1st hamburger grinding question

[fxsales1959]

found some nice bone-in chuck for $4.99/lb. Going to grind up some for smash burger balls. my question i.
do I Use the big hole plate first, or the medium plate which is what i want for finish. worried two run throughs might give me mush,
Thank you for your pateince.
John

 

[JckDanls 07]

medium plate

That's what I would use.. Just one pass is good enough ...

 

[SmokinEdge]

I agree with Keith, medium plate and 1 pass.

 

[fxsales1959]

I think i did ok. didn't have patience to wait. smash burgers for supper. one cow, one fresh grind.

 

[chef k-dude]

Well, what dies(s) did you use?!

I grind all my own burger meat because I like a medium burgers and like to know it came from one muscle. I like them pink in the middle and dont do smash burgers.

I like one pass through the 1/4" die. I like the burgers handled as little as possible and barely holding together and a good fatty mixture like 70-30. It's just what I have arrived at in life!

 

[fxsales1959]

Well, what dies(s) did you use?!

I grind all my own burger meat because I like a medium burgers and like to know it came from one muscle. I like them pink in the middle and dont do smash burgers.

I like one pass through the 1/4" die. I like the burgers handled as little as possible and barely holding together and a good fatty mixture like 70-30. It's just what I have arrived at in life!

there are 3 plates. one big holes 8mm, one medium holes 4.5mm, one tiny holes 3mm. I used the4.5mm (medium) one pass, bone in chuck, fairly fatty. had enough for 4 smash burgers, and 3 burgers around 1/4lb each.

 

[Makkara]

Owning a small supermarket for 25 years, I assisted in my meat dept. many times. Our "go to" process on grinding is what I still use today at home. Once thru sharp knife and medium plate. Then mixed well to distribute fat to lean. Next a second pass thru the same plate. The mixer/grinder was used inside a walk-in cooler, so mince was kept cold. I try to replicate the temperature at home as much as possible. The bite of a 2 grind burger is much more tender than a 1 grind IMO.

 

[chopsaw]

Looks great .
One pass through the 1/4 inch plate for me . Might try the 1/8 " next time . Nice lean to fat in your grind . You'll be hooked .
Next time you're at the store , take a look at what you would normally buy as a reference .

 

[fxsales1959]

Looks great .
One pass through the 1/4 inch plate for me . Might try the 1/8 " next time . Nice lean to fat in your grind . You'll be hooked .
Next time you're at the store , take a look at what you would normally buy as a reference .

I can already see the difference. Our specialty Italian meat market grinds in house. Go in the morning it's bright red, by supper time it's greyed out. What they call chuck is my guess 80/20 and $4.99/lb if you buy more than 5 lbs. Their "sirloin" looks closer to 90/10 plus they do a brisket grind one a month or so and patty them for $7.99. they're good burgers or sure, but not any more...

 

[chopsaw]

I can already see the difference.

I was thinking more for the grind size , but looks great just like it is .
The browning is a normal reaction to oxygen , but I get what you're saying . Fresh grind is where it's at .
When I first started grinding my own beef I went and looked for a " what was what " resource .
Found some on the USDA website . Pretty interesting stuff as far as " Hamburger " , ground beef , ground chuck and so on . As far as what's allowed .
Doing your own you know exactly what you have .

 

[DougE]

One pass through the 4.5mm plate will be fine. Just cube the meat up smallish (1 inch cubes, or there about) and chill it down to around 30~32°F before grinding.