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When I was new to raw feeding, I preferred feeding ground raw because I felt that it was safer. It was also easier to mix and cleaner to feed. A meat grinder was one of my first purchases when transitioning from commercial to DIY. I found it on eBay for $150. It was slow and jammed up all the time, but I loved making dog food. In this article, I'll share the top three meat grinders available on Amazon (based on the reviews) and the grinder I eventually purchased when my eBay find burned out.
Do Raw Feeders Need a Meat Grinder?
Purchasing a meat grinder to feed a raw food diet is unnecessary. Feeding whole raw may be preferable for some dog owners, and it doesn't have to be messy. Also, with raw feeding becoming more mainstream, most of the food I purchase for my dogs (through a local raw food co-op) comes pre-ground, so I rarely use my meat grinder.
My main challenge with feeding whole raw is adding a base mix (for balance) and supplements (to promote health). Of course, we can get around these things by buying some ground raw or adding a spoonful of the base mix to the dish if your dog likes vegetables.
Tips When Shopping for Meat Grinders
When shopping for a meat grinder, there are a few things to consider to make your search easier:
1 – when reading reviews, search for mentions of “dogs” and “raw feeding,” to narrow down the meat grinders that raw feeders use. Most meat grinders don't recommend grinding bones, so that won't be in the description. Only other raw feeders can tell you how a meat grinder will do with bones.
2 – be wary of buying a used meat grinder unless you know the person; I originally planned to sell my first one but kept it for smaller projects. It burned out two months later. Always remember, you get what you pay for.
3 – consider your kitchen and storage space; if you have a small kitchen, you may lack counter space for your meat grinder. My meat grinder is heavy, and I don't want to lug it around each time I have to use it, so having space for it to live on the countertop is convenient.
4 – search for discounts around Black Friday / Cyber Monday weekend.
Top Meat Grinders for Raw Feeders
The following is a list of popular meat grinders found on Amazon that generally receive positive customer reviews. It's important to note that the popularity and ratings of products may vary over time. It's always a good idea to check the latest reviews and ratings on Amazon before making a purchase.
STX Turboforce II”Platinum” Heavy-Duty Electric Meat Grinder
This meat grinder is known for its power and versatility. It features a 2000-watt peak power motor and various grinding sizes. It also comes with three stainless steel cutting blades, three grinding plates, and a sausage stuffing attachment.
Cabela's Carnivore 3/4 HP Electric Meat Grinder
This electric meat grinder from Cabela's is known for its powerful motor and durability. It features a 3/4 HP induction motor that can effortlessly grind large quantities of meat. The heavy-duty construction ensures long-lasting performance. The grinder comes with three stainless steel grinding plates for fine, medium, and coarse grinding. It also includes a sausage-stuffing attachment for making homemade sausages.
This is the meat grinder I purchased, and I love it.
Sunmile SM-G50 Heavy Duty Electric Meat Grinder
The Sunmile SM-G50 is a popular choice among customers for its reliability and affordability. It has a powerful 1.3 HP, 1000-watt motor and can grind various meats efficiently. This meat grinder includes three stainless steel cutting plates and various sausage-making accessories.
I have the Cabelas Carnivore 1hp. Worth every penny. I grind frozen turkey necks like butter.
I don’t feed turkey to my dogs so I can’t answer that question. I currently use my meat grinder for duck, rabbit, and grinding meat. I get a lot of boneless cuts of meat through our local raw food co-op.
Does your Cabelas handle turkey bones? Or anything larger than chicken? I’m wary of just being able to grind chicken & rabbit bones, not allowing for much protein variety. ??
No change. My favorite will always be my Cabella’s because it’s still going strong and friends who recommended the other grinders on my list still use their machines too. One thing I learned is that you get what you pay for and I will never buy a cheap grinder again. And, when it comes to inexpensive grinders, if you take care of it, it’ll do good work.
Any update to this list for 2019? Or are these still your top picks, 3 years later? Because that’s saying something! 🙂
Thanks
Hi Jeannie
If you are starting a business, I highly recommend going with a commercial grinder. These grinders won’t last long if used on a daily basis to supply food for a business. I only use my grinder once a month or so. A friend of mine has a raw feeding business and she rents a kitchen that has a grinder to take care of her food, but I’m not sure if she’s allowed to grind bone there. I do know that many commercial grinders go through bone easily.
Thank you all this was so educational for starters.. I’m looking to purchase a commercial grade grinder for my dog and cat raw patties business.. I need STRONG POWER, SAFE, and ability to blow through turkey, duck, rabbit and chickens bones and meat easily.
