# Anyone grind their own hamburger?



## Kyle (Jun 16, 2012)

I just acquired a Chop-Rite #22 grinder and want to make some burgers tonight. I could just get a chuck roast and go to town, but I'm interested in hearing people's techniques, preferred cuts/ratios, etc. Any and all advice is welcome!


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## ajhuff (Jun 16, 2012)

I just use chuck, so not much help.

-AJ


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## Vertigo (Jun 16, 2012)

I use equal parts chuck and sirloin.


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## EdipisReks (Jun 16, 2012)

Vertigo said:


> I use equal parts chuck and sirloin.



same here. i sometimes add a bit of pork, too. usually just loin.


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## Vertigo (Jun 16, 2012)

EdipisReks said:


> same here. i sometimes add a bit of pork, too. usually just loin.



A rasher or two of bacon thrown into the grind never hurt anything.


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## Mike Davis (Jun 16, 2012)

I will second the bacon thing...ugh, huge difference  i noticed that if you cut too much fat off the chuck, the burgers suck at staying together


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## 99Limited (Jun 16, 2012)

Everybody knows too much fat is not good for you, but fat in burgers is a good thing. It's not like you're eating them twice a day every day.


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## VoodooMajik (Jun 16, 2012)

I haven't done it myself but some people I've worked with have. 

I've heard of fat backs being added so its 70-30 or 60- 40 protein to fat.

Bacon never hurt anyone


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## add (Jun 16, 2012)

VoodooMajik said:


> Bacon never hurt anyone




Tell that to the pig...


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## Eamon Burke (Jun 16, 2012)

I get chuck eye steaks and mince them with a knife.
:knife:

That and not salting early, and good technique...never eat a dense burger again!

The only things I like with ground beef are meatballs and meatloaf.


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## mhlee (Jun 16, 2012)

I primarily use chuck and look for a piece that looks to be close to the rib so I can get meat that's close to the rib eye cap. I trim all sinew, add leftover fat -the softest fat so it grinds nicely - and grind it through my Kitchenaid grinder attachment once through the small die. I would prefer to get a medium die and grind twice because grinding just once tends to leave the meat a little stringy IMHO.


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## EdipisReks (Jun 16, 2012)

do the kitchen-aid grinder attachments work well? i actually do hamburgers in my cuisinart, but i've thought about getting a grinder attachment for the 'aid. i want to do sausage, as well, and i haven't gotten great results for that using a food processor, unfortunately.


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## SpikeC (Jun 16, 2012)

I get good results but I do small batches. People who have unsatisfactory results try to grind up whole elks.


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## ajhuff (Jun 16, 2012)

I have never been disappointed with my Kitchen Aid grinder attachment. I have not tried the sausage stuffer yet though I do have it.

I have a stand alone unit too buy the KA is easier to clean.

-AJ


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## stereo.pete (Jun 16, 2012)

I like to use short ribs for my burgers and sometimes brisket as well.


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## PierreRodrigue (Jun 16, 2012)

SpikeC said:


> I get good results but I do small batches. People who have unsatisfactory results try to grind up whole elks.



Whats wrong with that?? I would maybe only tackle half a moose at a time, but an elk? Come on! I thought the Kitchen Aid would laugh at the challenge! :crazy::grilling:


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## ecchef (Jun 16, 2012)

stereo.pete said:


> I like to use short ribs for my burgers and sometimes brisket as well.



I'm with you Pete. Best blend I ever did was equal parts short rib, skirt, and tenderloin trim, ran through teh KA grinder.


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## Crothcipt (Jun 16, 2012)

Short batches is best. You have to keep the die's cool. A good idea is to have a second set in the fridge and change them out when you start getting hot. Alton Brown explained that it has something to do with the fat molecule and keeping it small. When you get your die warm it starts to expand the fat, making it "not good eats."

Many passes through too, you want a even distribution of meat and fat.


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## Kyle (Jun 16, 2012)

Ok so it's better to do a course grind then a finer grind rather than going from chunks to fine?


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## Namaxy (Jun 16, 2012)

On the meat - I'll second adding some short rib....great flavor. Re: the grinding.....I have a KA and the attachment, but it's on my **** list. As bad if not worse than the pasta attachment. Spins too fast and gets greasy too fast. My preferred method is an old clunky hand grinder that clamps to the counter...medium die followed by small die. I chill them before use. Only reason for not using it always is the difficult clean up.


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## ThEoRy (Jun 16, 2012)

We save end cut steaks from our dry aged strips, you know the ****** well done only pieces, and grind that up in our mix but I'm sure not everyone has that available to them. Pick up some fat back and make sure you grind about an 80/20 mix. You should be pretty happy with the results.


