Compare Electric Meat Grinders: STX INTERNATIONAL vs. SUNMILE
Author: Maurice Savaryego, M.Sc.Eng.
 Photo Credits: STX INTERNATIONAL
If you are looking for a good but affordable meat grinder, you might be overwhelmed with the amount of brands and models that are available out there.
A good meat grinder must be solidly built, come with cutting blades, cutting plates and sausage tubes. It should have a rather large grind head and should be equipped with a powerful motor. For efficiency, the maximum power the motor can generate should not be less than 800 Watts. A desirable feature is having two speeds, a slower speed being more suitable for harder pieces of meat that are more difficult to grind. To simplify the task of choosing a high quality meat grinder that will respond to your food preparation needs, this article will compare four meat grinders that were the most popular among Amazon customers at the time this article was written. These were not just extremely popular, but they had also received excellent reviews from Amazon customer who have used it. This article will compare STX INTERNATIONAL STX-4000-TB2, STX INTERNATIONAL STX-3000-MF, SUNMILE SM-G31 ETL and SUNMILE SM-G73 ETL meat grinders. These popular meat grinders had received excellent reviews from most Amazon buyers at the time this article was written (an average of 4.5 stars for both STX INTERNATIONAL grinders, and 4 stars for the SUNMILE units - out of 5 stars!).
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Comparing the Selected Four Meat Grinders
The four meat grinders selected for comparison are shown below:
Photo Credits: STX INTERNATIONAL
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Photo Credits: STX INTERNATIONAL
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Photo Credits: SUNMILE
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Photo Credits: SUNMILE
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The following table compares the features of the four meat grinders (please read the following table notes for a better understanding of the features):
Table Notes 1 - 11 Explained:
Note 1:
The bigger the grinding head "number", the larger the tray and grinding plates.
For example a No.12 grinding head would have grinding plates that are larger than those that come with a No.5 grinding head.
The STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF grinding heads (tray, tube, etc.) are made of polished cast aluminium.
The SUNMILE GR-31 and SUNMILE GR-73 grinding heads (tray, tube, etc.) are covered with a layer of aluminium.
Note 2:
STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF meat grinders have two speeds (High and Low).
SUNMILE GR-31 and SUNMILE GR-73 meat grinders have a single speed.
All four meat grinders considered here have a Reverse mode.
Note 3:
Note 4:
Note 5:
All four products come with three sausage stuffing tubes.
The diameter of the sausage tubes are: 3/4-inch, 5/8-inch and 1/2-inch.
Note 6:
Only STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF come with what is called a "Beaner Plate", otherwise known as a Sausage Stuffing Plate. Though they are not absolutely required to make sausages, these plates are made specifically for use in electric meat grinders to stuff sausage as they let more sausage flow through the grinding head into the sausage casing.
Note 7:
STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF come with a Kubbe attachment. Kubbe is a traditional Middle Eastern dish made with a cylinder-like shell that is stuffed with a mixture of spicy minced lamb and bulghur filling and the ends of which are sealed to form the Kubbe which is then deep-fried.
Note 8:
Note 9:
STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF are equipped with a special induction cooling system that cools the motor of the grinder when running. This is especially helpful if you are grinding bones and/or large quantities of meat. The STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF pictures above shows the air induction hood on top of the unit which looks like an air foil on the hood of a race car. The 4 air-cooling Intakes make up a patented Quad Air Cooled Design which is engineered to keep these grinders' motors ultra cool, and this will virtually doubles the life of these units.
Note 10:
Note that using the foot pedal is optional and not required to operate the STX INTERNATIONAL units.
Note 11:
Note 1:
The bigger the grinding head "number", the larger the tray and grinding plates.
For example a No.12 grinding head would have grinding plates that are larger than those that come with a No.5 grinding head.
The STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF grinding heads (tray, tube, etc.) are made of polished cast aluminium.
The SUNMILE GR-31 and SUNMILE GR-73 grinding heads (tray, tube, etc.) are covered with a layer of aluminium.
Note 2:
STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF meat grinders have two speeds (High and Low).
SUNMILE GR-31 and SUNMILE GR-73 meat grinders have a single speed.
All four meat grinders considered here have a Reverse mode.
Note 3:
- STX-4000-TB2 comes with 5 grinding plates, while STX-300-MF comes with 3 grinding plates (Fine, Medium and Coarse). The STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF cutting plates are made of tempered hardened steel. The diameter of the grinding plates are 2 5/8 Inches (the standard for a size #12 grinder) which makes for a much faster grind due to the larger output for the meat that you are grinding.
- SUNMILE GR-31 and SUNMILE GR-73 come with 3 grinding plates. SUNMILE GR-31 and SUNMILE GR-73 grinding plates are made of stainless steel.
Note 4:
- STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF come with 3 stainless steel cutting blades.
- SUNMILE GR-31 and SUNMILE GR-73 come with 1 stainless steel cutting blade.
Note 5:
All four products come with three sausage stuffing tubes.
The diameter of the sausage tubes are: 3/4-inch, 5/8-inch and 1/2-inch.