My Cabela’s grinder is still going strong, but I know what you mean by them breaking down. You get what you pay for. I wish I wouldn’t have gone cheap on my first grinder. I don’t use a bone saw, instead, I feed whole raw – no work except taking from the freezer and thawing. For the longer bones, I use a mallot to break them down and make bone broth with them.
Have any of y’all just cut your bone/meat up smaller with a bandsaw and say forget the grinders that break down every couple years? You can cut up any size bone.
Can you tell
Me the bones you are able to grind with the 3/4 hp?
Used turkey wings with the Weston # 22 and it jamed up twice. Called the manufacturer and he said they will not warentee for turkey bones.
No. I’ve only ground duck bones at this point.
Have you ever tried turkey bones with the Cabellas, smaller Turkeys under 20lb, not a huge turkey.
That was an obvious error and Josie could have just politely pointed that out. But “SNARKY”is the internet. I wish people would pause beforelashing out. Glad you accepted her apology
If you use a hammer or mallet, you can break down the bones so that they can fit. I’ve done this with larger bird bones with success.
I have the Wesson 575 and I can’t grind turkey bones; they don’t fit in the hole.
Thanks for the idea about the garage. Now that we’ve cleaned ours out, I can feed my dogs in there on rainy days and in the winter. Wooohooo!!!! Problem Solved!!!
I have been feed my english bully raw for 6 months. Starting my 120 lb akita/rotti today. Never had a grinder. But now with the big dog think I will invest.
Mahalo for the tip. I feed digs bones in garage during wet season. Just a note:)
Look up mercantilestation2 on ebay. I bought the Electric Meat Grinder – STX International Magnum 1800W – Patented Air Cooling (I had to copy paste) and I have been using that to feed my cats raw meat (chicken thighs with bone and skin) for 3 years and it is still going strong!
The meat grinders I mentioned require that you chop the meat down into smaller pieces that will fit through the grinder.
Which meat grinder do you think would be best for grinding whole chicken? Is it possible to do a whole chicken at a time?
Thanks!
I agree about the cod liver oil.
Here’s an excerpt from Feline Nutrition Org:
“Wild Salmon Oil or Wild Caught Small Fish Oil – Some cats don’t like the taste of salmon oil. Get capsules, not a liquid in a bottle. Once opened, the liquid can go rancid quickly. It’s okay to drop the whole capsule into the grinder, the gelatin capsule is edible. This oil replaces the Omega acids that would usually be in the eyes and brains of the animal eaten. Do not use cod liver oil as it can be high in vitamin A which is toxic in large amounts.”
L-Taurine, Vitamin B-Complex and Vitamin E are also highly recommended in a cat’s diet.
Cod liver oil can be toxic for cats, as it contains too much vitamin A.
Hi,
My grinder died mid-grind as well last weekend, so I’m trying to figure this out today to get a new grinder. I use chicken leg quarters (bone-in) and I just need to make sure this will work for those. I know you don’t use chicken, but based on your experience so far with this grinder, do you think it will be a good choice for me? I feed three medium to,large dogs daily about 5 lbs of food, so I am hoping this might cut down on some of the prepping I’ve been doing. My now dead grinder was not meant to do bones, but it had been reported by raw feeders to be able to do so. I saw this grinder says the same thing on the Cabela’s page, and wanted to see what your thoughts were. My other grinder only lasted 3months, but I didn’t spend a lot on it because I was just starting raw feeding. Now I know I will keep doing it, so can spend a little more money. Thanks for your help!
I’ve only ground duck in my Cabela’s grinder. My dogs don’t eat chicken and turkey. I only grind meat, not vegetables, etc, because I ferment vegetables. However, if I have organ meat, I will add that to the grinder too.
Hi. Thanks for this thread. I’ve been buying and feeding raw ground lamb for years, but am wanting to transition to grinding protein myself–mostly chickens and turkeys (bone-in) and beef. I’m looking at the Cabela’s. You said you have ground both chickens and turkeys in the 3/4 model? Do you then run everything thru (protein and add-ins) the grinder to blend it all? I’m desperate to find a method that’s less of a time suck than what I’m currently doing!
I ordered the 3/4 hp Cabelas Carnivore. Can’t wait to use it. I bought my sister Cabelas 1/2hp years ago and never had an issue. Seen on reviews that Cabelas grinder is also made by Weston.
I buy all of my tripe preground. I recommend checking in a Facebook Raw Feeding group – I’ve seen people processing tripe, so I’m sure someone has ground it too:
Raw Feeders Kicked Out Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/KeepTailWagging/
Raw Feeding 101 – Learn to Feed Raw: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rawfeeding101learntofeedraw/
Question?
Does anyone have experience with grinding tripe? And if so, what HP would be required?
Thanks in advance!
