Comments on: Hamburger Technique

By: bayraksatinal

bayraksatinal — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

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By: cjride

cjride — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I live in Northern Virginia just outside of Washington DC. There seems to be some competition on the best burger with Ray’s Hell Burgers, Good Stuff and BGR. I’m not enough of an expert to tell what mixes they use but they all use a different one. I can tell which burger I like and I want the minimum on it so I can taste the meat.

By: Lane Johnson

Lane Johnson — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

We’ve been grinding our own burgers for the past 5 years with the grinder attachment of our KA. I haven’t experienced any problems with poor performance at all. The difference in the final burger is nothing short of incredible, in both flavor and texture. I almost always start with chuck.

I do have a concern or at least a question that has been touched on a couple of times in these commments.
While the ‘ideal’ burger has 20 to 30 percent of fat in it, it’s almost impossible for the average cook to know what the what the fat content of a piece of meat is. If I choose a USDA Choice cut of chuck, what am I looking at for overall fat content? What if I move to a select cut? If I choose brisket what’s the average fat there?

The question may be a bit obscure to some, and for most of the time I agree, but as Michael has said, for the proper making of sausage it can be critical.

Michael, I’d love to see some information about how to assess the lean to fat content in a cut of meat.

By: Chris brandow

Chris brandow — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Thanks for tips. I just ground a pound of chuck using a hand grinder that I just got from my dad that originally used by my great grandmother! My grandmother told me that this what they always used when they wanted ground beef for anything like meatloaf. Looking forward to eating the burgers later today!

By: Metaxa

Metaxa — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I’ve ruminated on this all summer and have decided on three points I’d like to make.

1) Forget the KA and go directly to a stand alone grinder and a stand alone stuffer (for sausage). As mentioned Northern or, if you are lucky enough to be Canadian, Princess Auto.

2) Let us not forget sanitation. Dilute bleach works just OK, I don’t like the speckles and it’s hard on your skin. Use either a Quat cleaner or, as I do, buy a 4l (gallon) jug of Iodine from your local drug store. That way if you don’t get it all rinsed off, its edible and tasteless. But your equipment and tubs, etc are safe. (You dilute the Iodine, yes you do!)

3) Do not grind and cook. You really should grind, allow to rest in the fridge and then cook. I gladly grind today what I wish to grill tomorrow. It allows the seasonings to marry, it allows the meat to denature or whatever the “term” would be.

Have fun with your food!

By: bayrak

bayrak — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

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By: chris brandow

chris brandow — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

thx vtyankee. you answered my question perfectly, making me realize that I did not ask the question clearly enough. I really appreciate the thorough answer.

By: luis

luis — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Went to a Estate Sale Sunday.. got lucky. Old Cuisinart.. big DL-10 mama for 20 bucks. Made bread to Michaels “RATIO” 5:3 and Bittmans simple French Bread recipe on “How to cook anything”. Beats Alton Browns book and beats Martha Steward book hands down. Whizzed it up in a jiff… left it overnight in the fridge… and wow! Oh yeah I did brush it liberally with butter a la Parker House Roll… but I made a loaf.
The point is it was wonderfull, best bread I have made to date. I could enter that BLT thang..you know!. With the kitchen Aid grinder and the Cuisinart….I feel I could…enter…
First things first though. I have just made killer Pad Tai… just killer.. tubs of it in my cast iron Joyce Chen wok… This is a performer bro. I am getting the hang of it. Luuv it.
Now I have to turn all that yummy Pad Tai to spring rolls… Baked of course. If I pull it off folks at work will just be nice to me for the day at least.

By: Beth

Beth — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I like to add chopped parsley. It disappears during the cooking process while releasing tasty moisture into the burger.

