Grinding meat

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Newglide

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Jun 14, 2021
662
527
NC
So I don't have a grinder but have a food processor.
Has anybody used a processor to grind meat, specifically beef for burgers?
I did a google and see where it can be done but is it worth doing?
Would it turn it into mush?
 
I use a food processor with cooked beef for ravioli filling . It can be used for raw beef . Small batches and just a course chop .
Try a pound for some burgers and see if you like it or not .
If you have an interest in grinding your own burger meat , maybe a hand crank would work for you .
I just did a mix of ribeye and sirloin trim .
 
It can be done, but you will have a rough time getting the consistency you'd get with an actual grinder. I did some chicken in a food processor back before I had a grinder and it worked ok for the recipe I was using it in. Make sure the blade is really sharp, and keep the meat cold.
 
I haven't done it for burger meat, but do it all the time with ham for salad. Like said above keep the meat well chilled and use the pulse button instead of letting her rip. Also you may want to make it a little fattier. Sort of like 80/20 to get the meat to hold its patty shape when forming the burgers.

Chris
 
I use a food processor for small batches of filling for things like wontons, where I don't have a preconceived notion of what the texture should be like. Also food processors are used for emulsifying the meat in things like hot dog and bologna, but there are some techniques needed to keep it cold. All meat almost frozen solid and ice chips for the liquid.
 
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Try a pound for some burgers and see if you like it or not .
I think I will, I'll let you know. A hand crank may be the answer. I'm not to the point where I do sausage or a large quantity.
It can be done, but you will have a rough time getting the consistency you'd get with an actual grinder
Thanks Doug
I haven't done it for burger meat, but do it all the time with ham for salad. Like said above keep the meat well chilled and use the pulse button instead of letting her rip. Also you may want to make it a little fattier. Sort of like 80/20 to get the meat to hold its patty shape when forming the burgers.

Chris
I do it all the time with ham also, usually with Thanksgiving leftovers. Good idea on chilling the meat. Probably stick it in the freezer for a few.
Also food processors are used for emulsifying the meat in things like hot dog and bologna
Thanks Dave, I don't want to take it that far

Two sharp cleavers and almost frozen meat till I get the consistency I want.
Lot of people chop their BBQ like that around here.
 
We have a food processor but I also have a little Ninja as shown below.


I like the Ninja because it's so easy to clean. It only has four parts. I've used it several times to grind up picanha trimmings and brisket trimmings into ground beef for burgers. I'll just pulse it for a second or so at a time, maybe 8-10 times total until I have the grind that I like. As mentioned above, you need to do knife work first to cut it down, and also avoid any silverskin - and do it in small batches. Yes, ice cold meat works best. When I'm done, I have to go through it carefully with a fork to be sure there are no tough uncut clumps of fat which is usually silverskin. There are usually one or two little clumps of grisly fat that won't grind up. Remove it and throw it away. It's a bit of work but it does make for a tasty burger. ;-)
 
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I used to watch the original Japanese Iron Chef program. Those guys would take a cleaver in each hand and chop like mad until they had hamburger consistency in about 30 seconds. I've tried it and it works fine if you're only processing a couple pounds or so. No fancy gadgets needed.
 
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Personally I like to use a KitchenAid mixer with a grinder attachment. KitchenAid's are so great, such a great multitasker.
 
I've used my KitchenAid mixer with the grinder attachment. But then I got addicted to making my own sausage and killed the mixer. Then I bought a LEM #5 Big Bite Meat Grinder - 0.35 HP and have had no regrets. I chose that size since it would work with almost all of LEM's attachments. Good luck to you! And it's always worth it to make your own. Fresh and no mystery meat.
 
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Good luck to you! And it's always worth it to make your own. Fresh and no mystery meat.
Thanks, I'll let you know how it goes. I ended up putting my trimmings in the freezer cause I didn't really want to deal with them at the time.
 
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