The 7 Best Electric Meat Grinders
Special Honors
Hobart Choppers & Grinders Unsurprisingly, the meat grinders from this industry leader in commercial cooking are of top quality, and able to accommodate the finest and largest establishments in existence. Naturally, any of them will require a significant investment, but with proper upkeep and an occasional servicing, it's not unusual for one of these appliances to last many, many years. hobartcorp.com
Vollrath Food Service While their #12 and #22 grinders aren't much larger than many consumer-focused options, their rock-solid construction ensures that their duty cycle is significantly longer than just about anything made for home use. They're also made with premium materials that are both good-looking and easy to clean. vollrathfoodservice.com
Editor's Notes
February 24, 2021:
There's a good selection of both name brand and lesser-known models worth considering here. The LEM Big Bite is a straightforward, high-performing choice, and although it doesn't come with many accessories, it's basically the go-to appliance for home sausage aficionados. The HappyBuy 90800 and Sunmile SM-G50 are similar in design to the LEM and also more affordable, but they just don't quite have the same build quality or reliable operation of the Big Bite. Even less expensive is the Altra MG090, which is compact, a good value, and perfectly suited to making fresh burgers for the family.
On the slightly more commercial-oriented side of things, the Weston Butcher Series is a tough one to beat, due in part to an impressively small footprint that few other choices can match. More powerful than it, and also way more expensive, is the Weston Pro Series, which is also surprisingly quiet.
For the home user who loves to cook meat of all types, though, there are few selections as comprehensive as the STX International Turboforce, which includes a foot pedal and plenty of grinding plates, can do more work than most other home models, and doesn't even cost all that much.
March 26, 2019:
There's no burger like a freshly ground burger. Not only is freshness the key to great-tasting meat, but having your own grinder gives you the freedom to use high-quality cuts of meat, rather than the mishmash of products that generally makes up pre-ground beef or frozen burgers. The Betitay, Ginatex, and HomeLeader are worthwhile choices if you only occasionally get the urge to craft your own burgers or sausages, but they aren't built to stand up to full-time use or chicken bones. The Altra serves a similar purpose, though it's a bit stronger and more costly. The Sunmile and Kitchener are both quite well-made, but if you want to maximize your investment, you should strongly consider the STX Turboforce, which is an exceptional value, in light of its great performance.
Anyone working in a restaurant kitchen who doesn't want to drop thousands on one of those massive and loud industrial machines is in luck, though, as the HappyBuy and Weston Pro are both great choices made of durable components. It is, however, hard to beat the LEM Big Bite, which comes in four different sizes, and can power through nearly any type of meat with great speed as well as ease.