By: scordo.com

scordo.com — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Here’s my recipe for making hamburgers at home (a little bit of added ground lamb is also fantastic, but I’ve kept the recipe generic):

http://www.scordo.com/2009/02/recipe-the-perfect-burger-fastfoodathome-brooklyn-lager-cookinghamburgerathome-leanground-beef.html

See this article for a Lamb and Beef Kufta Kebab recipe:

http://www.scordo.com/2008/10/recipe-lamb-and-beef-kufta-keb.html

By: MichaelG

MichaelG — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Use some common sense, pay attention to what you are doing and don’t over think this. I’ve been using my KA grinder for over twenty years and it works great. I’ve had to file the edges of the cross shaped knife a few times and the plastic housing has a crack but I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth. The mixer soldiers on. When cutting the meat get rid of the gristle, silver skin and anything else that looks like it’ll gum up the works because it will. Trial and error helps. All the stuff about cold, cold, cold is true, true, true. Season while grinding? Yes. I like to lightly form one third pound balls. Yes, I use an electronic scale. I mash the ball on a hot, hot skillet surface. Let it go for a while (you’ll see how long) and flip. If adding cheese do so now. Done this way the burgers cook quickly. They will crumble a bit but the wonderful flavor is worth it. Overworked, manhandled burgers taste like cardboard. For keepers: Tightly wrap the balls in plastic wrap, put in plastic bag and freeze. I buy my burger meat at Safeway’s used meat counter so there may be anything in there. I’ve found that the best is short rib or chuck or a combo. Nice fat content. The KA grinder works great with pork, lamb, veal – anything for meat loaf, sausage or whatever.

By: vtyankee

vtyankee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

A few quick pointers on the meat to fat ratio…
If you’re going by “cut”, anything from the forequarter is going to be fatter, such as the chuck or plate. Cuts from along the back, such as Rib, strip, or sirloin are going to have the thickest fat covering, which can be trimmed. The Round itself has a fair share of trimable fat, but is usually lean under all that fat. Where the fat and lean meat are “mixed” together more is the chuck. By most accounts, here is where the tastiest burger comes from. On an average steer it has about a 70-30 lean to fat ratio. Since the fat is more dispersed in the muscle tissue, it is not as trimable as in the other cuts; but still doable. The plate and flank have a high percentage of fat, and therefore not recommended for straight grinding.
But even “eyeballing” by a pro, or weighing distinct batches of fat and lean can be little more than an educated guess. That’s one reason why we had a “fat tester” on premesis, so we could answer questions about fat percentage that customers would ask. Ours was a Hobart that actually cooked a doughnut shaped 2 oz pattie for a straight 15 minutes. All the fat and juices drained into a test tube, and when they seperated you applied a graduated scale to the tube to give you the fat percentage. It was pretty accurate, because we also sent samples to a USDA lab and they were in agreement about 80 % of the time.
I hope that helps, Chris.

By: ruhlman

ruhlman — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

i do it by sight.

but you can always separate by hand and weigh it out. not an exact science.

By: chris brandow

chris brandow — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

again, can anyone please comment on how a home cook can control the meat:fat ratio. i.e. if i buy a certain cut of meat, how much fat does it already have and where do I get more fat to up the ratio if necessary?

By: Greg Daly

Greg Daly — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

The best burger I’ve had in Seattle is a pretty new place – Zippy’s grinds their own meat every single day, and it makes a huge, huge difference. I’d never really been interested in doing it myself before until I tasted a freshly-ground and well constructed patty.

