# Anyone Grind their own burgers?



## rahimlee54 (Mar 21, 2011)

So I was sitting at break today with coworkers who used to be butchers and they were telling me what all one guy used to put into the ground beef. This needless to say turned me off, not that I haven't eaten any of those before but didn't really want to hear it. So I thought maybe I should grind my own burgers and was wondering if anyone else here does it and if it is worth the effort.

Thanks for the info 
Jared


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## Pensacola Tiger (Mar 21, 2011)

Yes, it's worth it. You can tailor your ground beef to exactly how you want it, as well as ensuring that it is only beef. My favorite ratio for burgers is 2/3 chuck and 1/3 sirloin.


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## SpikeC (Mar 21, 2011)

I've been grinding my own sausage and really like knowing exactly what is in it! The amount of effort is not much as far as I'm concerned, butt YMMV!


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## Kyle (Mar 21, 2011)

I've been grinding my own sausage and burgers for about a year now and it's well worth the effort. It can get pricey, though. You might be able to start off cheap by using the grinder attachment on a KA mixer or by going with a hand grinder, but if you like it you'll find yourself itching for a dedicated grinder and stuffer. 

Of course, if you're just looking to do your own burgers and not looking to get into sausage making then you should be plenty happy with a hand grinder or a KA attatchment.


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## Audi's or knives (Mar 21, 2011)

I use the KA to grind meat for burgers, works pretty well. Highly recommend trying to grind your own, there's plenty of good info on the web concerning grinding, diff beef mixes etc.


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## rahimlee54 (Mar 22, 2011)

I had enough amazon credit to cover the KA attachment enablers. At least it was cheap instead of a 200+ dollar knife right?

Thanks
Jared


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## Eamon Burke (Mar 22, 2011)

I've heard of great success blending meats for burgers, like Beef + Lamb.

My family never bought ground beef when I was a kid...my mom would clean out the bulk of the meat in the grinder by grinding up bread. Then my brother would EAT IT. RAW BEEF AND WHITE BREAD.


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## cnochef (Mar 22, 2011)

I assume y'all have good quality knives here, why don't you try hand-chopping your own beef rather than grinding it? I can pretty much guarantee you a tastier burger if you do.


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## Pensacola Tiger (Mar 22, 2011)

johndoughy said:


> I've heard of great success blending meats for burgers, like Beef + Lamb.
> 
> My family never bought ground beef when I was a kid...my mom would clean out the bulk of the meat in the grinder by grinding up bread. Then my brother would EAT IT. RAW BEEF AND WHITE BREAD.


 
Nothing wrong with that. Not much different than eating a really, really rare steak. My father used to eat "cannibal" sandwiches when he was young - he would snitch freshly ground beef from what my grandmother was grinding, and put it between two slices of bread with a little salt and pepper.

The problem with e coli occurs with commercially ground beef, primarily because of poor sanitation and a lack of inspection.


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## Smarcus (Mar 22, 2011)

I use a KA to grind meat for burgers. I shoot for 70% chuck and 30% short rib but if I see a small piece of skirt then I will throw that in also. I grind the meat twice and salt it in between the first and second grind. I try to cook the burgers within 30 minutes of grinding which is easy to do at home.

Sean


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## Eamon Burke (Mar 22, 2011)

Pensacola Tiger said:


> Nothing wrong with that. Not much different than eating a really, really rare steak. My father used to eat "cannibal" sandwiches when he was young - he would snitch freshly ground beef from what my grandmother was grinding, and put it between two slices of bread with a little salt and pepper.
> 
> The problem with e coli occurs with commercially ground beef, primarily because of poor sanitation and a lack of inspection.


 
It's not the E. Coli, it's the taste! Grocery store beef and Iron Kids bread?! uke:


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## apicius9 (Mar 22, 2011)

One of the first things I eat every time I go back to Germany is a fresh baked roll with raw ground pork, heartily seasoned with salt, pepper, sometimes a few oter things, and fresh raw onion rings. You get it in every butcher's shop or supermarket. A lightly perverted version actually is to putt a few slices of Velveeta cheese on it - the only time I ever touch that stuff. 

As for grinding the meet, I keep telling myself I should but never do even with the KA attachment somewhere in my kitchen cabinet. Cooking for myself most of the time, it seems too much work. So, what's better: Buying it fresh in the supermarket or grinding yourself and freezing it? Hand-chopping sounds like an interesting idea. I do that for tartare, never thought about it for 'ground' meet.

Stefan


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## Salty dog (Mar 23, 2013)

We grind our own trimmings and serve the best freaking sliders anywhere. And you can have them rare as you want.


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## mano (Mar 23, 2013)

Check out your local craigslist and ebay for grinders. Cabela's and Northern Tool have decent ones for the home @ under $100. 

Everyone has their "perfect blend" they swear by. Use chuck, sirloin and trimmings from better cuts including lamb to get around 20% fat gets excellent burgers.


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## franzb69 (Mar 23, 2013)

I grind my own pork for sausages and beef for my burgers.

I painstakingly hand cranked them before.

my recent purchase of a food processor is a god send for grinding the meat.

lol


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## tgraypots (Mar 23, 2013)

Jared, you could have borrowed my KA attachments! I guess this means you're running out of ground beef from Key Packing, hunh?


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## DSChief (Mar 23, 2013)

I've got the meat Grinder & the Grain Mill for my KA. Have done the beef route several times, just remember. to save some trimmed fat to mix back in otherwise burgers will come out too dry. also do some home ground pork loin for Lumpia. For my bread, i use Hard Red Winter wheat from
Bob's Red Mill web site


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## ajhuff (Mar 23, 2013)

I do sometimes at home both beef and pork for chorizo. I have a stand alone unit and the KA grinder. I prefer the Kitchen Aid because it goes through the dishwasher better.

