grinding own meat for burgers

Unknown

I ordered the meat grinding attachment for a KitchenAid and was wondering if anyone else does this. I have heard ground beef brisket is great for burgers. I also heard grindinng some of the meat coarse and some fine worked well for burgers also. Any one have experience or thoughts? Ground pork?

SuperDave

Eggular,[p]Our good friend, Alton Brown had a show about this very subject. He got into the details about different cuts, percentages of fat etc... He recommended using a food processor and pulsing the mixture only ten one second bursts for the perfect eating and patty forming texture.[p] I tried it once, it was a lot of hassle and kind of a lumpy texture, for my tastes, but I probably did it wrong. I think finding the perfect cuts of meat to mix together is a big part of it's success.[p]

BlueSmoke

Eggular,
I routinely use the KA meat grinder, and it works just fine. A couple tips/comments...[p]Make sure the meat is cold, right next to freezing, before you grind it. Grinding is easier and more consistent. I cube the meat and chill it thoroughly before grinding.[p]Have the butcher set aside some beef trim (fat) for you. Cube and grind some of this with the meat to get the meat:fat ratio you're looking for. 80/20 is an easy place to start - for a pound of ground meat, gind 13 ounces lean and 3 ounces trim.[p]HTH
Ken

Whitetail

Eggular,
I just had ground brisket burgers for dinner last night. Kinda like ribs everyone seems to have their own twist on how they like it. I took some lean trimmed brisket (no fat cap at all) cut it into 1-inch cubes and threw it in the freezer for a little over an hour. I used the KA attachment as well. Single grind with the coarse plate, no added fat. I made some big burgers, don’t have a scale but probably 1/3 pound each. Cooked direct at 400 on a raised grid for 12 minutes, flip and 12 more minutes. Perfect medium well. Filled the plate with juice when I cut into it. Good stuff.

Unknown

Eggular,[p]Ken put up some info on ground beef and I will put up some on ground pork. [p]We grind a lot of pork for just plain pork burgers and also for several types of sausage on the KA. We also use the stuffer for some of our meats but it is a two person job and ok for smaller quantities. The most I have stuffed at one time with the KA stuffer was 20 pounds and it about worked me to death. [p][p]I am not sure what these butts weighed but I would guess about 14 pounds total and this will make up some nice sausage.[p][p]I cut the meat into strips that will fit the grinder.[p][p]The 7 pounds looks like this after it is thru the grinder and ready to be seasoned into sausage.[p][p]The seasonings.[p][p]Seasonings prepped and ready to be mixed into the ground pork. [p][p]Mixing it up.[p][p]Frying up a sample to check the seasonings. [p][p]Packaging for the freezer. [p]Dave

Unknown

This is great help....Thanks....I can't wait to try them.

JSlot

Great pictorial, Dave. Judging from the top of the cups, it looks like your spice prep has a wet component to it. If so, would you mind sharing the ingredient?[p]All the best,
Jim

fishlessman

Eggular,
i really like the kitchen aid grinder. ive got a bottle of retsina wine that i found a while back that will be turned into loukanica sausage meat which is a favorite ice fishing snack served with ouzo. was looking in the paper today in the restaraunt section and saw that a place is serving pork and chorizzo tacos, thats now on the list of things to do. the kA and grinder is a great thing to have

Unknown

JSlot,[p]Wine if I have it and water if not![p]Dave

Unknown

Old Dave,[p] Your cooking talents never cease to amaze me. Great pictorial and tutorial. Thanks! Hope to see you in Madison.[p]Paul
Hickory Flats BBQ
Versailles, IN