Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[hughver]

As I noted in a previous post, I found choice boneless chuck for $2.95/lb. and BB or St. Louis ribs for $1.99/lb. What I didn't notice in the ad was that they also had all 750ml bottles of wine, when you purchase 6 or more, for 30% off, including sale items. So, back to the store and three cases of wine, six racks of ribs and thirty pounds of chuck later, it's hamburger time. I have an electric grinder with 1/8" and 1/4" plates, which one should I use and should I grind it twice for ground chuck? I have an abundance of bacon and am considering grinding a pound or so with the chuck, is this recommended? The ground meat will mostly be used for hamburgers with an occasional meat loaf and spaghetti sauce thrown in.

[Bentley]

I am in the fine grind camp, so I would use the smaller plate, but large grind then small is always good.  I only have the KitchenAid and sending ground meat through it a 2nd time is just way to much effort!

I am not a ground bacon guy in my hamburger GB.  But there are Restaurants like 50/50 in Anaheim Hills that make a living doing it!  I think it would be a great addition for the Loaf!   I would prefer adding something like trimmed brisket fat or any beef fat to get to that magic 70/30!

[Hank D Thoreau]

Okay Bentley, you say Mayberry in your profile and then you reference 50/50 in beautiful Anaheim Hills.

So are you a neighbor or just very knowledgeable of the burger world?

[Bentley]

I know the restaurant and they made their bones on that blend.

[bregent]

It depends on how you plan to cook the burgers. If you're doing smash burgers, a finer grind gives a better crust. For plumper burgers, a finer grind results in a tougher burger. I also like a mix of chuck and brisket. If you're planning on grilling, go with course - they will stay juicier. If I'm making thick burgers then I always use a panade.  I never grind twice - don't see the need.

[MustangBob]

As I noted in a previous post, I found choice boneless chuck for $2.95/lb. and BB or St. Louis ribs for $1.99/lb. What I didn't notice in the add was that they also had all 750ml bottles of wine, when you purchase 6 or more, for 30% off, including sale items. So, back to the store and three cases of wine, six racks of ribs and thirty pounds of chuck later, it's hamburger time. I have an electric grinder with 1/8" and 1/4" plates, which one should I use and should I grind it twice for ground chuck? I have an abundance of bacon and am considering grinding a pound or so with the chuck, is this recommended? The ground meat will mostly be used for hamburgers with an occasional meat loaf and spaghetti sauce thrown in.

Hugh, you probably already know this, but you get a much better grind without gumming up your grinder if the meat is icy cold.  I usually cut mine in strips (or cubes if you're energetic) and place on a sheet pan in the freezer for about 20 minutes before feeding it into my grinder.  It shouldn't be rock hard frozen, but should be crusty firm on the outside.  I use a 3/16 plate and grind once.

[hughver]

Thanks all for the good advice. The deed is done, I used 1/4" plate and ran it through twice using the same plate. I did 15 lbs. and added about 1 1/2 lbs. of double smoked bacon. After I was done, I wish I'd only grounded it once. Yes Bob, I always freeze both the meat and the grinder parts. bregent, to tell the truth, I'd never heard of "panade". I looked it up and it turns out that I've been using it my whole life, just did not have a name for it. Burgers on the grill tomorrow night (with wine of course)  .

[Bentley]

Why?

After I was done, I wish I'd only grounded it once.

[hughver]

After the second pass, its texture and color changed a bit. My gut feel is that the courser grind may have resulted in juicer burgers, tomorrow will tell.

[Bentley]

Thanks!  More info for others to make decisions with!

[hughver]

Update: Hamburgers two nights ago, using the ground beef described above, were very very good. I combined 1 pound of ground beef with 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, one large egg, one large minced clove of garlic, salt/pepper, cooked on very hot grill until medium and served on a toasted brioche bun with condiments.

Last night I made meat balls with tomato sauce served over angle hair pasta. The meat balls were the best that I've ever eaten. I combined 1 lb. of the ground beef with one large egg, 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, 1/4 cup minced onion, three large minced cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese and salt/pepper. Formed the meat into 3 oz. balls and browned under the oven broiler for about 20 minutes, turning after 12-15 minutes. Meat balls were then simmered in the sauce for 1 1/2 hours. The searing of the meat balls instills a great Maillard reaction flavor to the mix. Delicious. 

[Bentley]

So do you think you will stay in the...add 10% ground bacon group...for the future?

[hughver]

I think so, I used it this time because I did not have any other fat and the chuck appeared to be leaner than normal. However, the texture was good, they were juicy and the flavor was excellent, so why mess with success.

[Bentley]

Agree!

Curious if you will try larger plate and just one grind on next go round?

[hughver]

Next time I'll try 1/4" plate with one pass, less work. However, in spite of what I said above, after refrigeration over night, the texture was fine and it produced a good final product. The last time that I ground beef, I used a 1/8" plate and only one pass. The texture was OK for making bolognese sauce but, IMO, it was too fine for everything else.