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## Crothcipt (Jun 16, 2012)

Kyle said:


> Ok so it's better to do a course grind then a finer grind rather than going from chunks to fine?


yes. your motor will love you for it to. If you were doing it the old fashion way, you arm would love you for it.


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## Namaxy (Jun 16, 2012)

Crothcipt said:


> yes. your motor will love you for it to. If you were doing it the old fashion way, you arm would love you for it.



Yes.....at least once every time I do this I rip the whole kit off the counter onto the floor. The kids 'love' my reaction......


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## brainsausage (Jun 17, 2012)

Crothcipt said:


> Short batches is best. You have to keep the die's cool. A good idea is to have a second set in the fridge and change them out when you start getting hot. Alton Brown explained that it has something to do with the fat molecule and keeping it small. When you get your die warm it starts to expand the fat, making it "not good eats."
> 
> Many passes through too, you want a even distribution of meat and fat.



+1 when grinding any meats, regardless of the end product, colder is better. Chill all of your equipment, grinder parts, bowls, etc. and you'll get a much cleaner grind if you partially freeze your meats first. Not all the way through, just till its a little firmer. This will help prevent the fat from liquefying, and the collagens in the meat from shrinking. Which will contribute to a dry, grainy sausage/burger/meatball/pate etc. And if you want to get a really tender sausage/burger- seam out the major muscle groups, and then cut long even strips WITH THE GRAIN. This is very important. Because as you feed those long strips into the grinder, it will cut the meat against the grain, which will produce a far more tender product. Trust me- it's worth the time and effort. As to burgers- I do a 60/40 ratio brisket to chuck. Trim about 70% of the fat off the brisket, grind coarse, toss it back in the freezer till its crispy, add 1% salt and .5% white pepper, and grind fine. Nice beefy burger. I'm not a fan of adding pork to burgers as I feel it starts getting a little meatball-esque. I love meatballs, and pork(pork is my muse). But I like my burgers beefy, and tender, with some nice tooth.


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## sachem allison (Jun 17, 2012)

we do 80/20 short ribs and brisket.


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## brainsausage (Jun 17, 2012)

sachem allison said:


> we do 80/20 short ribs and brisket.



I've been thinking about throwing a little shorty into my mix.


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## mhlee (Jun 17, 2012)

brainsausage said:


> +1 when grinding any meats, regardless of the end product, colder is better. Chill all of your equipment, grinder parts, bowls, etc. and you'll get a much cleaner grind if you partially freeze your meats first. Not all the way through, just till its a little firmer. This will help prevent the fat from liquefying, and the collagens in the meat from shrinking. Which will contribute to a dry, grainy sausage/burger/meatball/pate etc. And if you want to get a really tender sausage/burger- seam out the major muscle groups, and then cut long even strips WITH THE GRAIN. This is very important. Because as you feed those long strips into the grinder, it will cut the meat against the grain, which will produce a far more tender product. Trust me- it's worth the time and effort. As to burgers- I do a 60/40 ratio brisket to chuck. Trim about 70% of the fat off the brisket, grind coarse, toss it back in the freezer till its crispy, add 1% salt and .5% white pepper, and grind fine. Nice beefy burger. I'm not a fan of adding pork to burgers as I feel it starts getting a little meatball-esque. I love meatballs, and pork(pork is my muse). But I like my burgers beefy, and tender, with some nice tooth.



+1 to all of these. I chill as much equipment as possible - grinder parts in the freezer, meat in the freezer for 15 minutes or until really cold. My trimming is exactly what's described here - seaming out the major muscles. I'll have to see how the result is cutting the meat with the grain and feeding the grinder in this manner.

I should have added that the one thing I haven't liked about the KA attachment is that meat and sinew tends to get stuck in the back. That's another reason why I grind my meat in one step. I don't want to have to interrupt my grinding because I need to pull the thing apart and clean it out.


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## brainsausage (Jun 17, 2012)

mhlee said:


> +1 to all of these. I chill as much equipment as possible - grinder parts in the freezer, meat in the freezer for 15 minutes or until really cold. My trimming is exactly what's described here - seaming out the major muscles. I'll have to see how the result is cutting the meat with the grain and feeding the grinder in this manner.
> 
> I should have added that the one thing I haven't liked about the KA attachment is that meat and sinew tends to get stuck in the back. That's another reason why I grind my meat in one step. I don't want to have to interrupt my grinding because I need to pull the thing apart and clean it out.



By one step, do you mean from your hand cuts to a fine grind?


