Grinding brisket for burgers

[Recon1]

Our local Kroger's has whole briskets for sale at 1.99 a pound. I've gone through the search here and other places but I'm kinda confused on trimming. Some trim all the fat, some trim just the hard fat and some grind the whole thing. Since I'm not going to add any other cuts into the mix, I'm leaning toward grinding the whole brisket. What are the cons of doing it this way?

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Every thing I've ever read about this, for burgers, is grind the whole thing and combine well to get an even fat distribution.

With Burgers, when you cook them, the fat has some where to go, I don't think you can go wrong by going whole brisket.

 

[InThePittBBQ]

I grind them whole, start out cutting them into 2-3 pound strips and that all goes into the freezer for 30 minutes to get really cold. Then grind using a 10mm plate and then lightly mix by hand to distribute the fat.

I send all of it back through the same 10mm plate for a second grind, if your making burger patties pack them with just enough pressure to form the patty for best results.

 

[browneyesvictim]

The whole thing! No need to trim except for any easy exterior silver skin if you want, but that's not necessary either. But I have gotten some that must have been mismarked that should have been prime grade that I had to trim fat off of. You should be good to go with a select grade. And at that price I would buy them by the truck load! Wow!

I don't see the need for a double grind. I just go once with a fine plate, then mix. But I do also add sausage phosphate for even juicier burgers. Post #43

Phosphate- secret weapon

 

[Recon1]

Well, I feel better now. I'll use the 7 mm plate and one grind. I've never ground beef. It's rare for it to be very cheap around here. Kroger's has these on sale about 3 to 4 times a year. But their cheap hamburger is kinda tasteless. Don't even ask about our Wal-Mart burger. Those cows must have died of natural causes.

 

[bregent]

For burgers, I trim all surface fat then add back to achieve about 85/15 - I figure there's also some internal fat that will up the fat % a bit, which is fine.

 

[old sarge]

I double grind with the last grind being with the 1/4 inch plate for burgers. For chile and meat loaf, a single grind with a larger 3/8 inch plate. Just the way I do it.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

I know this is an old thread but I did a search and this is exactly what I am wanting to do. Kroger's has briskets for $1.99 lb here for choice this week. When you say grind the whole thing does that include the hard fat like the deckle? I have no experience in this but thought brisket burgers for $1.99 lb is cheaper than buying cheap crap ground beef from the store.

 

[browneyesvictim]

Yes. Including the deckle fat. But It's up to you if you want to adjust your fat/lean ratio by doing so. Grinding the whole thing will produce about around 80/20 which I find is perfect for burgers.

 

[zwiller]

A little advice I got from another member and name eludes me but a Texas brisket guy. You want the brisket to bend. If it is stiff that means it is loaded with fat. I got this backwards once LOL. Cut off like 5lbs of fat out that one.

Although I have not ground my own burgers yet I can attest the talk about phosphate is legit and must have to me.

 

[tallbm]

I know this is an old thread but I did a search and this is exactly what I am wanting to do. Kroger's has briskets for $1.99 lb here for choice this week. When you say grind the whole thing does that include the hard fat like the deckle? I have no experience in this but thought brisket burgers for $1.99 lb is cheaper than buying cheap crap ground beef from the store.

There is a general rule of thumb I learned when processing meat (game meat mainly). If you see some tissue that you wouldn't throw in a skillet and eat, then you remove it from anything you plan to grind or anything you are going to turn into steak cuts.

The hard fat deckle is usually removed because it doesn't generally render down well in the brisket as it cooks. I usually just throw it into my foil pan that I put under my brisket and add my trimmed and rolled up flat meat to.
It seems to render down completely there so I would imagine it would be fine being ground UNLESS it is so hard that you can't hardly cut it up for grinding... again if you won't throw it in a skillet and eat...

I would focus on removing any of the stringy skin-like tissue that you see on the fat cap because it definitely would not go in a skillet to be eaten lol. When I grind that stuff it still stay stringy and wraps around the blade of my grinder so thinking it will simply grind up is a mistake.

I hope this info helps and I hope you enjoy the brisket burgers! :)

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

There is a general rule of thumb I learned when processing meat (game meat mainly). If you see some tissue that you wouldn't throw in a skillet and eat, then you remove it from anything you plan to grind or anything you are going to turn into steak cuts.

The hard fat deckle is usually removed because it doesn't generally render down well in the brisket as it cooks. I usually just throw it into my foil pan that I put under my brisket and add my trimmed and rolled up flat meat to.
It seems to render down completely there so I would imagine it would be fine being ground UNLESS it is so hard that you can't hardly cut it up for grinding... again if you won't throw it in a skillet and eat...

I would focus on removing any of the stringy skin-like tissue that you see on the fat cap because it definitely would not go in a skillet to be eaten lol. When I grind that stuff it still stay stringy and wraps around the blade of my grinder so thinking it will simply grind up is a mistake.

I hope this info helps and I hope you enjoy the brisket burgers! :)

Thank you for the reply and advice it is much appreciated. Seems to me its like wrapping or not wrapping. 50% of what I have read has people grinding up the entire brisket including the deckle and hard fat and 50% has people removing the hard fat. My grinder attachment is coming in on Friday and I am going to pick up a couple briskets so hopefully all goes well

 

[tallbm]

Thank you for the reply and advice it is much appreciated. Seems to me its like wrapping or not wrapping. 50% of what I have read has people grinding up the entire brisket including the deckle and hard fat and 50% has people removing the hard fat. My grinder attachment is coming in on Friday and I am going to pick up a couple briskets so hopefully all goes well

Cut a sliver of the hard fat and throw it in a skillet and see if it renders down well. If it doesn't then you know how it will behave in your grind.
Definitely remove that stringy stuff off the fat cap though.

Let us know how it all comes out! :)

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

Cut a sliver of the hard fat and throw it in a skillet and see if it renders down well. If it doesn't then you know how it will behave in your grind.
Definitely remove that stringy stuff off the fat cap though.

Let us know how it all comes out! :)

If I trim the deckle and hard fat out and grind what sort of fat to meat ratio do you think that would give me? Thanks for the help

 

[tallbm]

Good question.
I'm pretty sure I have trimmed 3 pounds of fat alone (including the deckle) off a 15-16 pound PRIME brisket in the past just to prep for smoking a brisket. I don't really aggressively trim fat either but I like to have about 3 pounds stored away at all times for sausage making so 3 pounds is my magic number to comment on lol.

So 3 pounds of fat out of 15 pounds of brisket is 20% material removed.
There was STILL plenty of fat left on the brisket. This leads me to believe that briskets are generally about 30-35% fat or so.

If you remove the deckle I think the rest of the brisket would still easily be in the realm between 70/30 - 80/20 meat to fat ratio.

Let me know if this sounds about correct to you :)