The short list
All 22 reviews →| 1 |  | Best meat grinderLEM #8 BigBiteThe grinder most home butchers should buy: quiet, fast and built to run through a whole deer. | About $420#8 | 0.5 HP7 lb/min (maker) | Review |
| 2 |  | Best grinder for deerLEM #12 BigBiteFor hunters who process more than one deer a season, or grind 25 pounds at a sitting. | $599.99 list#12 | 0.75 HP11 lb/min (maker) | Review |
| 3 |  | Best grinder under $200STX Turboforce 3000The best grinder under $200: a #12 head and a box full of attachments, if you can live with the noise. | About $180#12 | 800–1,200 W running3–4 lb/min (maker) | Review |
| 4 |  | Best meat slicerChef'sChoice 615AThe home slicer to buy: sturdy, easy to take apart, and strong enough for roasts and jerky. | $189.99 list7 in blade | 120 WDeli-thin to about ¾ in | Review |
| 5 |  | Best sausage stufferHakka 7 lb StufferThe best stuffer for most people: stainless, two-speed and cheaper than the big brands. | About $1337 lb (3 L) | Manualtwo speeds | Review |
| 6 |  | Best kitchen scaleOXO 11 lb ScaleThe kitchen scale to buy: accurate, and the pull-out display stays readable under a big tub of meat. | About $5511 lb (5 kg) | 1 g stepsBatteries | Review |
| 7 |  | Best scale for curing saltAWS-100 Pocket ScaleFor weighing curing salt and spices to the hundredth of a gram, which a kitchen scale can't do. | $29.99 MSRP100 g | 0.01 g steps2 AAA (included) | Review |
What the number on a grinder means
Sizes explained →A grinder's number is the size of its plate, not its motor. A bigger plate has more holes, so the same push moves more meat. That's why a half-horsepower #8 can outrun a cheap grinder with a much bigger wattage claim on the box. For home kitchens, #8 and #12 are the sizes that matter: a #8 handles burgers, sausage and a deer a year; a #12 is the step up when you grind 25 pounds or more at a time. Plates and knives are sold by number, so a standard size also makes replacements easy to find.
Plate diameters and output: KaTom Restaurant Supply, Guide to Commercial Meat Grinders. Output varies with the motor, the meat and how well it's trimmed.
What a home butcher actually needs
A grinder comes first. It covers burgers, chili meat and sausage. A #8 with a half-horsepower motor handles a deer a year.
A stuffer comes second. Most grinders come with stuffing tubes, but pushing sausage through a grinder re-works the meat and smears the fat. A separate stuffer is faster and gives a better texture.
A slicer and scales round it out. The slicer is for jerky, bacon and deli meat. Two scales cover the weighing: a kitchen scale for meat and fat, and a pocket scale for curing salt.
| What to buy | Price | You need it when | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grinder | LEM #8 BigBite | About $420 | You grind more than a few pounds a month |
| Stuffer | Hakka 7 lb | About $133 | You make links, brats or snack sticks |
| Slicer | Chef'sChoice 615A | $189.99 list | You make jerky or slice your own deli meat |
| Kitchen scale | OXO 11 lb | About $55 | Every batch: fat ratio and seasoning |
| Pocket scale | AWS-100 | $29.99 MSRP | You use curing salt |
Prices are list or typical retail prices. Full equipment checklist →
Start with the grinder. Which one fits?
Grinder sizes, explained →Reviews
All 22 reviews →Meat grinders
LEM #8 BigBite
The grinder most home butchers should buy: quiet, fast and built to run through a whole deer.
LEM #12 BigBite
For hunters who process more than one deer a season, or grind 25 pounds at a sitting.
Weston Pro Series #8
A strong #8 with more motor than LEM's #8 and the most complete sausage kit in the box.
STX Turboforce 3000
The best grinder under $200: a #12 head and a box full of attachments, if you can live with the noise.
Slicers, stuffers and scales
Chef'sChoice 615A
The home slicer to buy: sturdy, easy to take apart, and strong enough for roasts and jerky.
