Customer Reviews

Waring MG-800 Pro Professional Meat Grinder, Brushed Stainless Steel

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I am a hunter who butchers 8-10 deer per year and make my own burger & sausage. I have previously used "hand crank" grinders and smallish electric grinders. While both will do the job for a deer or two, due to the volume I am processing it was time for an "upgrade".

When I made the decision to buy my own grinder, I did a lot of research to determine which model would best suit my needs at an affordable price. Based on the features, motor power, quality and price I decided to try the Waring MG800. If this didn't work, my next step would be a used commercial grinder.

Let me tell you, I am impressed ! This grinder is everything advertised and more. The construction is rugged and the components are well designed. My first night I ground and vaccuum packed 20 lbs of sausage in 1/2 hour (only 5-10 minutes were actually spent grinding). The grinder never clogged and you can literally feed the hopper with your hand, the screw is so well designed that it actually draws the meat down the throat without the use of the "pusher" that is provided. Clean up is a snap due to the ease of disassembly and cast stainless housing. Power is more than adequate, and with the 5 year motor warranty you can't go wrong.

Two things to note, the blades and plates are carbon steel and must be thoroughly washed and dried before storage or they will rust (but this is also true with $1000 grinders). Also, don't be fooled by people advertising 850, 1000 or even 1200 watt plastic grinders on E-bay. This grinder may be 450 watts, but it is a true 450. The "1000 watt" grinders are actually more like 200 watt in use, so be careful.

The motor is strong, but "professional grade" is really pushing it. Works EXCELLENT for hamburger, rarely need the plunger. However at first I had poor results with suasage, it turned out with the consistency of liverwurst. After a few tries I learned to avoid forcing the motor to stuff the sausage. Let the meat flow out and squeeze the casings by hand to stuff them.
Results are getting much better. Manufacturer should provide tips and advice. Suasage casings are difficult to find locally, but you can buy buy them online.
Negative aspects are that the accessories have immediate rusting issues, however has not effected performance over 3 months. The hopper does not extend far enough from the machine, the meat lands on the inside edge of the receiving bowl. This results in a spill over if you do not turn the bowl.
However the motor is strong and is reversable, if you get a clog. And the main unit and hopper are made of quality stainless steel and metal.
I am not able to revise my star rating, but after 3 months of use, definitely a 4 and well worth the money. I have not bought store hamburger or suasage since buying this item. Parts do well in the dishwasher, even at sani level.

I purchased this grinder about a year ago during the "mad cow" scare...It's nice to be able to control what is in your ground meats and sausages.

When I want to make a batch of hamburger, I buy 15-20 pounds of beef, trim off the fat, gristle, and sinew before grinding. I add an appropriate amount of fat evenly to the meat chunks as I grind them. It's actually fun and goes so fast. I wrap and freeze the freshly ground beef in one pound packages. I also make my own bulk sausage, using the recipes included with the grinder. Delicious! As with the hamburger, when I am ready to make sausage, I buy 15 to 20 pounds of meat--pork, turkey, and/or chicken--and just follow the recipe. This fresh sausage is also wrapped and frozen in one pound packages.

The hopper handles a large amount of meat, and all I have to do is keep piling on the large chunks, guiding them into the feed tube. I have not had to use the "pusher" because the grinding screw easily pulls the meat down and through. The grinder has never bogged down or clogged up. I usually grind more than one type of meat and/or sausage in a session, so to clean out the grinder between products, I run saltine crackers through. Then I'm ready to continue with the next project! Speaking of crackers, this grinder also makes terrific cracker crumbs...And I have yet to try out all it's other capabilities, such as grinding fruit, nuts, and cheese.

The cutting plates will rust if one does not follow the instructions for cleaning and storing them. (After washing the plates, I dry them in a warm oven, oil them lightly with vegetable oil, and wrap them in waxed paper.) If the directions are followed, there will be no problem, and the grinder will be ready for the next big job...

This grinder is loud--I plug my ears with a bit of tissue, which takes care the noise--and it has one speed, which is not a problem--one speed is all it needs. I like the simplicity of this machine; there are no "bells and whistles" to figure out and break. It is a straight-forward, hard-working, no-nonsense appliance.

I enjoy using my grinder. It is powerful, fun to use, and economical. I buy quality meats on sale and in bulk, which saves me quite a bit of money. Also, I feel good about knowing EXACTLY what is in the ground meats/sausage I feed my family and friends, and how fresh it is! I can highly recommend this model for anyone who desires a dependable and powerful meat/food grinder.

My review is focused on the grinder's ability to help me prepare dog food.

Meat used: whole raw chicken and raw chicken backs (tested total of 100 lbs)

Meat preparation: Chopped up chicken to fit into grinder. Grinder can handle bones, even if not smashed or broken. I tested it with whole chicken legs and it crushes them just fine but the machine has to work a little harder. I recommend giving the legs a few wacks with a cleaver and it grinds them much faster. Some of the meat and bones were still partially frozen going into the grinder (no problem!).

Ease of use: Very simple assembly. Blade and cutting plates need to be completely dried after use and stored coated in veggie oil. I would recommend cleaning immediately and not allowing food to become caked on. Stainless steel very easy to wipe down with moist rag.

