wal-mart its called open country meat grinder, it is better than the other two but if i did not have a larger plate and different blade to put in it i would have taken a bat to it, the one that came with it just weren't big enough holes and would constantly get plugged.

If anyone is interested in buying a meat grinder then i would strongly suggest spending a little more money and getting the industrial ones from Cabelas, they are the best, super quiet and powerful, i ran mine in the kitchen with my 3 year old sleeping in the next room and it did not wake her. JMO
cheers...D


Have the same one from cabelas set up in our cooler/cutting room. Works exceptionally well our gang processes about twenty animals a year and it doesn't miss a beat. Easy to clean as well

[SR80]

just curious if these grinders actually make sauage well with the sausage tubes? or are sausage stuffers a better way to go?

[Mauser98]

I've got a Cuisinart grinder from Home Hardware. I think it's the same as the Canadian Tire offering mentioned earlier. It's noisy but it meets my needs. I tried stuffing sausage with it with the result being that I bought a LEM 5 lb vertical stuffer. The LEM was part of a kit that included a sausage recipe book, a bunch of sausage making spices kits and 3 stuffing tubes. I got the kit through Amazon.com.

The tubes that came with the stuffer were all too big for snack stick casing so I recently bought a small stainless steel tube direct from LEM that will work with 17 and 19mm casings. I've only used it once with 19mm collegens and it worked great. The sausage has to be fairly moist to minimize stuffing effort. Ice water, beer or red wine can be added.

By the way, when ordering from LEM out of the states, expect to get bent over and pummeled with the cost of shipping.

[Spy]

Wow I thought the advertising police would have shut this thread down months ago !

[tightgrouper]

Am I a bad guy for starting it?

[labrador]

I returned mine. I used it to stuff sausage but it backed up. I found this after a week I noticed some bad smell. I opened the bottom and found out lots of rotten meat that is sitting there. I don't know maybe I have too much liquid? But nevertheless I returned it to Costco.

[tightgrouper]

I returned mine. I used it to stuff sausage but it backed up. I found this after a week I noticed some bad smell. I opened the bottom and found out lots of rotten meat that is sitting there. I don't know maybe I have too much liquid? But nevertheless I returned it to Costco.

maybe you did not have the white nylon sleve/bushing in and meat blew past. I ended up getting a 15lbs LEM stuffer anyways.

[labrador]

I like to buy this SAM BAER SB-500 meat grinder bit I cannot find anywhere.Can any members here tell me where to find one please?

[labrador]

I just ordered this meat cutter from Costco. http://www.costco.ca/Hualing-Meat-Grinder.product.10365148.html. It has a 850 watts equivalent to more than 1 HP. I will check first if the gears are plastic or metal .Then I will decide if I will keep it. http://images.costco.ca/image/media/150-306073-894__1.jpg

[Buck]

I just ordered this meat cutter from Costco. http://www.costco.ca/Hualing-Meat-Grinder.product.10365148.html. It has a 850 watts equivalent to more than 1 HP. I will check first if the gears are plastic or metal .Then I will decide if I will keep it. http://images.costco.ca/image/media/150-306073-894__1.jpg
Looks good please do a review when you get it.

[ultramafic]

Yup been looking at this one too... It does not appear to come with stuffing tubes though which was a feature I was kinda hoping to get, even if it was just to fill my ground meat bags. I was on the "site" today and there is a 5 out of 5 review on it but the guy mentions no stuffing tubes and I think only one grinding plate which he felt was too small other than that he gave it good reviews.

I am still thinking of the 1hp unit from Cabelas for the stuffing tubes and extra grinding plates which are easy to purchase from them.

mike


I just ordered this meat cutter from Costco. http://www.costco.ca/Hualing-Meat-Grinder.product.10365148.html. It has a 850 watts equivalent to more than 1 HP. I will check first if the gears are plastic or metal .Then I will decide if I will keep it. http://images.costco.ca/image/media/150-306073-894__1.jpg

[Sitkaspruce]

The Costco one, above looks like a nice machine. I would check first if there is metal gears, you can get new plates in different sizes (.5 will have your meat like Pate'....or cat food.) and if you can get stuffing tubes and a stuffing plate.

One other thing to look at is the neck size, it looks like a 12, which is about half the size of the Cabelas one. Means cutting your meat into smaller chunks.

I used to have Waring Pro and it was great (except for the noise), sold it as we bought the Cabelas 1.0 hp. Will never look back.

As for stuffers, we have the 11 lbs verticle one from Cabelas, nice machine. You can get stuffers and meat mixers from PA stores or online, just check to see if they have nylon /plastic or metal gears.

Cheers

SS

[labrador]

So I got my grinder from Costco and it is all metal including gears. There is an opening on top for oiling. And also probably the guy who said there is only 1 #5 plate did not look at the bottom. There is another plate and much bigger maybe size 7. I don't know if it is a misprint or what but Costco's description as I noted said 850 watts. The sticker and the user's manual indicates 750 watts which is 1 horsepower. The manual grinder #12 I bought from PA came with stuffing tubes that fit in my new grinder.

[tightgrouper]

Keep us posted. My grinder was not grinding so will and I discoved that the blades were not pushing up against the cut plate. I had to add a washer to space the knives forward so that they are pressing against the cut plate like I think they should. I think i am looking for a new on soon.

Is your new unit nice and quiet?
Easy to clean?

[labrador]

I tried it but without meat and it is more quiet than the Nesco that I returned and that one is only 450 watts but noisy. Easy to clean the way they assembled it. It is a keeper. And the blade is right on the plate without any gap, all steel. Lot's of stuffing at PA. I do not see the grinder at Costco site maybe sold out.

[mots]

Just to keep things going I found this today... I am almost tempted since I burt my CT grinder out last fall....
http://www.cabelas.ca/index.cfm?pageID=71&&section=1189&section2=1304&ID=28043

[mots]

They even have the pro one on for 150.... but im leary of grinders in this price range

[1 shot 1 kill]

I have a Villaware elite pro grinder purchased for $250 on sale..550 watt 3/4 PH
I have ground over the last 5yrs that i have had it well over 2000lbs of meat with it an also used
the machine to make an stuff my own sasauges..probably did around 300lbs of sasauge..works extremely well.
I have stood there for 8hrs grinding moose an making sasauge without turning it off and it has never given me an problems.
only dislike is it is kind of loud..

[pete_k]

Just mail ordered a Costco meat grinder. Cool Kitchen Pro. About $200 after taxes and deliver.
Has sausage accessories. 575 watt motor (3/4 hp). Course, medium, fine plates plus a chopper.
No problems yet. Very happy with the performance.
Looking forward to making smokies.