BESWOOD 10-Inch
A deli-style 10-inch slicer for whole roasts, slabs of bacon and big jerky batches.
Hakka 7 lb Stuffer
The best stuffer for most people: stainless, two-speed and cheaper than the big brands.
AWS-100 Pocket Scale
For weighing curing salt and spices to the hundredth of a gram, which a kitchen scale can't do.
Grinding is the first step. Then it's jerky, or the freezer.
Ground meat spoils faster than whole cuts, because grinding spreads surface bacteria all through it. Our sister sites cover what comes next.
- Keep meat at 40°F or below the whole time, and chill it to about 32°F right before it goes in the grinder.
- Use it within one or two days in the fridge, or freeze it. USDA says frozen ground beef is safe indefinitely and best used within four months.
- For the freezer, press it flat in vacuum bags so it freezes and thaws fast. See how to vacuum seal meat, or the best vacuum sealers for hunters.
- Or turn some into jerky. Ground meat jerky has to reach 160°F; see ground beef jerky and venison jerky safety on The Dehydrator Report.
Sources: USDA FSIS, Ground Beef and Food Safety; Mississippi State University Extension, Making Sausage at Home.
Common questions
What size meat grinder do I need?
The number is the plate size. A #8 (2½-inch plate) suits most homes: burgers, sausage and a deer a year. Step up to a #12 or #22 if you grind 25 pounds or more at a sitting, since bigger plates move more meat for the same motor. Restaurant supplier KaTom puts a #8 at 2 to 3 pounds a minute, a #12 at 4 to 5 and a #22 at 9 to 12.
Is the KitchenAid grinder attachment good enough?
For a few pounds of burger at a time, yes. Get the metal version (KSMMGA), chill it in the freezer first and keep the meat near 32°F. It isn't built for a whole deer; the mixer's motor works hard and the small plate is slow.
How cold should meat be before grinding?
Mississippi State University Extension says to chill meat to about 32°F and keep it at 40°F or below while you grind and mix. Cold fat cuts cleanly instead of smearing, which gives you a better texture and keeps bacteria in check.
Should I grind meat once or twice?
For sausage and smooth burgers, twice. Mississippi State Extension recommends a first pass through a ½- to ¾-inch plate, then mixing in seasoning and regrinding through a 3/16-inch plate. For chili or a loose burger, one pass through a coarse plate is enough.
Can I stuff sausage with my grinder?
Yes, with the stuffing tubes most grinders include, but it's slow and the meat goes through the auger a second time, which warms and smears the fat. A separate vertical stuffer only pushes the meat. If you make sausage more than once or twice a year, it's worth the money.
Do I need a special scale for curing salt?
Yes. Cure #1 is used in small amounts measured in grams, and a kitchen scale that reads in 1-gram steps can't weigh small batches accurately. A pocket scale that reads to 0.01 gram costs about $30.
What's the right fat ratio for sausage?
Mississippi State Extension recommends about two parts lean to one part fat. Venison is very lean, so most recipes add pork or beef fat to reach that ratio.
Best picks
- Best meat grinders10 grinders, every type compared
- Best grinders for deerFast, cool-running, built for a whole deer
- Best grinders under $200The STX, the Cuisinart and the KitchenAid
- Best meat slicersFrom 7-inch home slicers to a 10-inch deli model
- Best sausage stuffersTwo-speed manual and motorized
- Best scales for sausage makingOne for meat, one for cure
Comparisons
How we choose
Wattage on the box tells you very little about a grinder. Some budget grinders advertise a "locked motor" figure two or three times what they draw while grinding, while a half-horsepower #8 with metal gears will outwork them. So we compare grinders on plate size, the maker's rated horsepower, gear material and warranty, and we lean on timed, side-by-side tests where they exist. Every review names whose test each number came from.
Then we look at the day after: how many parts you'll be washing, whether they're aluminum (hand-wash only) or stainless, and whether standard plates and knives fit, so a dull knife means a new knife, not a new grinder.
Slicers, stuffers and scales get the same treatment: blade size and motor, gear ratio and canister material, readability and capacity. We don't count included accessories in a product's favor if they're plastic and likely to crack.