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What Size Meat Grinder Do I Need?
Walton's sells a variety of meat grinders, from our smallest # 8 kitchen grinder for someone who is going to do occasional small batches all the way up to the # 32 for those who are going to use it for multiple deer or hogs a year. The size of the meat grinder you need really depends on how much meat you have to process at a time and how many times a year you are going to use it, so keep reading for a detailed description of each of our grinders to find the one that is perfect for you!
Waltons # 8 Kitchen Grinder
Waltons Processing Grinder
Waltons Processing 32
Walton’s # 8 Kitchen Grinder:
This # 8 meat grinder has a 575-watt motor and diecast head and auger and comes with 2 stainless steel plates, a knife, stuffing tubes, a stomper that will store those stuffing tubes, and an extra plate. So, what is the advantage of this grinder? It is inexpensive, but it is going to be a step up for anyone who is using a kitchen aid attachment to do their grinding, for example. Who should buy this grinder? The person who is only going to be grinding in small batch sizes and won’t be putting it through regular hard usage. The 575-watt motor on this is powerful enough to grind regular sausage like bratwurst, but doing a 2nd grind through a 1/8" plate with this, like you would have to for making snack sticks or summer sausage, is going to be asking a lot of it. You will need to have the meat partially refrozen between the 1st and 2nd grind for it to work, and it isn’t going to be done very fast. On a 2nd grind, through a 1/8", you can expect to spend a decent amount of time. It will still do it, but it is not going to make a quick and easy job of it.
Walton’s Processing Grinders Specs
We have the # 8, the # 12, the # 22, and the big # 32. These grinders share a lot of features and specs, so we will go over the commonalities first. The head, housing, and trays are made from stainless steel, the housing has been polished to a mirror finish which makes it easy to tell if it has been thoroughly cleaned and makes it look at home out on a counter instead of hidden away in a cabinet or garage. They all have metal gears and metal roller bearings for long life, in addition to a heavy-duty handle for ease of moving, a permanently lubricated motor with a built-in circuit breaker, and non-slip feet so it won’t move around on you. They also all come with a 4.5mm and a 10mm grinding plate, as well as a grinding knife. They are all ETL listed, which means they are capable of being used in a food production environment like a commercial kitchen or restaurant. Lastly, they all have a year warranty that will be backed up by Walton’s, and they all fit with Walton’s 50lb meat mixer, the Walton’s Quick Patty maker, and the All-around jerky maker.
Reverse Function
In all the testing that we did, only the meat that was truly frozen was able to clog our # 22 grinder. And when we say frozen, we mean really frozen solid could clog the grinder up, and then only when the grinder was stopped while the auger was fully stuffed with the frozen meat. Now, we have heard people saying that they would still prefer a reverse function, and we are going to have those added to future models, but the early ones at least have forward only, but this shouldn’t really be a problem.
# 8 Walton’s Processing Grinder
The # 8 is a large step up from the Kitchen # 8 grinders; the only thing that they share in common is the size of the plates and the knives that are used. This grinder is perfect for the person who is just getting into processing or hunting and is planning on doing a few batches a year. If you want to make sausage from smaller game like pheasant or duck, then this will be perfect for you. The # 8 will grind around 5 lb a minute on the first grind; the tray up top is if you are a beginner deer hunter and you will be doing 1 deer a year, this will also work for you, but if you’re going to go much beyond that, or want something that will get you through your meat quicker then you’ll need to step up to something like a # 12.
# 12 Walton’s Processing Grinder
The # 12 has a .75 HP motor and a larger head than the # 8, meaning it can grind up to 7 lb a minute, and this is perfect for someone who is going to do a few deer a year and some pork butts for snack sticks and summer sausage. Now, this is capable of much larger jobs, but in general, if you are going to grind more than 300 lb a year, you will want to step up to a # 22. I say want to because technically, you could grind 1,000 lb a year with this thing; you will just have to be very patient as the head size on this unit isn’t designed for that output. You will also have to plan well, as you will not want your meat sitting out for long periods of time.
# 22 Walton’s Processing Grinder
The next step up is the # 22, and this is for the person who makes lots of products a year. If you grind less than 300 lb a year, you really don’t necessarily need this unit unless you like getting through your batches quickly and easily. Now, this is the unit that we use in our meatgistics videos, and we are very familiar with it; it can easily get through 10 lb a minute, so you are grinding for 2 minutes and 30 seconds for a 25lb batch. That goes by incredibly fast. I have ground completely frozen product with this grinder, with both the commercial and retail plates and knives (* Edit, initially, Speco plates and knives worked with this model, but Speco made a change to the size of the hole for the knife, and it no longer works*) I don’t recommend doing this, but it can be done. Really, the person who should be buying this grinder is the serious enthusiast who wants to be able to make a really high-quality product with minimal fuss.
# 32 Walton’s Processing Grinder
And finally, the # 32; who should buy this? Well, for anyone who is going to be grinding large batches, this grinder is easily capable of grinding up to 825 lb an hour, which is about 14 lb a minute. I personally think that this could do over that, but to be safe, we are sticking with that number. So this would be a perfect option for someone who gets together with friends and does a few deer or even a few hogs a year. It has a larger-sized head than the # 22 and a more powerful motor. This grinder doesn’t work with both Speco plates and knives, but the size advantage is still going to grind meat a lot quicker than any of the other sizes, even the # 22 with better plates and knives. Now, the cost is about $200 more than the # 22 at the time we are recording this. So, does the ability to get through your meat a little bit quicker, almost 50% quicker than the # 22, make it worth that $200? I’d say if money doesn’t matter, then yes, but if you are trying to do this on a budget, that $200 could be invested in a better stuffer or the 50 lb meat mixer that hooks up to our processing grinders and runs that for you.
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