LEM Products W780A Stainless Steel Big Bite Electric #12-Meat Grinder (.75-HP)

This is the single finest appliance I've ever used. I actually feel bad for people using their kitchenaid grinders after using this one. It simply does not care. It grinds it warm, it grinds it cold, it grinds it frozen, it doesn't flinch and it doesn't slow down. The big bite feeding tube is large enough to fit a beer bottle in so it saves you time not having to cut things up as small like you would for those other inferior grinders. When putting the meat in for grinding, I can't even keep up with it. It literally takes two people to feed this monster fast enough for maximum potential. Every part on this machine is of the highest quality right down to the cord. If you process your own meat and you make your own sausage, you need this machine. It is a lifetime purchase and it is worth every cent. It is supreme. It has been several years since my initial purchase of this old warrior. It looks and performs exactly the way it did the day I bought it. As of a few days ago I have ground THOUSANDS of pounds of meat through this beast. I depend on this tool to function at a very high level and it has never let me down. Having used it for a few years now I can say it's not particularly good at stuffing sausage, but then again it's not a sausage stuffer. You can do it but the sausage press is just naturally better. It's only weakness is if the fat gets too warm, it will coat the auger and slow down progress. That happens to be the case with any grinder so just keep the fat cold and you're good. I will continue to update this rating as I continue to use it. Once again, this is the finest appliance I have ever used.

I bought this to make raw cat food (grinding entire chicken leg quarters along with organs) and it works like a dream! I've been using it for a couple months now and it is quickly paying itself off in savings from not buying raw food. I started out with an STX Magnum grinder because it saved me a couple hundred dollars, but that machine sounded like it was going to explode as soon as I put bone through it (even though it claims to be capable of grinding bone). Also, after the first use, there was already some oil leaking, and so I just decided to return it and save myself the hassle. I purchased this LEM big bite expecting it to be considerably better, but i didn't expect it to be this good. We literally couldn't put the chicken through fast enough. The 'big bite' pulled everything right through, and the machine didn't skip a beat when it encountered bone. And it is SO quiet. I read that someone said it was loud, obviously they never tried grinding bone with a cheaper grinder. This thing makes less noise than my ninja blender, and it's grinding BONE! Needless to say, I am beyond pleased. I highly recommend this to any Raw feeders out there (you save a FORTUNE making it yourself). Do yourself a favor and don't waste your time and money on a cheaper grinder, in a fruitless attempt to save money. You pay more for this, but you get what you pay for. This machine comes with an amazing warranty (grinding bones is covered) and the difference it makes is unbelievable.

I received my LEM #5 Meat Grinder a couple days ago and today used it for the first time. I ran 24 lbs of pork shoulder through this machine with the large plate in under 5 minutes. I first cut the meat into about 2 inch wide strips. I placed them into a couple of hotel pans and stuck them in the deep freezer for a couple hours until the had ice crystals. The grinder literally worked as fast as I was able to feed the meat into it. I added my seasonings afterward, and then ran the meat back through with the fine plate. As expected, this took quite a bit longer as you are forcing the meat through much smaller holes. It still did quite well. This machine will load sausage casings, but it would be much easier to use the LEM sausage stuffer. All in all, worth the money, and a good machine https://www.amazon.com/LEM-Products-Sausage-Stuffing-Kit/dp/B002L80O50/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1543716489&sr=8-4&keywords=lem+sausage+stuffer

My husband goes hunting about once or twice a year. Usually we spend about $300 a year on processing. Since usually we get mainly ground meat anyways I thought we could do the processing ourselves and save some money in the long run. A few years ago my husband and his dad processed their deer themselves using a cheap little grinder and my husband swore he'd never process himself again. However, when I ordered this grinder he was excited to get to work. We had deer and hog meat and everything went through like butter. He cut most of the meat into strips and they went through just fine. The only complaint I have is not about the grinder itself, but about the shipping. The box arrived with some holes in the cardboard and the top was open, no tape or anything. It did include all parts though. Also, even though the item is labeled as prime, it did take 5 days to arrive. I thought maybe that's because it wouldn't be available to ship right away, but it actually shipped only a few hours after I ordered it. I did contact Amazon about it but the representative I talked to didn't seem to understand my issue. To be fair, the product arrived on time (it did say it would take 5 days to arrive when I ordered it), I just don't think it should be labeled as prime since it does not arrive in 2 days.

