# Custom Burger Meat Blend. What Would You Do?



## mr drinky (Jan 29, 2016)

So today I got in 4 lbs of my own custom burger meat blend. The combo I chose was prime skirt steak, wagyu chuck, dry-aged steak ends, and a wagyu fat blend. Basically, you choose four ingredients and they blend a pound of each together for your own burger blend. These are the meats/fats you can choose from to make your own blend. Note: You can only choose four.

Choice Chuck
Prime Chuck
Wagyu Chuck
Prime Sirloin
Prime Top Round
Choice Short Ribs
Choice Tri Tip
Prime Skirt Steak
Prime Hanger Steak
Punta De Anca
Prime Short Ribs
Wagyu Short Ribs
Prime Brisket
Choice Filet Tail
Prime Filet Tail
Pork Shoulder
Mild Italian Sausage
Applewood Smoked Bacon
Foie Gras Blend
Beef Suet Blend
Prime Brisket Fat Blend
Prime Beef Rib Cap Fat Blend
Hot Italian Sausage
Dry Aged Steak Ends
Wagyu Fat Blend

I was kind of shooting in the dark as the ingredient list was extensive and I don't grind my own meat to really have an option on what works best. The only thing I was trying to do is shoot for around 20-25% fat -- and I definitely wanted the dry aged bits in the mix. 

So I am curious what other burger geeks would do in terms of fat and types of meat. If this mix goes well, I may order more in the future.

Here is the website where I ordered it from. They give descriptions, a flavor rating, and fat content for each type of meat. 

k.


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## panda (Jan 29, 2016)

I would go Sirloin, short rib, brisket, rib cap fat.


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## DDPslice (Jan 30, 2016)

Waygu chuck, pork shoulder, foie, dry aged. I have no idea if could even taste it but it just sounds like a really fancy grilled cheese


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## spoiledbroth (Jan 30, 2016)

woo suet that's old school most people coming out of culinary school these days don't even know what the f**k that means


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## mr drinky (Jan 30, 2016)

panda said:


> I would go Sirloin, short rib, brisket, rib cap fat.



I might try something close to this. I did almost go for the Sirloin, wagyu chuck, dry aged, and rib cap fat at one point. After reading about the brisket having high moisture and going well with dry-aged components, maybe that would have been a good option. 

My main concern on the first ingredient was flavor-to-fat. The sirloin, prime skirt, and prime hanger all have around the same fat content 4-5%, but the hanger steak seemed to go too far considering I had a dry-aged component. Changing from sirloin to skirt was the last change I made in my mix. 

k.


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## brainsausage (Jan 30, 2016)

Sirloin, brisket, shorty, hanger. Pork or any other non raw beef(besides salt and pepper) product don't belong in a burger patty. 

That's a meatball.


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## mr drinky (Jan 30, 2016)

brainsausage said:


> ...Pork or any other non raw beef(besides salt and pepper) product don't belong in a burger patty.
> 
> That's a meatball.



That's what I thought -- but I was thinking it was a meatloaf burger.

k.


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## pleue (Jan 30, 2016)

Wagyu chuck, wagyu shorty, and hanger would probably be my base, then I'd try different blends with skirt, punta (tri tip), brisket, aged steak ends, and see which I prefer.


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## Bill13 (Jan 30, 2016)

Karring,

This could be a dangerous website! The Waygu chuck and the dry aged ends are a must but after that... indecision.


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## stereo.pete (Jan 30, 2016)

Awesome, thank you Al Gore for the interwebz!


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## jacko9 (Jan 30, 2016)

brainsausage said:


> Sirloin, brisket, shorty, hanger. Pork or any other non raw beef(besides salt and pepper) product don't belong in a burger patty.
> 
> That's a meatball.



The best hamburger place in our neighborhood in Upstate NY was "Jack's" Drive-In and they used pork, beef and veal. I worked at the market that sold them the meat (mostly trimmings).


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## brainsausage (Jan 31, 2016)

I've had plenty quality meat patties that were served as a sandwich. But they weren't the sandwich called a burger.


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## JohnnyChance (Jan 31, 2016)

brainsausage said:


> Sirloin, brisket, shorty, hanger. Pork or any other non raw beef(besides salt and pepper) product don't belong in a burger patty.
> 
> That's a meatball.



Brisket, shorty, hanger and then one undecided were mine as well. And when it comes to grades or aging or wagyu, the cheaper the better.



brainsausage said:


> I've had plenty quality meat patties that were served as a sandwich. But they weren't the sandwich called a burger.



Truth.


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## Mucho Bocho (Jan 31, 2016)

What I want to know is how much is this custom burger meat a pound?


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## mikedtran (Jan 31, 2016)

Mucho Bocho said:


> What I want to know is how much is this custom burger meat a pound?



It comes out to be about $10-15 a pound. You have to order in 4lb increments. 

Shipping is very reasonable at $10 for 1-day shipping.


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## Mucho Bocho (Jan 31, 2016)

Cool but I'd rather dry age and grind my own. Really takes no time and it won't be pressed before packaging either. Prob get the price per pound way under $10 too


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## jklip13 (Jan 31, 2016)

IMO using dry aged beef for burgers is a bit of a waste. Sure you get more interesting flavor, but the texture and moisture as well as fat ratio that change from dry aging are not seen after it is ground. For similar results you can grind a bit of the trimmed fat from dry aged need and mix it into a less expensive 60/40 non dry aged burger mix. (Preferably from shank and short rib.) I like the added texture you get from the collagen in these cuts, a bit more chew.


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## Chuckles (Jan 31, 2016)

Wagyu Short Rib looks to me to be a great idea to add to a burger mix. I love this idea.