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## brainsausage (Jun 17, 2012)

If you are getting a build up of sinew, I'd suggest both cleaning your meat a little better, and doing a more progressive grind(coarse to fine). And you might want to chill your meat just a bit longer. In my experience, the closer to frozen the better, it should be almost crunchy. And if you lay out those long strips side by side, you can peel them of and feed them nice and smoothly into your grinder. Works waaaaay cleaner than tossing random chunks in.


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## mhlee (Jun 17, 2012)

brainsausage said:


> By one step, do you mean from your hand cuts to a fine grind?



Yes. I didn't like the consistency going from a large grind and then to a fine grind. I found the meat to be too fine. Two passes through a large grind was ok. One pass through the fine grind die was the best as far as texture and mouthfeel. 

I actually clean my meat very well for the most part. I take off all sinew. The fat can actually clog the grinder and meat actually gets stuck in the back. I'll try cutting the meat into strips next time.


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## brainsausage (Jun 17, 2012)

mhlee said:


> Yes. I didn't like the consistency going from a large grind and then to a fine grind. I found the meat to be too fine. Two passes through a large grind was ok. One pass through the fine grind die was the best as far as texture and mouthfeel.
> 
> I actually clean my meat very well for the most part. I take off all sinew. The fat can actually clog the grinder and meat actually gets stuck in the back. I'll try cutting the meat into strips next time.



Give it a try, I think you'll notice a difference in both the grind and mouth feel. Btw- when was the last time you had your blade(s) sharpened and your dies surfaced? I do all my grinding through a commercial grade grinder, and have multiple blades/dies, but I definitely notice more propensity for smear when my kit is worn down. Luckily we have a service that deals with that for us. Hope this all helps


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## mano (Jun 17, 2012)

For years I've been using a grinder from Cabella's with plastic innards that tend to break. Pretty soon I'm going to buy one of these: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200451267_200451267

I have a KitchenAid and while everyone likes the grinding attachment I like the idea of extra power.

My burgers are usually 50/50 chuck and sirloin with short ribs thrown in once in a while. I freeze bacon fat and fat trimmed from good steaks to add in. Always put the grinder parts in the freezer for 30-60 minutes and cut the partially frozen meat into strips. A single pass through the larger holes are fine for me but I'll try a second grind through the smaller ones.

I've made burgers topped with foie gras, exotic mushrooms and a fancy cheese on brioche that were PFG. That said, ground meat is about good fat content and a great basic burger is a thing of beauty.


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## DwarvenChef (Jun 17, 2012)

75% beef, chuck, round, what ever is on sale  and 25% lamb. I grind once on the largest die, regrind on the smallest die. I used my KA for a while but find it's not so good on ammounts over 1 pound, it heats up to fast. I've been using a hand crank from my grandmother that fits in the freezer  

The kitchen aid works wonders when doing small batches that will be mixed in, bacon, some veg, and what not


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## Candlejack (Jun 17, 2012)

At AG we use shortrib, chuck blade, side of beef and brisket (might not be completely correct, due to swedish vs american ways to butcher, but i think this is correctly translated, everything has been well hanged) and then we add molten fat from the pieces that has been trimmed off, to get more of that nutty, hanged meat flavour

We use a mix of courseness depending on the cuts. 


Atleast that was what we did when i was there.


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## foreleft (Jun 17, 2012)

Best mix I ever did was 50% Chuck, 25% Sirloin, 25% Oxtail. Cleaning the meat off the oxtails was a pain in the butt though. I usually just use short rib now. You won't get bad results using 100% chuck though. 

The Kitchen Aid is great for grinding, not so good for stuffing sausages. If you're going to do much of that I'd pick up a LEM 5lb capacity hand crank stuffer (or any one with metal gears not plastic).


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## Duckfat (Jun 20, 2012)

I just bought a LEM grinder and the thing is a beast. My KA served me well for years and processed a lot of venison but the LEM is soooooo much easier to work with and no schmearing. So far I'm doing 50/50 brisket and top sirloin. I'd really like to try grinding some tongue in the mix.

Dave


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## Mike9 (Jul 20, 2012)

I have one of those Kitchener grinders and it does a really good job. I use the medium die - it makes a better feeling grind. I grind for meat balls, meat loaf, burgers, chili, etc. It ground 6 lbs of venison and didn't complain once. I remove as much of the sinew as I can when processing whole cuts like this hind quarter and that helps. I used 1-1/2 lbs of pork sausage for fat. Hard to beat this grinder for the price. I want to make some sausage with it next.

Kitchener - http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200451267_200451267


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## MadMel (Jul 20, 2012)

I get some good dry aged brisket and dry aged fat as well. But you mincer has to be really cold. 70:30 meat to fat ratio although 65:35 works too.

Mince it twice, both through the medium die.


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