Grinding your own meat

D

doggor

Veteran X
DO IT!
I've been reading about how ground meat in general sucks and I've always thought myself immune to that since I can buy ground chuck or ground round or ground sirloin from a good grocery store that still has real butchers that do shit in house. But on a whim I decided to buy a chuck roast and grind it myself for a rather boring chili.

That shit rocked. My wife who finds chili pretty boring (she's not a spice fan and I'm not a chili connoisseur so we go with a chili spice pack cause I'm not going to start grinding all my own spices and recreate something that in general I find mediocre) but this last batch she actually enjoyed and wanted me to make it again. The only difference is that I ground the chuck myself. The flavor was markedly beefier.

I ground the chuck in a food processor even though I have a grinder for my kitchen aid. That was pretty fast and clean up wasn't to bad. I'm not sure why the self grind was better but I have an idea that it was more that the store ground stuff was exposed to air and oxidizing a lot of the flavors. Either way we'll be grinding a lot of our own meat from now on.
 
i enjoy using the kitchenaid grinder as often as possible

i get those big pork loins at costco for $12 and always use a big chunk of it for grinding
 
That's the thing you can look at the piece of meat you're grinding to get an idea of how much fat is in it. The chuck roast I ground had a significant amount of fat in it, not lean at all.
 
chuck makes excellent burgers and usually still has a decent amount of fat even after trimming the large chunks off

i don't get to eat a ton of beef, so when i do i usually render the chunks of fat and use it to cook the burgers :-D
 
you can also add fat to your grind. add bacon, or butter or suet or whatever to increase the fat content.
 
if you want to go all out here is a pretty sick recipe


Ingredients
•1 1/4 pounds well-chilled beef brisket, trimmed of excess fat and sinew
•1 1/4 pounds well-chilled boneless short ribs, trimmed of excess fat and sinew
•1 1/4 pounds well-chilled hanger steak, skirt steak, or carne asada meat, trimmed of excess fat and sinew
•5 ounces well-chilled beef suet
•3 ounces well-chilled beef bone marrow
•2 tablespoons red miso mixed with 1/4 cup water until smooth
•Olive oil (for brushing)
•8 large slices sharp cheddar cheese
•8 large sesame seed buns, halved
•8 tomato slices
•Fresh watercress sprigs
•Red Vinegar Pickles (click for recipe)
•Spiced Ketchup (click for recipe)
Back to the Grind
To make this burger, the meats, suet, and marrow must be ground. There are three different ways to do this:
•1. Have the butcher grind the meats. Ask your butcher to cut all trimmed meats into 3/4-inch pieces, chop the suet and marrow, and grind everything into 1/16-inch pieces.
•2. Use a meat grinder. (Click for our slideshow on how to use it.)
•3. Use a food processor. Cut all trimmed meats into 1/4-inch pieces. Chop the suet and marrow. Freeze until partially frozen. Working in batches and using on/off turns, grind into 1/16-inch pieces.
•Ingredient Info
Suet and bone marrow are sold at some upscale supermarkets. To make sure your market carries both, be sure to call ahead. You may need to special-order the items. Red miso (sometimes labeled aka miso) can be found in the refrigerated Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at natural foods stores and Japanese markets.
Preparation
•Combine all ground meats, beef suet, and bone marrow in large bowl and mix lightly with fork. Add miso mixture and stir lightly just to incorporate (do not overmix). Divide meat mixture into 8 equal portions. Form each portion into scant 4-inch-diameter patty. Sprinkle both sides of patties generously with salt and pepper.
•Brush 2 large skillets with oil; heat over medium-high heat. Add 4 burgers to each skillet; cook 3 minutes. Turn burgers over. Cook 2 minutes; top with cheese and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute longer for medium-rare. Remove from heat.
•Place 1 bun bottom on each of 8 plates. Top each with 1 burger, 1 tomato slice, 1 red onion slice, watercress, and Red Vinegar Pickles. Spread bun tops generously with Spiced Ketchup and place atop burgers.


Read More Triple-Beef Cheeseburgers with Spiced Ketchup and Red Vinegar Pickles: Recipe : bonappetit.com
 
Why would you use a spice packet?

I guess chili powder is a premade spice, but that's what I use, with a tiny bit of cumin. Maybe this is why your chili is boring.
 
Pal how much are you grinding and how often? If you're going to be doing big batches say 3# or more then yeah doing it in the kitchenaid grinder makes sense. But if you're doing less then that and not that often a food processor is pretty easy too.

I've got this part for my stand mixer if you're going to do big batches.
Amazon.com: KitchenAid FGA Food Grinder Attachment for Stand Mixers: Kitchen & Dining

Oh don't bother trying to stuff sauasages with this thing cause it's slow as fuck and the meat gets smashed trying to go through the horn. If you're going to do sausages get a dedicated stuffer.
 
that's what i have, it's pretty standard

i actually just found a 2nd one at a goodwill in perfect condition for $4, gave it to my mom

i havent read any reviews but it grinds everything i throw at it as long as i'm patient with it. cut stuff into strips and make sure one piece is through before you start the next one. clean sinew off the blade every so often.
 
i just used the same kitchen aid grinder to put through marrow, suet, boneless rib and some flap and it took a long time (probly 10 lbs total) took like an hour plus . i think it would have been faster with a machine in better condition (this one has a stripped section where the grinder attachements peg hold itself straight with the mixer itself and the screw to tighten it doesnt hold well) - mine at home would have tore up this stuff - kitchen aids are legit
 
I'm not a fan of the kitchen aid grinder myself, I bought a stand alone grinder from Cabelas. I need to make some brats soon.
 
If you don't have a grinder, pick out your cut of meat, head it to the meat guy and have them grind it for you.

It has got to the point where the meat guy at my local store saves his best Chuck roast for me. Grinds it for me ever Sunday when I stop by.
 
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