Best Burgers EVER - complete FLOP!!!

JMCXL

A few months back I was reading about how to make the best burgers. Coarse ground 80 / 20 was the way to go (they say). So, over the weekend I ordered 3 #s of coarse 80/20. I was asked how many times do I want it ground??? How many times? I must have missed that. I asked how many times do they do the regular stuff they put out - "8 times."  Well I thought that was a little much so I said 2 times please. The beef was different than anything I had ever seen - so I thought this was going to be great.

(SORRY NO PHOTOS)

I remembered they called for a generous amount of salt and that was it.  I lightly formed the patties and salted them - off to the Egg.  The coals looked ready and I started the cook.  With 20% fat (and large pieces of fat), the fire was almost too much for my MM.  I battled through the cook and off to buns. I couldn't wait...  Well that's when things changed.  Parts of the fat were so hard you could not chew them; 1 in almost every bite.  

My family was very polite and finished every bite (in-between spitting out pieces of fat).  

I would love to know if anyone has attempted coarse ground beef burgers and what did I do wrong.  My thought was maybe 8 times with the coarse blades would have cut the fat enough that it would have cooked up and been fine. The texture of the beef was different but fine - it was the fat.  My other thought was the butcher used what ever fat he had and not the best for burgers...

Comments welcome. Thanks

thetrim

Maybe he gave you 80% fat & 20% meat???

Carolina Q

Never had the butcher do it. Sometimes, I buy a chuck roast, cut it into 1" cubes, freeze for 30 minutes and pulse it in my food processor. One second pulses til it looks right. Frankly, it tastes he same as the pre-ground I usually buy.

nolaegghead

That hard stuff was probably collagen/connective tissue maybe with some attached fat.  Probably why they grind it 8 times normally. 

I trim all that stuff off when I grind my own and only run it through once.

pgprescott

Lower the temp and allow more rendering. Also you could allow patties to come closer to room temp before firing them. Idk?

danv23

I do 40% chuck, 40% brisket flat, 20% boneless short rib (all from costco), all hand trimmed and run through my Cabelas grinder twice by yours truly .  Best blend you'll ever taste.  Took a lot of different meats and grinds to come up with that, and yes I leave fat, but zero hard fat (like the crappy fat you would trim off a packer).  Now, I bet the butcher didn't trim any of the meat he threw into the grinder which explains the 8 grinds they normally do.  

I would find a new butcher, show him my post, and you'll have what you're looking for.  Good luck!

JMCXL

Thanks for the feedback. I will talk to a new butcher and try this again with above mentioned ratios

nolaegghead

I haven't experimented as much as @danv23 but I keep going back to a brisket/belly mix.

I remove all the fat I can from brisket, usually the flat.  Judge the fat content based on the amount of inter-muscular fat and estimate bringing it up to 80/20 with either pancetta, uncured belly or bacon.  I just grind once and mix by hand if it looks uneven.

cookingdude555

I have a good meat supplier.  I dont instruct them how to grind it, they do a really good job.  I just handle the cooking part.  I would recommend finding a quality meat source and they know how many grinds to send it through.

THEBuckeye

nolaegghead said:

I haven't experimented as much as @danv23 but I keep going back to a brisket/belly mix.

I remove all the fat I can from brisket, usually the flat.  Judge the fat content based on the amount of inter-muscular fat and estimate bringing it up to 80/20 with either pancetta, uncured belly or bacon.  I just grind once and mix by hand if it looks uneven.

There are no bounds to what @nolaegghead can do. Truly impressive. 

nolaegghead

THEBuckeye said:

nolaegghead said:

I haven't experimented as much as @danv23 but I keep going back to a brisket/belly mix.

I remove all the fat I can from brisket, usually the flat.  Judge the fat content based on the amount of inter-muscular fat and estimate bringing it up to 80/20 with either pancetta, uncured belly or bacon.  I just grind once and mix by hand if it looks uneven.

There are no bounds to what @nolaegghead can do. Truly impressive. 

Truth.  For example, I found the cure for insomnia!  I just read your posts.

bgebrent

nolaegghead said:

THEBuckeye said:

nolaegghead said:

I haven't experimented as much as @danv23 but I keep going back to a brisket/belly mix.

I remove all the fat I can from brisket, usually the flat.  Judge the fat content based on the amount of inter-muscular fat and estimate bringing it up to 80/20 with either pancetta, uncured belly or bacon.  I just grind once and mix by hand if it looks uneven.

There are no bounds to what @nolaegghead can do. Truly impressive. 

Truth.  For example, I found the cure for insomnia!  I just read your posts.

Brisket in a burger grind makes the best burger I've ever had. 

danv23

JMCXL said:

Thanks for the feedback. I will talk to a new butcher and try this again with above mentioned ratios

Let me know how it turns out brother.

Botch

I've never heard of eight passes through the grinder, not even for hot dogs or bologna.  
 
EDIT:  a smoothie, maybe.