-AJ


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## Mike9 (Mar 23, 2013)

I grind my own and won't buy chop meat at the grocer ever again. Burgers, meat balls, force meats, sausage for stuffing, etc. Blind taste tests pick fresh ground over store bought every time. For a big batch of burgers I grind 3 parts chuck to 1 part sirloin depending on how fatty the chuck is. More sirloin if the chuck is well marbled. When I do tenderloin I save the trimmings for small batch burgers. Sometimes I grind venison and suet for burgers - delicious.


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## Zwiefel (Mar 23, 2013)

Eamon Burke said:


> I've heard of great success blending meats for burgers, like Beef + Lamb.
> 
> My family never bought ground beef when I was a kid...my mom would clean out the bulk of the meat in the grinder by grinding up bread. Then my brother would EAT IT. RAW BEEF AND WHITE BREAD.



Beef + Pork is a good combination 90/10. And raw beef is mighty tasty...not sure about the white bread part though!
(good to see you posting again Eamon!)



cnochef said:


> I assume y'all have good quality knives here, why don't you try hand-chopping your own beef rather than grinding it? I can pretty much guarantee you a tastier burger if you do.



I've done that many many times...since I got a food processor though, I use that. cut into 1" cubes, pop in the freezer for 20 minutes, then pulse until roughly ground. Saves a lot of time...although I was "camping" in my RV this weekend and I don't have a FP in there, so I used the knife for it


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## Chefdog (Mar 23, 2013)

Try adding some brisket into your mix. I don't have a grinder at home, but a buddy gave me a ridiculous burger a while ago at his house, and about 25% brisket was the only thing different from any other good burger. But man, the flavor was great.


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## Miles (Mar 23, 2013)

We grind all our meat in house, but even then, I like to grind my own at home. I really like 2/3 chuck and 1/3 brisket if I'm going to do a bunch for a party or gathering. If I just feel like putting a couple burgers on the grill, I usually just do chuck, but I always have some trim in the freezer at home and that will often end up in the mix as well.


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## MadMel (Mar 24, 2013)

Brisket and Chuck, Dry aged. And Dry Aged Fat.


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## Duckfat (Mar 24, 2013)

I used a KA at home for years and it worked but it smeared a lot. In the end the plastic housing cracked. About a year ago I picked up a LEM grinder and it was $$$ well spent. I've experimented with dry aged sirloin but the best blend I've found so far is Top Sirloin, Brisket and beef cheek (When I can find it). Once you start making your own sausage and grinding your own burger there's no going back. It's also nice to have enough power to just lop the chain off a tenderloin and have the ability to grind the entire chain with out getting every speck of silver off. 
I flatten my plates and keep my blades in tune with a 1K chosera.


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## jgraeff (Mar 24, 2013)

ya we do at work, we save all our scrap from tenderloins, strips, veal, shortribs etc and grind it together we mainly use it for staff mean only place i know that give prime beef to staff haha its pretty good though for burgers you can control how much fat you want in it and whatnot.


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## boomchakabowwow (Mar 24, 2013)

i do small batches. i dont eat alot of burgers, and when i do, i want it super fresh. i use my food processor. easy peasy!
50/50 skirt steak and boneless short ribs.


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## Chef Doom (Mar 24, 2013)

Grinding your own meat is the best way to go. The taste and texture of pre-ground bought at the store does not compare. I've done it with a knife but it is more of a finely chopped consistency instead of ground, and the meat will not stick together as well so you have to be careful sometimes with the forming and flipping. But for some strange reason I prefer burgers this way over using a grinder. One time I flipped a burger made with a suji and it fell apart in the pan, so loose meat burger it was. And it still tasted good.

The food processor method is also a good way to go if you don't want to invest in your own dedicated grinder. Still better than store bought. I'm going to have to try the freezer trick one day.

I guess the most difficult part is finding a good bun to go with your burger.


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## NO ChoP! (Mar 24, 2013)

We cut tons of tenderloin at the CC. All the trimmings are ground together with a 25% ratio of bacon. We use them for our "gourmet burger", and it is delicious!


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## Customfan (Mar 24, 2013)

Ive been thinking for a while about going full grinder at home.... Anyone want to venture a specific grinder or attachment? How about the metal one sold through amazon for KA...


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## Mike9 (Mar 24, 2013)

Customfan said:


> Ive been thinking for a while about going full grinder at home.... Anyone want to venture a specific grinder or attachment? How about the metal one sold through amazon for KA...



I bought a Kitchener grinder for @ $100/shipped I'd say. OH look - here it is now:






Link for same: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200451267_200451267?cm_mmc=Google-pla-_-Food%20Processing-_-Meat%20Grinders-_-151342&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=151342&gclid=CPHV7PbtlrYCFUXf4AodJlsADA

It's a work horse I'll tell ya that. If you are making sausage, or chop meat all day every day then it is not the unit for you. You want a commercial model. For the home cook who makes burgers, meatballs, chili, and some sausage this is a great bang for the buck. :doublethumbsup:


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## franzb69 (Mar 25, 2013)

i'll bookmark that!


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## Duckfat (Mar 28, 2013)

Customfan said:


> Ive been thinking for a while about going full grinder at home.... Anyone want to venture a specific grinder or attachment? How about the metal one sold through amazon for KA...



I'd look at a small LEM before buying a KA attachment. A stand alone doesn't have to be expensive. What ever brand you buy get one you can but replacement plates and blades for. If you want to save a little more you can watch for refurbs as well.

http://www.lemproducts.com/category/electric-meat-grinders


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