Weston Pro Series Electric Meat Grinder, Commercial Grade, 750 Watts, 1 HP, 9lbs. Per Minute, Stainless Steel (10-1201-W)

Why it's worth it

A 1-horsepower, 750-watt air-cooled motor with a rifled head and an offset throat, rated at six to nine pounds a minute. It costs more than the LEM #8 and weighs more too, but it swallows bone-in chicken and sinew-heavy game without slowing down.

Wild game isn't beef. Venison and elk are lean, dense and full of silverskin, and that's exactly where an underpowered grinder bogs down and starts smearing instead of cutting. This motor is air-cooled and built to run continuously rather than in short bursts, so a long processing session doesn't end in a thermal cutoff halfway through the second deer.

The offset, rifled head is the underrated part. The rifling grips meat and pulls it toward the auger instead of letting it spin in place, and the offset throat drops chunks straight onto the screw. Owners feeding it whole chicken leg quarters — bones included — for raw pet diets say it takes them without hesitating. That's a harder job than any burger blend.

From our review of 10 meat grinders and sausage stuffers, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +Wild game isn't beef
• +The offset, rifled head is the underrated part
• +Cleanup is better than the weight suggests
• +It arrives ready for sausage, too

What to know

• –It's the heaviest thing here at forty-two pounds, and it doesn't tuck away
• –Fit and finish can be inconsistent