Brisket Hamburger Question

Steeler Fan

My wonderful wife just went to the grocery store and saw a nice brisket and will have them make it into hamburger meat. She told them to only grind the flat brisket and leave the rest alone for us to bbq as a regular brisket. My question, don't I need all the fat for the hamburger> Any quick help would be appreciated.

Kiwi Egger

Steeler Fan,[p]I do "brisket" burgers quite often using the flat brisket cut. Never had a problem, there is some fat on the bottom that gets ground in during the process. Had to go here (below) to see what the other cut actually is...[p]http://www.hormel.com/kitchen/glossary.asp?id=38257[p]I think you'll be fine, there might be too much fat in the remaining meat, not sure. I'm sure someone will know and respond, but from my experience, you are about to have some really good burgers![p]Kiwi Egger

Sandbagger

<p />Steeler Fan, I think you want to save the flat and grind the point. Check out the pics from my try at it. I did two packers: separated the point/flat, trimmed the fat and ground with my kitchenaid machine. [p]The choice grade packers were purchased from Costco and priced @ $1.65 per pound.

Here are the end results:
First Second
Price: $18.61 $18.99
Packer 11.25# 11.50#
Trimmed Flat 5.50# 5.00#
Ground Hamburger 1.75# 1.90#
Waste (Fat) 4.0# 4.60#
Net Cost/lb. usable $2.57/lb. $2.75/lb.[p]I’m no expert on trimming packers but the Arizona BBQ association has a wonderful tutorial on “How to Trim a Brisket”. The link is included.[p]The trimmed flat is on the right side of the board and point trimmings are on the left side of the board:[p][p]The waste on each was at least four pounds: from one packer to be tossed. [p][p]On my KitchenAid, it is a simple process to add the meat grinder. It takes about one minute to add the attachment. Meat went into the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm up. [p][p]With the first brisket, I did a double grind with the coarse setting. With the second brisket, I did another double grind, but this time - coarse first then a fine grind. I am playing a bit to see what texture works best. This is the fine grind.[p][p]Hamburger Results: Just one guy’s opinion[p]I prepped two burgers with just salt and pepper: total weight for both burgers – 0.75 lbs. These burgers are the coarse grind only. I cooked them on the egg at 500 degrees, normal grid, and only flipped once. Final touches included a slice of cheese and toasted buns. [p]The results: First, one burger held up very well while cooking; the other was fragile and needed extra handling care. When I pattied up the burgers, I made a special effort not to over work the meat. [p]Okay, how did they taste – how about very good! The beef flavor was not, knock your socks off, but the texture and consistency of the burgers were pure heaven. [p][p][p]
[p]
[ul][li]http://www.azbbqa.com/articles/brisket-trim.htm[/ul]

Unknown

Kiwi Egger, Thank You, was afraid that we were getting the wrong ground.

Steeler Fan

Sandbagger, Thanks for the response. I was really worried that I would not be able to save anything. This was ground by the butcher before I knew about it. At least it is not a loss, I can salvage most of it.

Wardster

Steeler Fan,
I grind the entire brisket. Good stuff....

dhuffjr

Wardster,
I would too. The one I did was a flat I got on a sell it now cheap sale. It ended up a tad dry. Max recommends a bit of worchestesire sauce or Dales or something for a bit of moisture. With the price per pound of whole packers grinding the whole thing you will not end up with much waste in my opinion to get the fat ratio right for good burgers. The price per pound is close to the price of ground beef then too.[p]My two cents worth anyway.

Kiwi Egger

cleosheba@bellsouth,[p]No worries, I think I may be eating the wrong cut. Will ask next time I have one ground for the whole brisket. [p]The market I go to only has the flat and they grind it, fat and all....[p]Good stuff![p]Kiwi Egger[p]

Bucky Buckshot

Steeler Fan,
I have been eating hamburger made from briskets for some time now. My butcher says to use ALL the brisket in order to make it at least 85% meat to fat. He says to trim it much would make it too lean to make good hamburger. Just my butchers 2 cents worth. Bucky

Wardster

dhuffjr,
Cheaper down here. 1.99 per lb. If I have them cut the brisket, taking only a portion, it goes to 2.99 a lb.

Sandbagger

<p />Bucky Buckshot, I can't speak for all, but on the two packers I did, how about: First packer weighed 11.25 pounds and I trimmed 4.0 pounds of fat: 64% lean. Second brisket weighed 11.5 and I trimmed 4.6 pounds of fat: 60% lean. I don't know how to compensate for the fat locked in the meat. Plus, each flat had a fat cap; So, chances are the lean ratio may be less! [p]Here is a picture of one before I started trimming.

Car Wash Mike

Sandbagger,
Great timing. I'm picking up some briskets for grinding this week.[p]Mike