Food results: Meat and bones came out nicely grinded. I used the Medium cutting plate...but I have a friend who prefers the Course plate. I think the Fine plate would make the meat too mushy and harder to handle.

Machine ran continuously for over 3 hours grinding 100lbs of chicken meat and bones (may have gone faster if I had meat cut down to size before starting). Never became clogged and I did't have to use the the reverse option. Though the main unit became very warm, grinder showed no signs of slowing down. After use, I inspected all the parts; the blade, plate, hopper and shaft almost looked brand new.

Overall, I loved it. And who can beat the warrantee? Would recommend for those grinding whole chicken, cornish hens, duck, rabbits ...etc.

I grind rabbit meat and bones to make dog food. It does a great job of pulling the meat (on the bones) from the hopper and I rarely need to use the pusher to force the meat down. The cleanup is pretty easy, but you do need to oil the blade and plates prior to storage. This is the best non-commercial option if you need enough power to grind bones as well as meat.

I have this grinder for just over a year but it was only used a couple of times. It worked OK but a long way from commercial grade. Small bone that accidentally stuck in chunk of meat managed to destroy the gear as it would be a cheap plastic. And what a surprise. I took this thing apart and found a plastic gear inside, which is engaged with metal drive shaft of the motor. Combination that should never work. Just wondering about this guy who designed it. Long story short. Almost $100 for the new motor and $65 to install. I will never use it again. Look for something with a completely metal gear. Hope it helps to make a decision.

Unless you are in business, you will find this grinder quite adequate. I started grinding pork when I was 6 yrs old (really)with a large hand grinder. As time has moved along, I have tried (through purchase or borrowing) several different home grinders. I process 4-6 deer a year. I have never been satisfied, until now. This grinder has enough amps in the motor to process quickly. I processed 3 deer recently. I did not have to take the grinder apart to clear the stringy fascia even once. Grinding was effortless. I like the forward and reverse switch mechanism for clearing jams. Reverse automatically stops when you remove pressure. Since I didn't have to actually use it, I can't tell you that it works great. All peices ahave a good fit. The stainless makes cleaning rather easy. Truth in advertising wouldn't allow me to promote this as a Professional grinder (which I have used), but I think that this grinder has found a home. It's definitely worth the money.

I love to cook and have practically every appliance available. Many items remain in their boxes and are seldom used, but this grinder is an exception. The idea of buying store-bought ground meats is a real turn off since I have been grinding my own. Most of us have seen or read about what goes in the meat we buy or question the hygiene of the store employees or handlers of the product. That being said, the Waring Pro lives up to all of its positive reviews.

Cleanup is easy, especially if it is done right away so parts don't have meat drying and sticking. I air dry and store the grinding plates in a bag of rice as another reviewer suggested, preventing the need to oil and avoiding the guminess that can be caused with prolonged storage.

The noise of the motor that some felt was excessive is to me what would be expected from a grinder, it can't do the job and purr like a kitten!

The unit is well made, sturdy, attractive, and gets the job done with ease. No problems with jams or speed and the finished product is a beautiful thing! I also suggest running bread or crackers through to purge the remains from the meat.

Ground beef is my primary use for this machine and after extensive Internet searches for the best cuts to use, I have found that a combination of chuck and sirloin renders the best flavor, texture, and fat content. I trim any silver skin and grizzle from the meat, cube and chill, and run it first through the course grind, then the medium. When sirloin steaks are on sale (typically $2.98 lb. at the local Wegmans) I will ask the butcher for the whole cryovaced piece and purchase an equal amount of chuck at around $2.49 lb. This makes the price of top quality, safe and delicious ground beef comparable to the regular priced store-bought. I have found that the texture tends to be softer when using whole cuts rather than trimings so resist the temptation to grind more than twice.

I have used this model for over a year without any problems. Works great for sausage and ground beef. We recently put 4 lbs of pork through the machine in a few minutes. Easy to take apart and clean. Only complaint is that the discharge end of the grinder needs to be an inch or two longer to fall into standard kitchen (restaurant) bowls easier.

For those that complain about the cutter and dies rusting, of course they will. They are high strength steel (stainless steel would be way too soft to work). Don't put them in the dishwasher, wash by hand. Don't coat them with veg oil and put in a plastic bag. While this stops any rusting problem, if you are using the blades every few months, the oil gets rancid and hard to wash off. A Food Network Alton Brown show recommended storing the cutter and dies in a baggie with some rice. The rice absorbes any moisture. I have done that for the past year and it works great!!!

I went thru 3 Kitchen Aid grinder attachments and finally gave up on that. Did some research and this one seemed to be a good bet. I have been using it for 3 years now, mostly grinding chuck and round roasts for burgers. It does a fine job. Motor is plenty strong and feeds well, rarely needing to use the plunger. Watch cleaning it up, there are a few crevasses around and on the "feeder". I didn't notice them for a couple of times and had to use a tooth pick and an ice pick to get it clean (fortunately we didn't get sick). If you wash it in hot water and soap as soon as you're done, it cleans up good. The detachable base does not get soiled. All in all, I would definately but it again.