A KitchenAid attachment can grind one deer's worth of well-trimmed, very cold venison in small batches. What it can't give you is a published grinding rate, a run-time rating or a reverse to back out sinew. If you process one deer and already own the mixer, use it. At two or more, a standalone like LEM's MightyBite #8 or the STX Turboforce 3000 is the better tool.
Side by side
| Spec | KitchenAid KSMFGA | LEM MightyBite #8 | STX Turboforce 3000 |
|---|
| Power | Your stand mixer, via the power hub | 500 W | 3000 W locked-motor peak; 800-1200 W under load |
| Rated output | Not published | 4-5 lb/min | 175-225 lb/hour |
| Run guidance | Not published | Not published | Cool a few minutes after 10-15 minutes |
| Reverse | No | Not listed | Yes |
| Plates | 4.5 mm and 6 mm | 3/8 in., 3/16 in., stuffing | 4, 7, 10 mm, wagon wheel, stuffing |
| Cleaning | Housing, grind screw, plates, blade hand-wash | Warm soapy water | No parts in the dishwasher |
| Warranty | 1 year full | 2 years | 3 years |
Sources: KitchenAid KSMFGA guide, LEM MightyBite #8 page, STX product page and STX manual, plus each maker's Amazon listing.
What the attachment does fine
Small batches, cold meat, no extra appliance to store. KitchenAid's guide runs the KSMFGA at Speed 4 with fine and coarse plates, and that's all a burger batch or a few pounds of breakfast sausage needs. The manual for KitchenAid's metal grinder attachment recommends very cold or partially frozen meat and parts pre-chilled in the fridge or freezer, advice that applies to any grinder and matters more on a small one. If you grind a few pounds at a time, the attachment is a reasonable tool that costs you nothing in counter space.
Where it falls short with venison
No published rate or run limit. KitchenAid doesn't say how many pounds a minute the attachment moves or how long you can run it. A standalone's maker at least commits to a number: LEM rates the MightyBite at 4-5 lb a minute, and STX tells you to rest its grinder after 10-15 minutes. Without a rating, the only safe plan for a deer is short batches.
No reverse. Venison's silver skin and sinew are what wrap a grinder knife. With no reverse, clearing a wrap means stopping the mixer and pulling the head apart. The STX has a reverse button for exactly this. If your attachment keeps jamming, our clogging guide goes through the fixes in order.
Two plates. The KSMFGA ships with 4.5 mm and 6 mm plates. Both are finer than the 10 mm and 3/8-inch coarse plates standalone grinders include for a first pass on tough meat, and on sinewy trim a bigger first-pass hole means less for the auger to push against. Stainless third-party attachments add more plates; our best KitchenAid grinder attachments ranks them.
Prep that makes either one work
The makers agree on more than they differ. KitchenAid's guide says to cut meat into small strips or pieces sized to fit the feed tube. STX's manual suggests stripping meat into pieces about 1 x 1 inch and as long as you like, and wants it as cold as possible without being frozen solid, "crunchy to the touch." Weston's manuals put a number on it: 32-34°F. KitchenAid's metal grinder manual adds pre-chilling the grinder parts. Do all of that and trim the silver skin, and a small grinder of any kind behaves far better than its reputation.
What about a stainless third-party attachment?
It narrows the gap on build and warranty, not on the things that matter most for venison. The KINGEAGLE attachment, our top-ranked mixer attachment, is listed as food-grade stainless and dishwasher safe, with a 36-month warranty and a seller's claim of up to 4 lb a minute. That's a better package than the KSMFGA on paper. It still runs off your mixer, still has no reverse, and still has no run-time rating from KitchenAid behind it.
Sausage with each
The KSMFGA needs KitchenAid's sausage stuffer kit (KSMSSA), sold separately. The MightyBite #8 includes a stuffing plate and three plastic tubes (1/2, 1 and 1-3/8 inches outer diameter, per LEM). The STX includes a stuffing plate, three tubes (1/2, 5/8 and 3/4 inch) and a kubbe attachment. All three will stuff a few pounds of links. For a real sausage day, read sausage stuffer vs grinder attachment first.
One deer through each
An average deer at the Ohio DNR figure is about 52 lb of meat. At the makers' rates, one pass looks like this:
- LEM MightyBite #8, 4-5 lb/min: about 10-13 minutes of feeding
- STX Turboforce 3000, 175-225 lb/hour: about 14-18 minutes, which may run past STX's 10-15 minute guidance and need one cool-down
- KitchenAid KSMFGA: no rate published. Third-party attachment sellers claim 2-4 lb a minute, which would be 13-26 minutes, but that's their claim, not KitchenAid's
Storage is the attachment's quiet advantage: it packs into its own storage case, per KitchenAid's listing, while the MightyBite weighs 13.89 lb by LEM's spec and the STX 12 lb by its manual. If cabinet space is the constraint, that counts for something.
Two deer (104 lb) shows the difference more clearly. The MightyBite feeds that in about 21-26 minutes per pass. The STX needs about 28-36 minutes, which by its own 10-15 minute guidance means two to four runs with a cool-down after each. For the KSMFGA there's no maker figure at all to plan against. Standalone grinders also take knives and plates by size number, so replacements are easy to find; check your plate diameter before you order (STX lists 2-5/8 inch plates for its #12 head).
For one deer, all three get there. At two deer, the standalones pull ahead because they have a rating you can plan a session around. At three or more, look past both of these standalones to a #8 or #12 BigBite-class grinder in our best meat grinders for home use and best for deer rankings.
Choose the attachment if... choose a standalone if...
Stick with the KitchenAid attachment if
- You already own the mixer and grind a few pounds at a time.
- You process one deer a year at most and don't mind short batches.
- Counter and cabinet space are tight.
Buy a standalone if
- You process two or more deer, or grind bulk beef.
- You want a published rate and, on the STX, a reverse for sinew.
- You'd otherwise be buying a mixer mainly to grind meat.
For the grinding process itself, trim, chill and pass order, see how to grind deer meat.
