Lunch at a place is a good barometer.
Y'all grow corn in Texas? Fresh picked makes all the difference.
Y'all grow corn in Texas? Fresh picked makes all the difference.
Ground Beef - making/grinding your own?
- Thread starter 92saturnsl2
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IMO + what many recommend is a 70-30 blend as higher saturated fat is actually healthier. money spent on better meats is well spent IMO. most beef cattle are fed corn + soy to quickly fatten them up BUT the quality is surely lower as most modern foods produced today are. although i never bothered buying a half or whatever from a GOOD beef farm can save $$, especially when feeding a family!! quality real meats are a lot better than all the carby foods many people consume as witnessed by EXPANDING waistlines!! fat is filling + satisfying + raises insulin LESS than JUNK carbs!!
Expensive is relative to where you live. I only mentioned brisket because it's routinely on sale here (choice; nothing too fancy) for $1.99 a pound. That's cheaper than any other beef (or nearly any other meat) cut I can find. I've got plenty of freezer space, so I could really stock up on these. More normal/leaner cuts of meat (like top/bottom round) go for $5+ per pound.
My opinion is that brisket is very poor quality meat. Historically it was always one of the least expensive beef cuts. It wasn't until slow BBQ/smoking became a popular hobby/competition that it's price went up drastically.
It's one of the most used muscles, extremely tough, and the huge amount of fat in it doesn't lend well to the value of the meat. Most of the the fat is in one huge chunk-- the cap and the huge vein of fat that separates the point and flat sections. There's a reason you need to cook/smoke them to nearly 200F or beyond to get a texture that doesn't resemble that of shoe leather. Don't get me wrong-- I enjoy smoking briskets and love the flavor and texture when done right. But one brisket (usually around 16-18LB.) lasts us a week and can get old quickly, so I only smoke one every couple months or so.
If the meat can be turned into burger or ground meat for tacos, spaghetti and such, a meat grinder might be a worthwhile investment. I think the inherent toughness of the meat would be a non-issue when ground, but I suspect you'll have to remove a lot of fat to get a decent lean/fat ratio. I'll have to look into it and research it more. They probably use much worse meats in your typical store-bought ground beef is my thought...
We did that as well once and were also disappointed. A butcher later explained to me that they can pick out the best cuts of meat from what they have available. But when you buy a side of beef you get what you get without regard to quality for the specific cuts.
I also learned the difference between a good butcher and a bad butcher. It’s related to the amount of hamburger they get compared to the number of recognizable cuts of beef. I’ve cut up a side of beef myself and let’s just say I ended up with a lot of hamburger.
Best ground beef I ever had was in the late 1970's. I was an agricultural mechanic at the time and knew local farmers.
4 of us bought a fattened up beef steer to share. Had the entire beef ground into hamburger, steaks, roasts, loins and all.
Probably cost us $1.50 per LB back then, I have no idea.
Meat locker fee was fair, all they had to do was slaughter, grind and package.
Now that was some good burger!
4 of us bought a fattened up beef steer to share. Had the entire beef ground into hamburger, steaks, roasts, loins and all.
Probably cost us $1.50 per LB back then, I have no idea.
Meat locker fee was fair, all they had to do was slaughter, grind and package.Now that was some good burger!
I sure wish briskets were $1.99 per pound in my neck of the woods. $3.99 per pound is not uncommon at all. I agree the brisket is a very tough cut of meat however people love it on a smoker including myself. Briskets will grind very well if you prefer that type of ground meat. I have tried smoking chuck roasts and other cuts of beef and they just do not have that awesome taste or texture as a brisket can produce. If you go to a Kansas or Texas barbeque joint they have pork or brisket because it's so tasty. Anyway I have had great luck with the beef loin sirloin tip roasts to grind but they do not do as well on the smoker.
I'm with you on all points. Nothing makes for a better Sunday get together with friends and family as a smoked brisket. But we end up eating the leftovers for 5 days straight, which isn't a bad thing IMO
But not something I care to do every other weekend. I figure if they keep selling it for $1.99/lb, I might as well buy it; with 4 kids I'm a sucker for a good deal. I just need something else to do with it. I'll have to ask around and see if someone I know has a meat grinder and try it once before I take the plunge.
Yes sounds good!I'm with you on all points. Nothing makes for a better Sunday get together with friends and family as a smoked brisket. But we end up eating the leftovers for 5 days straight, which isn't a bad thing IMO
But not something I care to do every other weekend. I figure if they keep selling it for $1.99/lb, I might as well buy it; with 4 kids I'm a sucker for a good deal. I just need something else to do with it. I'll have to ask around and see if someone I know has a meat grinder and try it once before I take the plunge.
I've bought ground beed in Chinatown before. It was a good price and the quality was fine. The only issue might be the coarseness of the grind, plus that they typically just use them without cleaning them until maybe the end of the day while using them on both beef and pork. This seems to be pretty universal, where it's the grinding plates typically used for sausage.
If you do decide to grind your own beef, be careful not to back into the grinder. You'll get behind it your work.
We usually buy our ground beef from a locker and will it is good it's 90/10 which is great for meat loaf, spaghetti and the like but not good for burgers on the grill so I buy ground pork from a locally owed grocery store. They take all the pork cuts, chops, steaks, roasts that don't sell and grind it up so it's fresh. I take that and mix it 50/50 with the the 90/10 and it makes a delicious burger.
When I lived in FL. I would buy top sirloin steak and have the butcher grind it for me. PUBLIX was my go-to grocery store. They have some of the best beef cuts around. I also had this done at WINN-DIXIE as well.
