STX International Turboforce II 4000 Electric Meat Grinder | Grinds Soft Bones | Foot Pedal | 6 Grinding Plates | Stainless Steel Blades | Sausage Tubes | Kubbe Maker | Meat Claws | Patty Press & More

Grinder works great along with the foot pedal. Made some awesome looking hamburger with it. Easy to clean, Easy to use and comes with so many options.

>.. I have been reviewing Raw Diets for my dogs. The butcher usually supplied me with ground trimmings as pet food, but announced that they would not be grinding again until Summer. So I was forced to evaluate my desire to feed them the 'right way" for me, or go back to the food they really wouldn't eat, which is what got me looking at real dog food, in the first place. Since my butcher wasn't going to be grinding, I would have to or pay out serious money for prepared frozen B.A.R.F. food elsewhere. >.. This machine seemed to have the power and all the pieces needed, six plates, 3 blades, foot pedal, and some serious power. I read all the reviews, I watched YouTube, and I bought it. Hard to find recipes as Dr. Becker's book is out of print, and is offered here for $188.99 from a reseller [used]. So more research. Decided on a recipe. >.. 20 pounds of meat, organs, vegetables, supplements, and eggs with shells later, I was delighted with my machine. It plainly states with BIG pictures how to place the blades against the cutting plate, and I did. And it worked the first time. I changed plates to regrind, and found that I needed to clean deeper into the exit chute than I expected, but once I did, it all worked perfectly again for the second finer grind. [I used the two largest plates with holes, not the wagon wheel or the beaner plates, they have other uses.] I have not ground bones yet, that will happen with chicken or rabbit (we have a pet supplier here in my town), but not with turkey or bigger bones. The directions are very clear: chicken, duck, or rabbit bones are OK, Turkey, lamb, goat, or bigger are too big for the machine, and voids the warranty. >.. Now to the cleaning: Hot soapy water cleaned everything easily and spotlessly EXCEPT the cutting plates. They stained, possibly from acids from the meat. The stains resisted brushing, and scrubbing, so I accepted that they were discolored like a knife that has been etched to reveal grain, but it was not that pretty. They are fully functional, and when I called my Brother-in-law who uses his machine every year to make venison sausage, he said his plates were stained too and not to worry as long as they were CLEAN, which they are. I used coconut oil to coat the metal parts, including the carefully washed threads. and packed it away. >.. One thing I wanted to know, and no review here said was: how long did it take to make roughly 3 weeks of food for the dogs? Well, the meat was cut up and frozen before, it took about 2 hours to thaw. So I started at 2:30 in the afternoon, and with mixing in supplements grinding the vegetables, adding in the eggs, shells, jellied bone broth with turmeric and ginger, adding the other supplements and mixing it all up to even out the distribution of all that extra, then regrinding, and packaging in one pound bags, it took me 2 and 1/2 hours. Could it have gone faster? Oh, yes. I was looking for things, I had to grind in stages as I didn't have a big enough container for all the meat at once. Now, I have a much better idea of the process, I expect to be be faster in the future. >.. Next time Chicken! Easter is coming, maybe lamb. And turkey is cheap in the off season. I wonder how many turkeys come in a case? And I know where to buy a goat! The dogs will eat well! >.. 3/20/17 Update: I found a way to reduce the time before I got into it again. I ordered a 2 inch sausage tube, and some meat bags. These come in 1 pound, and 2 pound sizes, and I am told can be forced to hold more, so 1/2 kilo in a 1 pound bag or 1 kilo in a 2 pound bag seems reasonable. How does this save time? The horn can be mounted after the size plate is placed over the cutting blade, and all secured by the locking ring. So the second grind goes out of the machine into the premeasured bags directly instead of into the pan to be weighed and bagged later. Depending on the bags you get you can close them with a tape dispenser or smaller hog rings [need pliers or dispensing pliers for these]. The heavier bags, like I bought, need the hog rings to close like most 1 pound ground meat chubs in the store have. I think I could cut easily 30 minutes off my time with these bags, horn, and closure device. I found all of these on Amazon by searching for the meat bags. >.. Update 4/11/17: there is no #12 match for this machine. The grinding plates and locking head are called #12, and they are close, but not the same, a bit smaller. I found this out when I ordered the #12 2 inch horn from a different supplier, it did not fit, and STX does not make such a horn. THE ANSWER: I just used the largest stuffing tube to fill the meat bags, instead and it worked fine. I did not try to send the dog food through the grinder a third time, I just put the tube on the machine for the second grind, and let the force of the grinding fill the tube and the meat bag at it's own pace. Keep everything COLD and all went well. It certainly did speed up the processing and eased the storage as well. Dropped 25 1.25 pound bags into the freezer, in orderly rows cross stacked for the upper rows, and it stores as nice as one could ask.

