Tips on grinding certain cuts for burgers?

jls9595

I assume I need to add some fat to things like a brisket flat, where do I get it? What about a chuck roast, do I need to add fat to that? I assume none is needed for something like a ribeye. What about the ends and chain of a tenderloin?

buzd504

Ground chuck comes out great as-is.

Zmokin

It all depends upon how much % fat you want.  I've been grinding my own beef for 3 decades now.  I used to go for ultra-lean, but lately, I've taken to grinding up the meat and fat from short ribs for making hamburger for hamburger patties.  I then save the rib bones to roast, then boil for canning my own beef stock.

Lit

Don't get a flat to grind get a whole packer. Its cheaper per pound and has all the fat you'll need. Brisket burgers are all I do now.

jls9595

sounds good @Lit  I have to drive about 30min to the 'boro to get a whole packer but it will yield a good amount of ground beef.  

Lit

I also grind the meat twice now. Usually the first time through it will get clogged up a little but the second time I get a good grind. I use the kitchenaid grinder so if you have a better grinder you may not have this issue. I watched a local butcher and he put his through 3 times and that was with a copy machine sized commercial grinder that he was dropping whole briskets into.

td66snrf

I wait until chuck roasts are on sale and have the butcher at the grocery store double grind it. I did sirloin a couple of times but it was too lean. I haven't tried brisket but it sounds really good.

BugCollector

I grind half packer and half chuck.  I leave all the fat on. I have been thinking about adding more fat because the patties fall apart while grilling or searing on the range.  The results are certainly worth the effort as my burgers taste better than any I can get at restaurants.

Lit

If you add and egg or 2 depending on how much your grinding the patties will stay together.

Zmokin

Lit said:

I also grind the meat twice now. Usually the first time through it will get clogged up a little but the second time I get a good grind. I use the kitchenaid grinder so if you have a better grinder you may not have this issue. I watched a local butcher and he put his through 3 times and that was with a copy machine sized commercial grinder that he was dropping whole briskets into.

I also do a double grind, but I grind with a course cut disc the first time which never clogs up, and then the 2nd grind through the fine cut disc, which because it is the 2nd grind, it won't clog.  I also have medium disc.

Skiddymarker

Best results I get is to sort lean and fat and grind separately. Mix gently by hand after the grind. Easy to weigh and target an 80/20 mix. If being used for meatloaf, pork fat is often mixed with beef. 

NDG

Last time I made burgers I ground 75% chuck and 25% short ribs - one coarse grind and it turned out very nice.  I would like to try a brisket/chuck combination to compare.

Eggpharmer

Don't know if you have seen this or not, good comparison of different cuts

http://mobile.aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2009/10/the-burger-lab-best-burger-blend-profiles-of-eight-cuts-of-beef.html

Mickey

Been doing brisket burgers for the past two years. S&P with chopped red onions only.

fishlessman

if you buy a chuck roll you can cut out the chuck eye roast for a great potroast or for pulled beef and you get alot of good fatty beef from the cuttings, thats pretty much all i use. if you use the KA grinder, throw out the small plate, its useless, and look on ebay for bigger aftermarket plates

NoJokeSmoke

Kelley (EggObsessed) and I along with a few other couples did a blind tasting of 5 different burger cuts:  Ribeye, Chuck, Brisket, Sirloin and New York Strip.  We put different colored tooth picks in the patties to identify the cuts after the tasting.  As you might imagine, the Ribeye won hands down, receiving all first place votes, but Brisket was a close second receiving all but one of the second place votes.  The winning order was:
1. Ribeye
2. Brisket
3. Chuck
4. Sirloin
5. New York Strip

My Favorite mix is 50/50 brisket/Ribeye. However, I usually do a mixture of 70% brisket and 30% chuck.  Brisket by itself at times seems to be too lose and wants to fall apart, but if I add chuck into the mix it seems to hold together better. 

For the grind, I found that I can go to my local HEB and ask them to grind it for me and they do it for me. Some HEBs have are not as agreeable as others, but in the Austin area the Westlake HEB is so accommodating.  I ask them to add fat in if they are just grinding the flat, but if grinding the point to not to add anything.  I do the same when I grind it myself.

TexanOfTheNorth

I agree with @Lit about grinding the whole packer. Make sure your equipment and meat are really cold before you grind, that should help keep some of the clogging down. You also don't want the fat to begin to melt while grinding.

jls9595

@NoJokeSmoke that is very interesting. Thanks