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   How to Make Burgers found in House & Home  :  Food, Drink & Cooking  :  Cooking & Recipes A   A   A
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How to Grind Your Own Meat

Though it requires more time and effort, grinding fresh meat gives you greater control over the flavor and freshness of your patties. Blending different cuts of meat, as well as grinding and cooking meat on the same day, will yield fresher, tastier burgers than those made with standard store-bought ground meat. You can grind your own meat with a meat grinder or have a butcher grind meat to your specifications for you.

How to Get a Butcher to Grind Meat to Order

Many supermarket meat counters staff skilled butchers who will grind meat for you if you ask. They will also be able to tell you which meat is freshest and may even have advice for creating special burger blends. You may have to pay a small premium for meat ground to order, but the superior flavor of burgers made from this meat in contrast to burgers made from preground chuck will be obvious.

How to Grind Meat Using a Meat Grinder

Whatever type of grinder you’re using, make sure that all of the parts have been cleaned and dried thoroughly before working with raw meat. You should also chill your grinder’s parts in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes prior to grinding to prevent them from overheating. Overheated grinders can damage the texture of your meat and melt its fat, resulting in dense, dry burgers. To grind meat:
  1. Cut your meat to a size that will fit into your grinder’s feed hole. For most, 1/2" cubes will suffice.
  2. Chill the cubed meat for 30 minutes prior to grinding.
  3. Assemble your grinder according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Grinders have multiple cutting plates that grind meat to specific sizes. Use the plate with holes approximately 3/16" in diameter.
     
  4. Set up a bowl underneath the grinder and begin passing your chilled cubes of meat through the feed hole, using the wooden or plastic bat-shaped meat pusher that came with your grinder.
     
  5. If using two or more different cuts of meat, pass them through your grinder separately and then mix them together gently by hand in a large bowl.
  6. Refrigerate your tightly sealed ground meat until you’re ready to form patties. Use the meat within two days.
  7. Disassemble your grinder and wash its parts promptly in hot, soapy water.

How to Grind Meat in a Food Processor

A food processor will never yield the same uniform, small grind of a proper grinder, but if you work in small batches and pulse the meat quickly, you’ll end up with finely chopped meat that will make perfectly good burgers. Take care not to overwork the meat, or it will turn into a mousse.
  1. Cut your meat into 1/2" cubes and chill them, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, along with your processor’s work bowl and mixing blade.
  2. After the meat and processor parts are chilled, assemble the processor.
  3. Working in small batches, put 7–8 cubes into the work bowl and pulse the meat quickly 10–12 times. If your processor doesn’t have a pulse button, quickly toggle the On/Off switch instead.
  4. Remove the ground meat and set it aside in a large bowl. If you have one or two large chunks remaining, leave them in the work bowl and add the next 7–8 cubes of meat.
  5. Continue to pulse all the meat until it is ground.
  6. Refrigerate your tightly sealed ground meat until you’re ready to form patties. Use the meat within two days.
 
 
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