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[glitchy]

This is entry level LEM stuff and it is going to be light years from a Kitchen Aid attachment.  For the 1st time in my life, a 2nd grind will be possible!

Can you elaborate on the second grind? I recently picked up one of the metal Kitchen Aid grinder attachments, but haven't used it yet. Why is it not possible or not a good idea to do a double grind with the attachment vs a dedicated grinder?

[Bentley]

Lew I do not think this will accept many, if any attachments. 

As far as 2nd grind with Kitchen Aid, no reason you can't.  I am not sure if you have a dedicated KA grinder?  Or if you are referring to the one that attaches to the mixer?  If you are talking about the attachment to the mixer and have never ground meat and tried to put it back through the KA for a 2nd time, you will just have to experience it.  I think pork is worse then beef, but they were both such a struggled for me, I gave up with a 2nd grind decades ago.  The nice this about the LEM and many other dedicated grinder is the feed tube is much bigger, so a 2nd grind is a breeze.

Should have bought this thing 20 years ago!

[Bar-B-Lew]

Bentley, check this out.  Of course, I have not used it yet, but it has to save time in the process and not allow meat to get as warm to make the 2nd pass challenging.

https://www.lemproducts.com/product/big-bite-dual-grind-attachment/butcher-meat-grinder-attachments

Unfortunately, you are correct.  It looks like there are no attachments for your model just the piping tubes.

[Bentley]

I cannot imaging how much meat you are processing to need something like that.  No finger pointing.  I was amazed how fast this thing ground for the 1st pass, and equally as amazed how fast the 2nd went through!  Your attachments cost more then my grinder!   

I have a AA friend coming over the 1st of April.  He is of Swedish decent and we are going to make as he calls it Korv...I believe real name is Potatiskorv.  Looking forward to it, although it contains ground 5 spice berries (which I have never heard of) and that to me maybe a deal breaker!  I have never made a sausage with potato in it!

[Bentley]

So data 1st.  97oz. of trimmed beef, 28oz of fat. I did not record the amount of time for 1st grind, my best guess would be half the time of 2nd.  2nd grind took 7 minutes. 

Photo on right is the 65/35 and the left is 70/30, the 65 looks leaner to me.  Burger was 8oz, and pulled @ 140°.  Taste was good, but the mouth feel of the burger sucked.  To "crumbly" for lack of a better word.  Not sure why.  I know Alton likes to handle GB as little as possible, whether meatballs, meatloaf or burger.  I have come to believe I am just the opposite.  I almost want the meat a paste.  Maybe the closest correlation I can come up with is gluten formation.  I do not want pristine GB.  More date is required.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Can you use finer grinding plates to get what you want?

[Bentley]

I am not sure what I am looking for. I am pretty sure it is not a grind issue. 

I think I get to tied up in fat content being flavor and my ratios mess with the texture.  It is going to be much easier to dial that in with the LEM.  I need to make a 15%, 20% and 25% patty now and see if I like those textures better!

[yorkdude]

I have also heard DONT work the ground meat, my preference is that it stays together and not crumble. I don’t over handle when we grind but having said that I form a relatively firm patty and cook it. I have not had any complaints but in reality who is going to grumble about a free burger.

[pmillen]

I have also heard DONT work the ground meat, my preference is that it stays together and not crumble.

Me, too.  I put that Don't overwork the hamburger advice in my list of all of the other tips and tricks that someone made up for an article they were writing.  I think they do it to look uncommonly smart and other people repeat it.  I suspect that smash burgers could be categorized as overworked, yet a lot of people love them.

[yorkdude]

I have also heard DONT work the ground meat, my preference is that it stays together and not crumble.

Me, too.  I put that Don't overwork the hamburger advice in my list of all of the other tips and tricks that someone made up for an article they were writing.  I think they do it to look uncommonly smart and other people repeat it.  I suspect that smash burgers could be categorized as overworked, yet a lot of people love them.

Exactly!

[Bentley]

More Data!

60 seconds with the paddle in the KA certainly was not enough to change the texture.  About the only thing I got right today on this 8oz. patty was the correct seasoning.  Now that i am taking notes, that is at least finished.  But todays texture was roughly the same as yesterday.  Beef does not seem to emulsify as easily as ground pork.

Tomorrow is another day.  I bet I get a meat paste tomorrow!

[Bar-B-Lew]

Mix a little pork in with the beef

[Bentley]

I have never been a fan of that type of burger, but a few ounces maybe the trick if I cant get it to the paste stage tomorrow.

[Bentley]

This is a very perplexing dilemma with the texture and trying to even get a meat paste.​  I am starting to think that the small plate with the LEM is smaller then the ones I have on the Kitchen Aid grinder.  Have not double checked, but will.   It is the only reason why I can think that the texture is different with this grinder.  I did use the FP to try and get more of a paste, and even it was not as effective as I though it would be.  If I would have run ground pork for the same time I would have had mush!  If I hade not ground this beef myself, there is no way I would believe there is 30% fat in it.

Went with 2 4oz patties instead of 1 8oz.

I must say I enjoy gathering the data!



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[BigDave83]

That is the nice thing about grinding your own. You can choose the size of the grind. I usually like my second grind through the 6MM/1/4" plate over the smaller. about the only time I ever my 1/8" plate is it I want to make snack sticks, and even then I don't always use it.

 The great thing is you get to enjoy your experiments, and even the fails are good eats most of the time