Laura
Hi Jody…
I only grind duck wings, necks, and a few whole meals (venison, pork, elk) with my grinder. It’s a 3/4 HP machine by Cabela’s. The other three grinders listed in this post are good with the same proteins. I’ve only used the STX on chicken and I’ve only ground turkey meat with either grinder.
For learning about raw feeding for dogs, I recommend Raw Feeding 101 (https://www.keepthetailwagging.com/rawfeeding101 – use KEEPTHETAILWAGGING at check out for 50% off the price). I also published a book on raw feeding for dogs: https://www.keepthetailwagging.com/noviceguide.
I don’t write about raw feeding for cats. A good site about feline nutrition is http://www.catcentric.org.
Looking for updates on the latest decent price grinders for turkey and chicken. Also, been reading about raw so looking for advice on adequate balanced raw diet for dogs and cats.
Thank you, Kimberly
I’ve never ground rabbit with my grinder. I recommend asking in a raw feeding group or reaching out to a supplier of raw rabbit for raw feeders.
I need to do Fine Grind whole Rabbit, can this do everything, including the heads? It is for my kittens at 3-4 weeks old, so bones have to be super ground up.
I read through the users manual for the Cabela grinder and it the manufacturer boldly States “Do not grind bone,nuts or hard material. I’m assuming this would shorten the life. There website prices it at $399. I’m personally going to invest in the Weston for a couple hundred more dollars, and peace of mind that it’s doing what it’s designed to… ie; grind meat AND bone.
I was looking at these to grind bone for us humans. I give rabbits cut in large sections to the dogs, they grind their own bone. Never had a problem. Years ago when I fed generic, before any meat based dog foods were even a thought, I list two dogs to bones we had given them. Now I realize they didn’t have enough nutrition from their grain based diet to produce the stomach acids needed to digest bone. Since I went raw, they digest bone fine.
Chickens too. Cats too, since they hunt mice and chipmonks, and rats, they grind their own bone too. But they also get canned mackerel with softened bones and skin and I add nutritional yeast and kelp meal and cod liver oil. Everyone is looking good, even my 15 yr old cat.
Really I had been looking at rock grinders for bones and I mean chicken, turkey, duck, hoose, rabbit, ( mine are about 10-12 lb alive), and goat. Try buying bone meal online? They want $45 for New Zealand organic a 30 day supply! Why not use my own? I may have to make a rock grinders, and yes there are home made ones on YouTube.
Thanks for the info, Craig. I read somewhere you might have to break up the larger pieces with a hammer first. If you try this on the turkey wing or leg, please let us know how it works. Do you think the pics jammed because of size or because the bone is too hard for the machine?
Just used my Weston 22 on a turkey. The wings jamed the auger. The bigger ball for the shoulder got stuck. Cleared and went through the second time. Same problem with the other wing. Didn’t try the legs. Breast did fine. The weston works great on chickens. If it fits in the hole it’s done. Am a bit disappointed with it and turkey.
I only grind duck bones with my Cabella’s grinder. One of my dogs is allergic to chicken and turkey so I don’t buy it for my dogs.
Can you please tell me if you have used the Cabellas grinder to grind turkey bones or only chicken. trying to decide if the weston 22 would be better or if this one will work. Thanks!
I don’t; it’s too hard. You may be able to find a butcher that has a strong enough, commercial grinder. When I feed a protein that has a bone too hard to grind, I feed the meat only then add duck wings or duck necks to provide the bone.
How do you grind beef bone
Thank you for the review…extremely helpful for me and timely too.
I have a Cabellas 3/4 HP meat grinder and it’s a beast. Every time I regret not getting the 1 HP grinder, I think about my current one and think “never mind.” Thankfully, it’s easy to clean and I only have to move it a small distance.
Weston No. 22 Commercial Meat Grinder is heavy and bulky that makes me a bit difficult to transfer and clean.
Sorry to have been so snarky, but in looking up these grinders (to start my cats on a raw diet), I’ve been coming across an alarming number of people who pay hundreds and then say that it chokes on bones and then breaks and they give it great reviews. So uh yeah, I suppose I overly snarked you in particular. XD
Thanks for the reply despite that. ^-^
Thank you for the catch, Josie. Nope, I’m not crazy or insane. I just make an error. I meant to write years, not months. It has been corrected. Thanks for taking the time to point this out to me. Have a nice evening.
Kimberly
“Feeding four big dogs, it lasted 2-1/2 months.”
Why are you recommending something that only lasts two and a half months? That’s insane. Nearly two-hundred dollars for something that breaks in less than three months? Are you frickin’ crazy??
I do not understand.
Do not.
Understand.
Love the products, KittyKit Needs to one of these to start making its own Cat meat