grinding your own burger meat

I am planning on grinding my own burger meat tomorrow. I just got a kitchen aid upright mixer and I also have the meat grinder attachment. I eat many burgers, and have never tried to grind my own. Just posting here to see if any one has a better ratio than this recipe.

Alton Brown : Burger of the gods
Ingredients

* 8 ounces chuck, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
* 8 ounces sirloin, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

In separate batches, pulse the chuck and the sirloin in a food processor 10 times. Combine the chuck, sirloin, and kosher salt in a large bowl. Form the meat into 5-ounce patties.

Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Place the hamburger patties in the pan. For medium-rare burgers, cook the patties for 4 minutes on each side. For medium burgers, cook the patties for 5 minutes on each side. Flip the burgers only once during cooking.

AB is the man. Never had a recipe of his that I didn't like... but that episode of Good Eats that he did on home brewing was pretty hilarious.

I have never tried that, but what I have done was pick a nice brisket flat at my local grocer and asked them to run it through the grinder twice.

Man did that make tasty burgers!

I mean that would be good, but do you usually season your burgers with more than salt? If so, I would mix the seasoning in right with the meat. I use the same ration (50% chuck, 50% sirloin) but I also add garlic powder and onion powder...that is just how I like my burgers.

Also, not sure if this was mentioned in that show or not, but it will help your grind if you freeze your meat cubes for about 20 minutes prior to grinding.

I grind my own burger. Only way to go if you want a nice medium rare burger. If you burn the **** out of 'em or like well done, it wont make a bit of difference.

50/50 chuck/sirloin is about perfect for fat content. And I 2nd the notion of just a little salt in the meat.

cubbies said:

it will help your grind if you freeze your meat cubes for about 20 minutes prior to grinding.

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+1

Aside from that I prefer a little more sirloin than chuck but thats just me. I have recently read that skirt steak makes a REALLY good burger but I haven't tried it yet.

if you are just grinding meat for burgers then there is nothing wong with adding your spices,, i like to add a ranch spice package when i grind mine just for burgers.

I add a small amount of breadcrumb and egg yolk for binding, also I'll generally mince some onions into the mix.

i made 2# worth of burgers using sirloin tip and chuck roast, they turned out great I cant wait to try it again.

I think you should use your meat grinder instead of pulsing it in the processor. Maybe he was trying to simplify the recipe for people without the grinder....?

grind bacon into them ...
really good ...

deer bacon cheese burgers are the best.

That sounds deliciously evil.

I just did 25lbs of burgers this past weekend. I used 50% economy grade ribeye rack / 50% chuck roast and added all my seasoning to the rough cut meat. I used one of those patti forming device that you connect to a sausage stuffer to make perfect 1/4 lb patties.

hopsoda said:

grind bacon into them ...
really good ...

deer bacon cheese burgers are the best.

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When you do deer burgers, do you mix the deer with beef or pork or do you go straight deer meet. I have 40lbs of elk meat that was just given to me and would like to do some more burgers.

When we got our beef this year we got all the rump, chuck, tip roasts, etc. (those tougher cuts) into our hamburger. Turned out real good! Lean enough the burgers aren't greasy but fatty enough that they have good flavor. A half of a half (no, not a quarter) turned out to yield 100# of hamburger alone.

I know it's not grinding your own but at least you have some control over it.

toddrod said:

When you do deer burgers, do you mix the deer with beef or pork or do you go straight deer meet. I have 40lbs of elk meat that was just given to me and would like to do some more burgers.

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Venison, Elk, Moose all need a little fat subsidizing if you ask me when it comes to ground. But that is just my preference. I usually add pork fat. Duck fat is good too.

I usually mix deer meat with cheap hamburger to cut costs , and i think its allot better than it being mixed with beef fat - i have not mixed with pork (besides bacon) in less im making sausage, i would mix the elk with beef IMO - you can make some burgers with the deer or elk straight if you mix some raw egg with it.

edit - duck fat? seriously?

here are some pics, none were taken on the grill though
my propane tank ran out of gas and my spare was already empty in the middle of the cook so I guess I was in a rush.






Used an aged chedder for my chz and onoin rolls from a place called zingermanns in Ann Arbor
http://www.zingermansdeli.com/content/pages/home.php
a bit pricey but worth it sometimes

I always use Alton's sirloin/chuck recipe when I make burgers. Although I don't grind my own. That is a little too much work for me.