STX-3000 Turboforce Meat Grinder – Item of the Day
Special Update – I have recommended this grinder a long time and I still do. I first brought it to you in 2017 and to this day it is still one of the best bangs for the buck out there. With the inflation in meat prices though I now see this as paying for itself, and quite quickly. Ground meat is super expensive and so are steaks. If you start buying larger cuts, cutting your own steaks and roasts and grinding your trim, you can pay for this thing easily in 2-3 months and it is all “profit” past that.
If like many in the TSP world you eat a lot of meat, no reason you can’t pay for it in a month. Tune in to episode 3340 to hear more about this right after my anchor segment. Also if you want to see examples of how to do this with many cuts of meat, check out “MeatDad” on TikTok, some of his stuff is really great.
And please read the PS before you order. There are some options there including one if you already have a great grinder.
Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.
Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the STX-3000 Turboforce Meat Grinder. I spent a lot of time in 2017 deciding on what meat grinder I wanted to buy. I was pretty much in love with the Cabela’s Carnivore but had a real hard time paying 400-500 dollars for a grinder. Specifically since I use one heavily 2-3 times a year during hunting season, then only about 1-2 times a month for small amounts throughout the year.
So I looked at a lot of options but came down on the STX-3000 Turboforce Meat Grinder because I firmly believe it is the best value under 300 dollars on the market. First it is a size 12, in other words big, it has great capacity. It also has two speeds and a reverse setting, which at times can be important.
It comes with three blades, most only come with one and while such blades are a standard product in all grinders they usually cost 12-20 bucks a piece to replace. It is also powerful. The first weekend I had it,I put 20lbs of deer and pork though it in about 15 minutes and it worked flawlessly. One day I had a beef roast that I wasn’t thrilled with as a roast, so I picked up some pork and ground up both with the wagon wheel for chili meat. It took longer to take it out than it did to put 10 lbs of meat though it.
After months of research, using several different grinders and finally buying and using this one I have found THE GRINDER I recommend. I can promise you that you will not be disappointed with this one.
On another note we made about 20 lbs of sausage with this grinder using the sausage stuffer attachment. Dorothy and I ended up getting pretty good at it, but was the last time I used a grinder, any grinder to stuff sausage. I have now added the LEM 5 pound stuffer to our pantry. The grinder worked fine as a stuffer but takes about 4 times as long as using a dedicated stuffer to do the job.
It also makes keeping meat more chunky if that is what you are looking for in a sausage impossible. Even if you grind your meat chunky, that second time around the screw breaks it down a lot more even without the cutting blades involved. A stuffer simply pushes the meat into the casing with no screw or friction, so it is a better tool for the job. Yes it is a unitasker, but for some tasks a unitasker is the right fit.
In this case for grinding you just can’t beat the STX-3000 Turboforce Meat Grinder unless you spend hundreds of dollars more, and then, you don’t beat it by that much. So if you need a grinder in your kitchen, I can’t recommend this highly enough.
Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com
P.S. – When I got my grinder this option was not available but for 10 extra bucks you should consider it. This option includes a foot pedal. It is a simple switch that lets you start and stop your grinder with your foot so you are not getting meat hands all over everything. Really useful. If you own a grinder and just want the switch this one is a good after market option that you can buy stand alone.
P.S.S. – Here are a few videos I posted to facebook using this grinder.
Even though these videos are on facebook, you should be able to see them even if you don’t have a facebook account as they are publicly posted.
You can’t go wrong with the LEM 5lb stuffer.
I would however recommend either going for the one with stainless tubes, or buying stainless tubes. The plastic is harder to clean, gets scratched and holds contaminants in the scratches.
I’ll check out the grinder as I am going to kill the Kitchenaid if I keep using the grinder attachment. It works for small batches, but 20lbs at a time get’s it pretty hot. I was looking at the 5 or 8 LEM grinders.
Dear Jack,
You bring a lot of good info, and a number of useful items, to the attention of a lot of people who can use that info and those items. Thanks!