I looked at several meat grinders and I selectrd the STX International Turboforce II 4000 Electric Meat Grinder becase it apprearrd to meet what I intened to use it for, and, it did! And, it fit within my budget, big plus. 90% of what I feed my dog comes from home made food. My past process was to cut up all the different meats, boil them together, let them cool, put them into a blender, which I had to blend 2 to 3 times because of the large amount of meat, then put in containers to freeze. Now, I still cut the meat up, then grind it with the 12mm grinding plate, then put it into my Instant Pot for 35mins, drain the meat and put into a large bowl to cool, then put in containers to freeze. You can use any kind of meats, but these are the ones I use for my dog. Beef liver, beef heart, Chuck roast, chicken gizzards, chicken hearts, chicken necks, chicken portions and chicken backs. I cut the chicken portions into two pieces and the chicken backs into five, and gently use the meat pusher, and use the high setting. The foot pedal is a great option because it frees up both of your hands. I also cut up carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts, using the pusher on low speed. I do use a small amount of quality dry kibble, and mix it with the ground meat, and I sprinkle on a little ginger powder and turmeric with powdered egg shells that I make. I also use a little multivitamin probiotic powder. I am completely satisfied with the STX International Turboforce II 4000 Electric Meat Grinder, the noise level isn’t great, but I hardly noticed it once I got to grinding. I think this is a great product and it certainly suits my needs, and my dog!

Overall I think this is a good machine - and a good value. I bought this to make a raw diet for my cats. I was especially interested in grinding raw chicken bones so they could safely eat them and get the nutrients. I was a little surprised with how light the machine and many of the parts are. I thought it would be heavier and I worried that might indicate low quality. I read the manual and found it very straightforward. I like the variety of grinding disc's. It seems to have everything you could need. It was fairly easy to operate and I had no issues. I used the wagon wheel first as directed and then put it all through again with the smaller holes. The cats enjoyed it but I was disappointed with the number of bone fragments stuck inside the machine when I was done. I've done it couple times- changing how many grinds, alternating with more meat with no bones in between the pieces with bones - I haven't been able to eliminate the bones staying inside the machine. The pieces are too large to give to my cats. They won't eat them. I took a picture to show the leftover bones. I put through 11 pounds of chicken thighs - with roughly half including the bones. As many have noted, the machine is very loud. Clean up is not difficult but be aware that the discs will discolor with moisture. I got a ridiculous amount of joy from taking whole thighs and producing something that looked just like ground meat from the store.

Have had this for almost two years now. Used specifically to make our dog food. Grind 6 to 7 packages of chicken legs per batch. This thing has never missed a beat. If you’re looking for a reliable, affordable, easy to clean grinder, stop looking!

Our GSD was diagnosed with degenerative Lumbro-sacral stenosis. For a shepherd this is a death sentence. Most dogs pass away within a year. We are determined to do the best for our girl and keep her alive as long as she has a good quality of life. Part of this determination required us to switch her to an all raw diet. This means grinding meat, small bones, organ meat fruits and vegetables. This grinder has been wonderful! Simple to use, fairly easy to clean, although some parts are hand wash only. We grind about 100# per month, freezing that months supply. It grinds through most everything well (dandelion greens need to be chopped small before grinding) All in all, it’s been a great asset to keeping our girl healthy, strong and happy 19 months after her diagnosis!

I purchased this meat grinder expecting a reliable kitchen appliance. Unfortunately, it stopped working after minimal use. When I filed a warranty claim, I was shocked by the company's unethical practices and poor customer service. The manufacturer demanded that I pay for shipping both ways-- to and from their repair/inspection center - a cost of $50-$80, which is 25-40% of the product's price! This outrageous requirement came because my claim was filed just after their arbitrary 30-day window. Per their warranty, users are responsible for shipping if warranty request is made after the first 30 days . Their customer service was dismissive and unhelpful when I pointed out that these terms violate the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Their warranty terms are overly restrictive and seem designed to discourage customers from making legitimate claims. It's clear they're trying to avoid responsibility for their faulty product. I urge potential buyers to steer clear of this company and their products. Their unethical practices take advantage of consumers who expect fair treatment when purchasing a supposedly quality item. If you've had similar experiences with this company, I encourage you to file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It's crucial to hold companies accountable for such deceptive and unfair practices. In conclusion, save yourself the headache and money - avoid this meat grinder and this manufacturer at all costs. There are surely better options out there from companies that actually stand behind their products and respect consumer rights.

Love it ground up my cat food perfectly. Chicken bones and meat went through with out a problem