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## SuperSharp (Feb 1, 2016)

I'll have to try this. Neat idea and probably makes their profit/lb of meat go way up by using scraps.


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## CrisAnderson27 (Feb 1, 2016)

This...is a great thread .


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## ChefJimbo (Feb 1, 2016)

can I please just buy 10# of beef suet, render it and start frying.......french fries, corn fritters, anything please?:hungry:


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## boomchakabowwow (Feb 1, 2016)

i won a neighborhood burger contest with:
50-50.

skirt steak and english short ribs..i did grind in some frozen butter bits. 

it was a great burger.


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## brainsausage (Feb 3, 2016)

Speaking of suet...


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## mr drinky (Feb 3, 2016)

That's beautiful Josh.

k.


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## brainsausage (Feb 3, 2016)

Does look nice doesn't it? Just rendered it down. We're doing wings for super bowl. Gonna confit the wings in the tallow before frying and tossing with sauce


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## Bill13 (Feb 3, 2016)

brainsausage said:


> Does look nice doesn't it? Just rendered it down. We're doing wings for super bowl. Gonna confit the wings in the tallow before frying and tossing with sauce



Like Pavlov's dogs I've started to drool. Seriously!


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## ThEoRy (Feb 3, 2016)

I hope by "dry aged steak ends" they are not referring to the black and green moldy caps we cut off and discard for obvious reasons.


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## spoiledbroth (Feb 3, 2016)

^ so you're not about that noble rot? :lol2: kidding


brainsausage said:


> Does look nice doesn't it? Just rendered it down. We're doing wings for super bowl. Gonna confit the wings in the tallow before frying and tossing with sauce



:bigeek::doublethumbsup:


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## jklip13 (Feb 3, 2016)

ThEoRy said:


> I hope by "dry aged steak ends" they are not referring to the black and green moldy caps we cut off and discard for obvious reasons.



Lmao, mas sabor homes


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## ThEoRy (Feb 3, 2016)

jklip13 said:


> Lmao, mas sabor homes


Mucho mas bacteria. I've asked a couple of meat providers about a dry aged burger and neither would do it. They claim that because the meat is ground you've significantly increased the surface area and in turn created an environment in which the bacteria can grow exponentially.


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## jklip13 (Feb 3, 2016)

I'm totally joking, I haven't ever tried it with the "crust" just that yellowish fat most people remove underneath.


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## mr drinky (Feb 3, 2016)

ThEoRy said:


> Mucho mas bacteria. I've asked a couple of meat providers about a dry aged burger and neither would do it. They claim that because the meat is ground you've significantly increased the surface area and in turn created an environment in which the bacteria can grow exponentially.



There are places that do make burgers with dry-aged meat though. If you simply google it, you find meat purveyors selling it, articles about eating establishments that serve them etc. Flannery Beef dry ages a lot of meat, so even if they trim off the most inedible parts, there is still going to be some trimmings left that impart that aged flavor. This is one article talks about dry-aged burgers. 

Anyhow, I made some burgers out of one of my packets and they turned out interestingly good. The wagyu fat is more oily, so it had a distinctive smoothness in the mouth compared to other burgers, and the dry-aged bits did lend a blue-ish cheese taste to the meat. 

k.


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## brainsausage (Feb 3, 2016)

I've done dry aged tar-tar and burgers from prime-rib that I dry aged. Just wiped down the outside with a salt brine after removing the rind.


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## ptolemy (Mar 19, 2016)

I did a run today with a blend (in post #1) and it came out amazing. Few things I learned: needs pickles to cut through the richness... needed more salt and pepper for crust, flavor. I used caramelized onions as topping. I am also thinking of adding 2 slices of bacon for extra saltiness/smokiness.


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## Bill13 (Mar 20, 2016)

Those look great, and more bacon is never a bad thing.


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## Jovidah (Mar 20, 2016)

ThEoRy said:


> Mucho mas bacteria. I've asked a couple of meat providers about a dry aged burger and neither would do it. They claim that because the meat is ground you've significantly increased the surface area and in turn created an environment in which the bacteria can grow exponentially.


This may sound dumb, but don't you dry age the meat _before_ you ground it? Hence it not being a problem? 

I actually found one brand of burgers (Kettyle, they're Irish) that have some dry aged meat in it... though at the 10% mark so I suppose it's more for marketing than taste. I have to say though that they are the most awesome pre-made burgers I have ever found everywhere... they blow everything else I have found in regards to burgers (supposed Wagyu, organic uruguay meat, and what not) at the restaurant wholesalers completely out of the water. Completely made making my own burgers completely pointless as the meat quality was far better than any ground meat I could acquire myself. If you ever see them I can definitly recommend them.


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## ThEoRy (Mar 20, 2016)

I was talking about the bacteria ridden ends (the black and green moldy cap) being ground up into the mix thereby contaminating the rest of the meat.


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## Jovidah (Mar 20, 2016)

At the risk of further proving my ignorance... don't you just trim those off before you throw it into the grinder? I'm a bit of a noob in this regard, but I thought when you trim off all the crap on the outside you have pretty clean meat? (albeit tenderized due to enzymes and with more concentrated flavour due to evaporation of water) 
Or are they afraid they'd still contaminate the meat during the trimming process?


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## ThEoRy (Mar 20, 2016)

That's exactly what I was warning against. Making sure to not grind that into the mix. With it being called "Dry Aged Steak Ends" it makes me think twice about it.


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## Jovidah (Mar 20, 2016)

Thanks for clearing that up. I think dry aging meat is really one of those things where you absolutely have to know what you're doing. It's one of those rare things I'm disinclined to dip my toe in as a home cook and would rather leave to the professionals...


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