Making my own ground beef, 1st time

T

toddrhodes

Knows what a fatty is.
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So the Chuck Prices thread learned me that the local Kroger had a decent sale on choice Chuck roast ($3.99/lb) so I snapped up 6 of them. I also picked up 5# of short ribs and some oxtail. If I do about 5# of chuck, 1.5# of short rib, and 2# of oxtail, is that a decent ratio for ground beef? I generally like 75/25 for burgers, and that's all this would be used for. Going to debone the oxtails and short ribs and throw it all in the freezer for an hour or two along with my grinding attachment.

Also, I have a fine and a coarse grinder attachment for my KitchenAid - which should I go with? I assume coarse, but thought it would be best to ask first. If this goes well, I'm going to try sausage next. Thanks!

Todd
 
Not sure on the fat ratio, someone else would know... just wanted to say that sounds like a tasty mixture for a burger though
 
Amount of fat probably depends on how much the store meat cutter trimmed up the chuck. I do know you will have a better tasting burger by grinding your own. I more inclined to eat a med. rare burger if I ground the meat myself and knew how clean everything is.
 
I only use the fattest chuck roast I can find, once thru the fine plate and it's ready.
 
Turned out about 5 lbs of ground beef. I like that I can package it in about 3/4 lb packages with my scale, when we get 1 lb or more, we generally don't eat the whole thing. This stuff is strictly for burgers, I'm going to throw one on with tomorrow's dinner and see how it is.
 
Let us know how it turns out! That sounds like a mighty tasty combination. Also, I'm about to start this stuff too - is it normal to get 5 lbs. end result from 8.5 lbs. at the beginning? I'm probably missing something...
 
it takes more fat than you think. you'd want minimum 20%, to 25% (of course, depends on what your using it for) most butchers tell you it's done by color.
i've been chasing the perfect grind for some time. oxtail and ribs good for fat/flavor.
keep experimenting and keep a record.

also, when i'm looking for the best grind i only use salt and pepper to season. otherwise it's hard to judge.
 
yup, after a while you get to know pretty much what % you will have off the bat.

until the separate you fat and lean.... Then you know
 
I've always use a coarse grind. I like to do about 2/3 chuck, 1/3 pork butt for burgers or meatballs.
 
I normally call my local grocery store butcher the day before I need it and ask him to collect beef fat for me. He would normally throw it away so he usually charges me very little if at all. I can eyeball the ratio to what we like. It works great for lean meat like ground venison.
 
Lately I've been using boneless short ribs from costco for burger..

Turns out great.
 
I'm a once through coarse and once through fine kinda guy. Also, make sure everything is kept cold, cold, cold. All meats, bowls, grinder parts, etc. I put my machine parts in the freezer before grinding.
 
I did that as well, Steam, the grinder parts in the freezer thing. It worked great, I didn't have any issue getting the fat through the grinder in the same state as it went in.

Here are some pics, for reference. The burger was very good, it had a different texture than any other ground beef I can remember, it was "tighter" if that makes any sense. It was juicy as heck and I could have done better by cooking it just a little less but let's just say my charcoal situation was a little challenging tonight, so didn't want to take any chances.

IMG_0711.JPG


IMG_0712.JPG


w649-h865-no.jpg
 
one other item with this burger thing, the bun. never appreciated how much impact it could have until i had burger at jg melons, ny, ny.
perfect egg wash, soft, yet didn't disintegrate from moist burger.
the only place i can get something above and beyond here is fuddruckers. they do sell the bun only. not bad.
 
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