Meat Grinder recommendations

[oosik]

Eddie - do you cook the hog meat before feeding it?? I just wonder about various worms and parasites.

AH - reread the first post. I see you do cook the meat.

 

[ponytug]

Congratulations on the great work with your dogs! I can only imagine how much food you go through in a day. I remember the feeding in a "Dirty Jobs" episode with Martin Buser and his huskies.

I know that our breeder is really into nutrition and we tend to follow her lead on what to feed. Free pork would be very tempting.

Cabellas sells some medium sized meat grinder that might work for you if you can't locate a commercial unit.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ponytug]

Having just watch a 150lb hog saunter by me our backyard, (chainlink fence between us!) I was curious what you decided.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Torvy]

I would think it would be easier to roast the hogs first. You can do a few at time depending on your setup. Since its for the dogs you don't have to worry about rub or anything like that.

 

[sea2summit]

So when I do hogs for dog food I get a big metal garbage can on the Turkey fryer burner and fill it half way with water and set it on full afterburner as I start to cut. Pull the hide and guts. Break out the sawzall with a long demo blade and start cutting chunks about two fist size and throw them in the can. When I’m done cutting I let it come to a boil then boil it for about 45 minutes. Let it cool then put three pieces in a gallon zip lock bag and freeze it. The leftover water is basically drippings and I usually ladle a for the outside dog’s food but it runs through them pretty quick…if you know what I mean. The rest gets dumped in the pond for fish food.

Grinding seems like a lot of work for dog food to me. But good luck.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

So, how much meat are we talking here? Assuming it is a whole hog at a time, I would definitely go for a commercial or semicommercial unit. I have only used KitchenAid (home) and Hobart (commercial). Do the math on pounds per hour and see where you need to be.

I would look around for restaurant auctions, or a commercial supplier that might be able to get you a used commercial unit at a reasonable price. If you are buying new, look for NSF or ETL certification; those units will be higher quality and easier to keep clean.

FWIW: We just coarsely chop the meat for our dogs, and freeze a portion for a day or two worth, but they are larger (70lbs).

All the best,

Peter

I agree that the Kitchen Aid grinder is way undersized for doing large quantities. but it's great for 10-20 lb. runs of sausage stuffing. There is also a grinder attachment that will squeeze juice and pulp out of fruits and berries while ejecting the seeds and skins. I haven't seen attachments for the old Hobart mixers that were the commercial versions, but the attachment point is similar. I'm sure they would be expensive.

 

[workinonit]

I like that LEM grinder. Appears to be made in the US and would handle anything you need to do. Get it!

 

[MossRoad]

A friend of mine worked night shift security at the local airport. He lived in a rental house on airport property. The county police had him on their "who to call if someone hits a deer with their car" list. About every week or two he'd get called for a dead dear. The airport restaurant was closing, so he bought their Hobart meat grinder for about $100. Thing was a beast. He and everyone else he knew had about an endless supply of Bambi burger.

Looking at those grinders now, even used, are in the thousands. But they work and last.

 

[Doughknob]

I would think it would be easier to roast the hogs first. You can do a few at time depending on your setup. Since its for the dogs you don't have to worry about rub or anything like that.

I hope you do not mean roast them before grinding. That does not work well.........

 

[Torvy]

No, dogs don't need food to be ground up. Roast it low and slow and you have loose meat for the pups. As someone else said, freeze it after.