Note 6:
Only STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF come with what is called a "Beaner Plate", otherwise known as a Sausage Stuffing Plate. Though they are not absolutely required to make sausages, these plates are made specifically for use in electric meat grinders to stuff sausage as they let more sausage flow through the grinding head into the sausage casing.
Note 7:
STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF come with a Kubbe attachment. Kubbe is a traditional Middle Eastern dish made with a cylinder-like shell that is stuffed with a mixture of spicy minced lamb and bulghur filling and the ends of which are sealed to form the Kubbe which is then deep-fried.
Note 8:
- STX-4000-TB2 features 2000W of peak output power, 600W with no-load, and between 800W & 2000W of power under load depending on the type of meat. Note that the 2000W peak power allows you to grind even the toughest cuts of meat without bogging down in the least.
- STX-3000-MF features 1200W of peak output power, 600W with no-load, and between 800W & 1200W of power under load depending on the type of meat.
- SUNMILE GR-31 meat grinder's rated power is 250W, while its maximum output power is 800W.
- SUNMILE GR-73 meat grinder's rated power is 600W, while its maximum output power is 1000W.
Note 9:
STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF are equipped with a special induction cooling system that cools the motor of the grinder when running. This is especially helpful if you are grinding bones and/or large quantities of meat. The STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF pictures above shows the air induction hood on top of the unit which looks like an air foil on the hood of a race car. The 4 air-cooling Intakes make up a patented Quad Air Cooled Design which is engineered to keep these grinders' motors ultra cool, and this will virtually doubles the life of these units.
Note 10:
Note that using the foot pedal is optional and not required to operate the STX INTERNATIONAL units.
Note 11:
- STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF: The four parts that make up the of this grinding head are manufactured out of 100% uncoated polished cast aluminum. These parts should NOT be washed in the dishwasher, but should be washed with a mild detergent (like Dawn dishwashing soap) and hot water, towel dried immediately, and stored in a dry place.
The grinding plates are made of tempered steel and should not be washed in the dishwasher either They should be washed with a mild detergent and hot water, towel dried immediately, coated with a food grade oil or food grade silicone, and stored in a plastic bag ready for their next use. However, the 3 cutting blades are dishwasher safe since they are made of stainless steel. - SUNMILE GR-31 and GR-73 : Both the stainless steel cutting blades and stainless steel grinding plates are dishwasher safe.
The grinding parts that make up the grinding head are made of aluminum and should not be washed in the dishwasher. They should be washed with a mild detergent and hot water, towel dried and stored in a dry place.
So, which of the four meat grinders to buy?
The four meat grinders considered had received very good average ratings from Amazon customers at the time this article was written. Indeed, both STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF had received 4.5 stars (out of 5 stars), while SUNMILE GR-31 and SUNMILE GR-73 had received 4 stars. There is a good chance that you would be quite happy with any of these four products. However, there are some differences that make the STX INTERNATIONAL meat grinders more desirable:
In addition, keep in mind that:
Of course, all these additional features make the STX INTERNATIONAL grinders more expensive than the SUNMILE grinders. But, if you can afford them, we definitely think they are worth investing in them.
- They have larger grinding heads and more powerful motors than the SUNMILE grinders. Therefore, they can produce more ground meat per minute and can handle better tougher cuts.
- They come with 3 stainless steel cutting blades (as opposed to 1 for the SUNMILE grinders), so you can match the cutting blades with the grinding plates that are included. When you match up a cutting blade with a grinding plate as a set, this keeps the cutting blades much sharper, and the meat grinding will be faster and more precise.
- They have 2 speeds (High and Low) as opposed to only 1 for the SUNMILE grinders.
- They come with a 3-Year warranty as opposed to 1-Year for the SUNMILE grinders.
In addition, keep in mind that:
- STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF also include a Beaner Plate, a plate made specifically for use with the electric meat grinder to stuff sausage, as it lets more meat flow through the grinding head into the sausage casing. They also come with a Kubbe attachment not provided with the SUNMILE grinders.
- STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF meat grinder have a special induction cooling system that cools the motor of the grinder when running. This is especially helpful if you are grinding bones and/or large quantities of meat.
- Note also STX-4000-TB2 and STX-3000-MF can be optionally used with a foot pedal. The foot pedal is included.
Of course, all these additional features make the STX INTERNATIONAL grinders more expensive than the SUNMILE grinders. But, if you can afford them, we definitely think they are worth investing in them.
Compared STX INTERNATIONAL and SUNMILE Meat Grinders on Amazon
Please click the Amazon US link image below for the meat grinder of your choice to see exact price information or to purchase.
Please Note: For non-US customers, when you click the links below, you will be provided with the Amazon links for your country (such as Canada or UK), if the product is available in your country.
Please Note: For non-US customers, when you click the links below, you will be provided with the Amazon links for your country (such as Canada or UK), if the product is available in your country.
STX INTERNATIONAL
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STX INTERNATIONAL
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SUNMILE SM-G31 ETL |
SUNMILE SM-G73 ETL |
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