Grinding your own meat for burgers/meatloaf/meatballs (burger, breakfast, broil)

[lubby]

I have never done this but I have a meat grinder attachment for my kitchen aid mixer. I was wondering what cuts of beef, pork, veal are good to use? My grandfather was a butcher and would grind his own meat, sometimes grind in an onion or cooked potato. It might be cheaper to make my own ground meat then buy it the store already ground. Thanks.

[Emeraldmaiden]

I haven't ground beef yet, but I have made pork sausage (from pork shoulder, if i recall correctly) and chicken sausage (from leg quarters). Both in my KitchenAid.

[mainebrokerman]

I wish their were cheap end cuts today,,

the cheapest meat to use is....look for the front page sales on chuck steaks,
bnls chuck steaks, or shoulder arm steaks- sometimes called chuck london broils in these parts,,, also look for bnls chuck roast, or bnls chuck shoulder roast (two different roasts)

i would look for these steaks/roasts for great prices on the front page of the grocery store ads (loss leaders)
if you see 2.99lb thats good in these parts now..

this ground chuck will be around 85% lean

if you want leaner, look for the sales for top round steaks, top round roasts, bottom round roasts- these will be the cheapest- maybe even a round tip roast or steak, sometimes called a sirloin tip steak (from a knuckle, very lean) not sirloin Tips from sirloin

eye round steaks will be very lean also.


brisket is tasty but fatty,,and sometimes the fat on the fresh brisket is a bit slimy,,,will clog a grinder
the flat cut on a fresh brisket is ok..



walmart has burger shipped in,,they dont grind fresh on site,,,more and more supermarkets, are bring in case-ready pre-pack burger, these are from million pound batches- the reason is liability, specifically, trace-ability
so they wont get sue'd
so you are wise to grind yourself,,

grind it through at least twice to mix well
the fat needs to blend,,
bench trimmings at stores are usually ground three times before packaging

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by Emeraldmaiden

I haven't ground beef yet, but I have made pork sausage (from pork shoulder, if i recall correctly) and chicken sausage (from leg quarters). Both in my KitchenAid.

sounds delicious


shoulder pork butts are generally used for sausage,,good flavor,,
if you want lean, buy the pork sirloins,,

for chicken,,, breasts are good, can be lean and a bit dry
the bnls chicken thighs are probly the best for chicken sausage

[Emeraldmaiden]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

sounds delicious


shoulder pork butts are generally used for sausage,,good flavor,,
if you want lean, buy the pork sirloins,,

for chicken,,, breasts are good, can be lean and a bit dry
the bnls chicken thighs are probly the best for chicken sausage

Yes, we got sale pork; I think it was $.89/lb, so totally appropriate for sausage experiments.

For the chicken, I debone the leg quarters and use the bones for stock. DH adored the chicken breakfast sausage. I made sure to throw in the fat, because dry sausage = YUCK.

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by lubby

I have never done this but I have a meat grinder attachment for my kitchen aid mixer. I was wondering what cuts of beef, pork, veal are good to use? My grandfather was a butcher and would grind his own meat, sometimes grind in an onion or cooked potato. It might be cheaper to make my own ground meat then buy it the store already ground. Thanks.

here is a pic of a bnls chuck steak and a pic of a shoulder chuck arm steak both of these would be great to grind
the bnls chuck roast looks like the bnls chuck steak(on the left) but thicker and sometimes fattier, and the shoulder roast looks like a thick shoulder chuck steak (on the right)

[lubby]

I if I buy leaner cuts can I grind in some beef fat to make the meat juicer?

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by lubby

I if I buy leaner cuts can I grind in some beef fat to make the meat juicer?

you can,

but use beef fat...not suet -their is a difference,,,hard suet does not mix overly well

if you buy a bottom round roast ,,,there is some fat on the bottom, same as a top round roast


the chuck roast id recommend as one of the best items..


its trial and error no matter what you use,,

i use industrial grinders at work,,,but ..... buy these little powerhouses from ebay at under 100.00 for friends that ask ....they come with sausage horns too, to make your own sausage

[cape_fisherman]

Originally Posted by lubby

I if I buy leaner cuts can I grind in some beef fat to make the meat juicer?

You can.

Or you can grind in some pork butt, belly, or even bacon.

[hellpaso]

I occasionally grind up a Chuck steak/roast when we are really craving a medium rare burger (too risky to use pre ground beef).

I have used the grinder attachment with the Kitchenaid mixer, but I think it's just easier to use the food processor as long as I'm careful not to over chop the meat.