Grinding Meat

You are better off mixing before grinding. You don't want to mix hamburger meat, after you grind.

That's how I do it. Except I cut strips instead of cubes.

Mike Twangzer said:

When you grind meat for hamburger, how do you ensure that all the cuts are evenly distributed throughout ? Mix by hand after grinding and do a second grind ? Does this overwork the meat ?

Click to expand...

We do all our own burger and sausages in house for the catering business, I use commercial equipment but the same results can be had at home with good quality machines that run sharp cutters and plates.

Feel free to handle the first course grind all you need to, when you transition over to the second plate (I use 1/4" or 3/16" for beef, depends if we are stuffing pepper's or making burger with it) that's when handling and working the meat needs to be kept to a minimum especially for a burger grind.

The less you work the final grind and pack it as you make patties you'll find it makes a better tasting burger that's easier to char and get the center cooked faster without overcooking and drying it out especially if your taking the IT to 160* in commercial settings.

I cube the meat. Mix in big bowl. Then into the freezer until just under frozen. Then I grind one time.

ColoradoSmoke said:

I cube the meat. Mix in big bowl. Then into the freezer until just under frozen. Then I grind one time.

Click to expand...

Same here.

Del

Memphis Elite





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Josh covered pretty much on how I do it also. Depending on the meat I do cube it though. I don't mess with the meat after the grind other than work with it lightly to make a patty. Less you work the meat the better sort of like dough. Don't overwork or press the meat too much and handle it quickly through the patty making process. Otherwise you get a bloating patty that sucks.

Some pastry rings work great also Mike. I have a few in different sizes depending on the size of the patty/bun.

I agree with the Brethren above, the less it's worked, the better the texture of the finished product. I also feel that the tiny air pockets/gaps within the burger helps with providing great flavor. Overworking, packing, or pressing of the ground meat can create a dense burger with little natural juices to be retained within the burger. Sometimes i even shudder when I see someone pressing the burger down on the grill with the spatula causing it to lose all that juicy flavor. But we all have our own individual likes and dislikes.

I've double ground before, but do more single grind now. If the meat is real cold, I can't tell any difference.


When making sausage, I double grind and mix spices in between grinds.


When double grinding I do use larger plates on 1st grind.