Are you aware that Amazon is developing a reputation for… unfair dealing with the small vendors, the small business owners, who market products through their site? It might be worth checking into…
I swear to God everyone bitches about everything. If a vendor doesn’t want to sell on Amazon they don’t have to, Amazon operates at about a 1.5% margin. Vendors set their own prices with known terms. It’s called a free market.
Does anyone have a grinder to recommend that can handle bones?
Like for preparing dog food from livestock raised on the farm or homestead, and/or game ?
Thank you!
Hi Jack,
A meat grinder is a great addition to any preppring situation in my opinion. Also, one should not be too concerned on the initial $300 investment. I personally have been grinding meat for 10 years. I have a large Cabelas grinder that has paid for itself 2x in 10 years. It’s saving me more every year as the family grows.
For those that are questioning diving into this let me outline what makes this device so cost effective.
Like gardening, only process what you eat! Annually I shoot a couple deer with a cheap rifle and clothing I have owned for years. I skin, 1/4, and debone my own kills. I grind straight venison with beef talo. I do not supplement my meat with store bought pork or beef. It only raises the $/lbs. I used to package a lot of breakfast sausage but come to find my family doesn’t eat a lot of it. So why make it? We do consume a lot of browned hamburger annually. Browned hamburger is typically drained of fat (why supplement pork and beef when I drain the fat for cooking?), so I grind 50-60 lbs of straight venison with beef fat. I only buy ground beef for greasy, delicious burgers.
I package with the cheap LEM meatlocker bags. No expensive vacuum sealer. I use a bagging tube on the end of the grind and away I go. Reduce the cost of packaging. I don’t worry about longer term storage because by next Nov I need more meat! My family doesn’t consume venison roasts so we grind everything.
I use multiple smaller freezers for storage. Instead of investing in a large deep freeze, I started with a small one and added a 2nd as the family grew. When one is empty I shut it down until it is refilled.
If your an avid outdoors person, this investment really does save $ in the long run. The grocery wants to charge me $4+ for a pound of pink slime. I figure I save at least $150 a year on ground meat just packaging venison. That amount could be more but my joy for hunting does offset some of my cost savings.
Just a few thoughts from someone that has been doing this for a while.
Shawn
Update, I purchased this grinder. I’ve run 40 lbs of partially frozen pork through it in one go. Didn’t even phase it.
It is everything Jack said it is and the price is right!
Great for grinding 5# of political ass-clowns at a time. Raise your own food and their bull matters less in your daily life.
Hi Jack,
I recommend using the LEM foot power switch with the grinder. You plug in the foot switch and the grinder into the switch. Then you push the switch with your foot when you are ready to grind and let up when you want the grinder to stop. It is very handy and helps keep things cleaner. You can search Amazon for the LEM meat grinder foot switch. It is currently $32.35 and well worth it.
I am totally getting one.
Between this discount and some squirreled away Amazon points, I just got this for ~$54. Not too shabby. Planning on putting multiple deer in the freezer this year, time to upgrade. Thanks Jack!
Jack, you’re definitely right and I agree with about the value for this price point for a grinder. I currently have a grinder attachment for my XL Kitchenaid Stand Mixer and it works fine, but is a little slow.
I’m currently saving up to spring for the Meat Your Maker brand new 1hp Dual Grind grinder. Its regular $700, but just now $559, so I think I might get it on sale. Anyway, it will grind twice in one pass to get finer sausages or just use one cutter for course work.
https://www.meatyourmaker.com/process/grinders/1-hp-dual-grind-grinder-22/1193466.html#start=1
Looks awesome and I keep thinking of upgrading to something that big just to grind chicken bones and all for dog’s food. Believe it or not mine will do it but you can tell you are really pushing it and I expect then shortening life expectancy. I have seen it done with a 1HP Cabelas Carnivore and it looks like an industrial wood chipper handling leaves and twigs, thing never even slows down.