Looking for a great meat grinder. Suggestions?

[jgradyc]

We buy turkey and grind it up for our pets. I was hoping someone could recommend a great grinder... or let me know what they've seen on sale for Black Friday. Here is what we've used so far.

Harbor Freight basic model $54 right now.  This is the best one we've owned. The motor burned out eventually. 

STX 3000 from Amazon $179: This thing was a total piece of junk.

Weston #5: $99. It's what we're using now, but it's not quite as good as the Harbor Freight grinder.

It will be used to grind one thawed turkey about every 4 weeks. We remove the skin and grind everything except the neck, backbone, and large leg bones. With that in mind, what would you recommend?

[Omega]

I think we had this discussion before, if I find it I'll post a link.  In the meantime, if I recall correctly, it was the bones which separated the expensive ones from the cheaper ones.  Plastic gears too, that is what eventually wears out first, at least most times. That being said, I have been using a ~$50 one I found at Rural King to grind venison. It has plastic gears of course but it has been doing ok so far.  They stopped carrying the brand, only carried it for about a year, now they have another brand so unsure of the current quality.

Edit: here is the link, good info:

 

Edited November 21, 2017 by Omega
Add link

[gregintenn]

I don't think you'll go wrong buying anything from LEM.

I have some sort of cheap refurbished grinder I bought on Amazon. It has worked well for about 10-12 years now. When it bites the dust, I think I'll bite the bullet and get a good one.

[10-Ring]

This is a little different but I use a large food processor.  I think it's a 13 cup capacity but wouldn't swear to it.  Cost about $50 I've been using it for the years and it's still going strong.  I grind about 5-7 deer each year.  Mostly just the hind quarters.

[xsubsailor]

The Best Meat Grinders of 2017

 

http://www.toptenreviews.com/home/kitchen/best-meat-grinders/