I had purchased the W780 for both of my kids, to make their own dog food primarily. Due to yet another cat health issue (we have been OFF the chow for long time now), I felt the need to move on to making my own cat food, so I borrowed my son-in-law and their grinder. I was very impressed - quiet, quick, easy! I could not keep up with it, my son-in-law kept saying another, feed another! We ground up 12 LBs of chicken thighs, bone and all, with eggs, livers, hearts, gizzards, in minutes. No problem. After this nice demo, when the original batch of food was running down (only the one cat would eat the stuff, for now), I ordered my own grinder, getting the newer model with longer warranty (do not expect to need it). 13 LBs of chicken, plus the other ingredients AND 3 LBs of whole rabbit, cut up, later, again easily done! Took less time to grind the meats, etc than to prep everything! As noted in the description details, this is a heavy unit. If placed correctly, one does not need to move it, just the parts that need cleaning. I have mine sitting on a table for cat food preparation, and there it shall stay! Even the removable parts are hefty, the parts that need cleaning, but they are not unmanageable. Highly recommended, especially if you are considering making your own pet food (FIND AN APPROPRIATE RECIPE FROM A REPUTABLE SOURCE FIRST!!!), and if you want to grind your own meats. Update 1/27/2016 - Many people have questioned whether this unit can handle bones. Although the paperwork specifically states NOT to grind bones, the chicken thighs, whole rabbit and most recently whole duck (both minus head/feet) all went through, no issue with the bones. Some bits of the chicken "knuckles" do not go through, so when finished you might have some pieces still in the unit, behind the cutting blade. What I DID have an issue with is the skin - make sure your pieces are not too long. They became twisted in the auger and shut down the unit. After shutting it off, unplugging it, removing the twisted skin (the whole skin was not put in, but some of the pieces were a bit longer - just be sure to keep these shorter!) and putting it all back together, there is a reset button on the back of the unit - push this and all was good again. I initially thought it was the wing (had put one in whole), but after the second shutdown, I realized it was the skin that was the issue. So break up the wings, break/cut up the skin into shorter pieces, and you should have no problems!

I come from a long line of meatheads. Both my father and my grandfather were butchers. I'm a restaurateur and perennial lover of all things meat, particularly fresh ground burgers. WARNING: Once you have a chargrilled burger made from freshly double-ground choice grade Chuck, you will never be able to go back to a previously ground beef patty. Yeah, you can play around with blending brisket or sirloin or short rib and even ox tail. TRUST ME, choice Chuck roast with at least 80/20 meat to fat ratio is as good as pure and simple as it gets. I bought the LEM W777A Big-Bite grinder for my home use (why?....see WARNING above). This is a professional quality-built piece of equipment that is easy to use, easy to clean and pretty spectacular to display. We use it even to grind meat just for two or three of us having burgers. It's definitely all you will ever need at home for burgers and sausage/salami making. I highly recommend this unit!!

Not sure how to start this...Ultimately the grinder itself works great. The issue is how we received the grinder. The first grinder arrived damaged. The box had been dropped on the corner and consequently the corner of the grinder was bent. The second grinder came in an obliterated box. I should have rejected it but really wanted to make sausage. I crossed my fingers and opened it. The foam inside was destroyed and the grinder head had clearly fallen out of the box as it was all scratched up and dented. I returned it again and received a new third grinder. The box was in good condition and the grinder appeared to be ok as well. I got the grinder out two days ago and began making sausage. The grinder head collar when on a little rough but it went on. The problem however is that I could barely get it off. I finally got it off and discovered the threads have burrs on them. I tried to put it on again but it was worse the second time (I was not cross-threading it because it went all the way on the first time). I was afraid to even try to get it all the way on the second time for fear of it not coming off. Amazon returned the first two grinders and sent a replacement but will now not send a replacement on the third grinder. Additionally I purchased a tenderizer attachment which is now past the return deadline that I am stuck with. I will have to get the return amount on the third grinder and drive to anchorage to try and find another grinder. This has been pretty frustrating. The grinder works well and I liked it but MANNNNNNNN -this has been a saga that began at the beginning of September. Really frustrating!!!

Manufactured in Ohio - Most of the grinders we looked at were manufactured in China so being manufactured in the USA was at the top of our purchase list. That being said, LEM offers one of the best warranties we found on meat grinders (5 years) most were 1 year. (You do have to fill out the warranty registration card, make a copy of your receipt and snail mail the warranty card and receipt to LEM instead of simply doing it online but that is just a little inconvenience.) Our grinder was delivered promptly (2 days) and was packaged very well - everything arrived undamaged. This stainless steel machine is a beauty and a beast! The parts ARE NOT dishwasher friendly so once unboxed, you need to carefully hand wash and dry the auger, stomper, plates, filler tubes, tray, etc - the directions and manual are clear on setting up and using the grinder - We wished they would have included a small recipe book and a small bottle of food-safe silicone with the purchase.) We were amazed at how quiet this machine is for its size and ability - we expected a lot more noise so we were pleasantly surprised we did not feel the need to wear ear protection. Our first "grind" was a chuck roast we sliced into long strips about 2" wide and 6" to 10" long, put them in the freezer for about an hour and then put them through the grinder with the larger plate - it ground it like the chili grind at the butcher shop - very cool but we wanted to grind it a little finer (i.e play with the machine a little longer) so we changed the plate to the smaller grind and it did a great job and the grind was like the butcher shop burger. (See photos) After finishing the meat, we take a piece of bread and run it through to remove any meat pieces left behind - it helps to get the stringy pieces out of the plates therefore making cleanup easier. We have made our dog's food using the larger plate, both chicken and beef and even ran broccoli through for the dog food. Definitely need the meat to be super cold, especially chicken, it really helps to grind it. In the photo you will see we purchased the foot pedal which is a must if you plan on making sausage, especially if you plan on operating the machine by yourself - the foot pedal is a "must have" accessory. We plan on buying an extra blade and using it with the other plate so each plate will have its own blade so if there is any differences the individual blades can adjust to each plate. We will be doing pork sausage later this week and will update on that experience - great machine thus far and no, we have not received anything or know anyone at LEM; this is simply our experience and opinion on this product! As we use the machine and we are over the "honeymoon" period, if our opinions change, we will update our review.