Grinding your own hamburger

[chiefsfan1]

We recently bought a Kitchen Aid mixer and the grinder. I want to try out the grinder and make my own hamburger.
What cuts do you guys use? Any tips or tricks in grinding.

 

[bioburner]

Venison with about 30% pork butt for a sweeter burger.
Ground round is good but can be a bit lean if grilling and again addition of some pork butt to add some fat for flavor.

 

[Sluggo0018]

Never ground my own hamburger, but saw an episode of Americas Test Kitchen where they did it. I would bet that you could find the episode on their website and watch it. I can't recall what final product they used the meat for. They used beef short rib meat and they claimed it was much better than store bought ground beef. As I recall they slightly froze the beef and used a food processor to get the texture they wanted. I don't see any reason why you couldn't use your Kitchen Aid for the same thing.

Grinding my own hamburger meat is something I've wanted to try but never found the time. Let me know how it comes out. We make pork sausage with the Kitchen Aid every year around Christmas time. Comes out great and is kind of fun.

 

[Alfred_B]

I've done 50/50 mix of beef and pork. Ground meat doesn't have to adhere to the same texture standards as the other cuts. You can use tough meats and the burger will turn out just fine.

See which cuts you prefer taste wise and use that. I used to use whatever was on sale when I did that.

 

[Danno]

I have ground my own ever since working in a meat dept .... so for about 40 years now.
I usually go to Costco, get their beef stew packs, a pack of boneless pork chops and run a 70 / 30 beef, pork mix.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: Danno
I have ground my own ever since working in a meat dept .... so for about 40 years now.
I usually go to Costco, get their beef stew packs, a pack of boneless pork chops and run a 70 / 30 beef, pork mix.


That sounds good

 

[patfan]

any meat that comes from shoulder will taste good

 

[555]

I was taught in Sunday school not to grind my own. LOL!

 

[IndyIan]

If the grinder is getting plugged/gummed up you can try partially freezing the meat by cutting all the meat into chunks that will fit into the throat of the grinder, then spread it on a cookie sheet put it into the freezer until parts of it are starting to freeze, but don't freeze it too much, then run it through.
We used our kitchen aid to grind up our goats and for some of the stringier cuts we needed to partially freeze it.

 

[Virtus_Probi]

Don't you have to cook your burgers to well done if you mix in pork?
Pork was the scary meat when I was a kid and my mom would cook it to death because she was worried about us getting sick, guess chicken has taken over as the meat to be wary of since then.

 

[bioburner]

Trichinosis in pork in the US has pretty much been eliminated. Developing countries that may still feed raw meat to the pigs could well be a problem.
Stats I just dug up was the possibility of getting the bug from pork here in the US sold thru stores is 1 in 154 million
Far higher risk in getting it from eating wild game

 

[Alfred_B]

Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
Don't you have to cook your burgers to well done if you mix in pork?
Pork was the scary meat when I was a kid and my mom would cook it to death because she was worried about us getting sick, guess chicken has taken over as the meat to be wary of since then.


Yes, you have to. Ground beef is supposed to be cooked well done as well so it's not an issue. Pork is a much softer meat and the fat in it keeps the patty soft and moist.

 

[Alfred_B]

Originally Posted By: bioburner
Trichinosis in pork in the US has pretty much been eliminated. Developing countries that may still feed raw meat to the pigs could well be a problem.
Stats I just dug up was the possibility of getting the bug from pork here in the US sold thru stores is 1 in 154 million


They deep freeze the meat and it supposedly kills the parasites

 

[Virtus_Probi]

Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
Don't you have to cook your burgers to well done if you mix in pork?
Pork was the scary meat when I was a kid and my mom would cook it to death because she was worried about us getting sick, guess chicken has taken over as the meat to be wary of since then.


Yes, you have to. Ground beef is supposed to be cooked well done as well so it's not an issue. Pork is a much softer meat and the fat in it keeps the patty soft and moist.


As long as you keep the grinder clean, shouldn't you be able to cook beef you have ground yourself from "clean" cuts to lower temperatures?
I thought the issue with store bought ground beef was the risk of contamination from small amounts of things like intestines getting through the mass grinding process.

 

[Alfred_B]

There is more surface area in ground meat so the bacteria multiply much faster than on a cut of meat where the surface area is fairly small. You cannot have bacteria free meat, even if you sanitize it like a surgical room .

 

[Rolla07]

You wana go high fat content. Id do short ribs, brisket and shoulder. Add in some extra beef fat. Im not a fan of blending with pork unless it adds a high fat content. Unfortunately, ive been wanting to grind my own, but its crazy hard to find the good cuts around here.

 

[oldoak2000]

Originally Posted By: chiefsfan1
We recently bought a Kitchen Aid mixer and the grinder. I want to try out the grinder and make my own hamburger.
What cuts do you guys use? Any tips or tricks in grinding.


I like to get chuck roasts on sale - and run thru grinder - have nice balance of fat,etc.

For making AWESOME hamburger patties, put in ~ 20% 'bacon ends-n-pieces' as you grind; you'll never make another burger without after trying this!

 

[chiefsfan1]

Originally Posted By: oldoak2000
Originally Posted By: chiefsfan1
We recently bought a Kitchen Aid mixer and the grinder. I want to try out the grinder and make my own hamburger.
What cuts do you guys use? Any tips or tricks in grinding.


I like to get chuck roasts on sale - and run thru grinder - have nice balance of fat,etc.

For making AWESOME hamburger patties, put in ~ 20% 'bacon ends-n-pieces' as you grind; you'll never make another burger without after trying this!


I had bacon in mind!
Thanks all. Think I'll try different combos and see how I like it.

 

[JBinKC]

For venison in the day when stores gave beef suet away for free I used that. Bacon works well if you are looking for a smoke flavor. I usually use inexpensive higher fat Farmland or Ol' South brand pork sausage in the 1 lb chubs at a 30% ratio

 

[sleddriver]

I use chuck & sirloin steak & roasts when they're on sale. Trim all hard fat. Cut into 3/4" cubes, then into the freezer to firm up a bit. Then into the Cuisinart in small batches so the meat is small pebble size. Then spread it out onto a baking sheet, pick out any gristle, pour a small amount of melted butter or bacon fat on top, season, then gently shape into a large patty using a form.

These will be incredibly tender patties so care must be used when cooking & turning.

A true 'melt-in-your-mouth' burger....