By: vtyankee

vtyankee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Another “former butcher” posting….
Grinding your own burger is not a bad idea, especially if you have health issues, such as : your diet calls for “dead lean”, or the slightest trace of pennicilin or e coli could be fatal or near fatal.
The problem with small grinders such as the KA is one of power and over-all quality. This becomes important when the temperature of the meat is considered.
Frozen meat,even slightly thawed, can stress the gears and motor. You can smell it. Simply cold meat breaks down into mush and coagulated grease. I would recommend freezing thin strips of meat to the point where it will snap into two pieces if broken, but stay connected at the break. Feed it ever so slowly into the “throat” of the grinder. You shouldn’t have to use the “plunger” but rarely.
Most butcher shops have a mixer-grinder with a 5 hp motor. Frozen meat, no problem.
Our shop had a reputation for great “hamburg”. Our secret : frozen grass fed New Zealand beef mixed with fat trimmings from “Western” US beef in a roughly 80-20 lean to fat ratio. That is my idea of a perfect burger. The first grind was coarse, the second was through a 1/8 in plate. Also, commercial grinders actually cut the meat with their blades as it passes through. Ours were razor sharp, and were replaced regularly. The little grinders just don’t have that kind of steel.
The e coli mess we deal with today is a monster of our own making. Factory farming (I’m talking dairy farming since that’s where most of our ground meat comes from); and high speed slaughter/processing facilities with armies of unskilled labor are where I would put the blame. That and a timid USDA regulatory presence (or abscence), but that’s another issue entirely.
So my point is….get to know a butcher you can trust, who keeps a clean shop and isn’t afraid to let you watch the process. I would actaully invite customers into the cooler to see that I was grinding what they wanted. The equipment was spotless, and the smell was that of fresh meat.
Well, that’s my two cents…

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

I’ve only recently discovered the beauty of a home cooked burger (though have plenty of experience with steak sandwiches!). I’ve had our KitchenAid for almost five years and the Food Grinder Attachment came with it; we never used it until I decided to make home made burgers a few months back.

I started with the thin die which — as suggested — was a bit too thin but delicious nonetheless. I cook the burgers the same way I cook steak: on the pan as hot as it’ll go. Usually slightly less than an inch thick (maybe 3/4? I’m used to metric) seems about right. I usually aim for around 125g or so of meat per patty.

I’ve been using rump steak with plenty of fat and though you can definitely taste the difference between that and expensive meat, the flavour is still very good and since the end result is pretty tender, I may as well get the cheaper meat.

We’ve also made chicken burgers, having had them marinated in peri peri sauce over night, and the wife was converted (not a read meat eater).

The thing I don’t like about the KitchenAid grinder is that a lot of meat gets stuck in the corner — I’ve tried saving it and refeeding it but it just gets stuck or doesn’t come through since it’s already mushed. I am throwing it out but it feels like such a waste. It also throws out a lot of splatter, so I put cling wrap just in front so it doesn’t get on me and the kitchen!

On food poisoning: It’s just as easy to poison yourself if you’re not careful. Make sure the grinder is properly cleaned inside and out before you start; if there are any old bits on there you may end up eating them! Don’t leave the meat out unless you live in a fridge and cook it as soon as you can.

@Ben I used the large die for a chili over the weekend. I had about 1/3 ground to 2/3 cubed. I’d say it might be a little small if all you were using was ground meat. I like a mixture so it’s fine.

By: luis

luis — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Cookin’ Canuck, the kitchen aid grinder attachement works like a charm. On that second grind you can add your spices and herbs and other seasonings.
Now if I could just learn to bake a Kaiser roll…I might be tempted to enter Michael’s B.L.T. challenge.

By: Natalie Sztern

Natalie Sztern — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

well Bob came to my rescue, again, and now I must say I understand the errors i made: it was the gristle…BUT I will Never Never buy pre-made hamburger again. I am a convert now and even if I spend an afternoon grinding and then freezing…NEVER will buy hamburger meat that i did not grind myself, again.

These were more than delicious, more than scrumptious; and even more interesting is that less individual burgers were eaten because each burger was so dense with meat.

By: Natalie Sztern

Natalie Sztern — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 06:00:00 +0000

Michael, pls don’t let this post be in vain….i did hamburger BUT so much trial and error: first i have the KA grinder and bought pot roast with what i thought was a good content of fat. Could be gristle tho BECAUSE i refrigerated the devices to get cold, as well the meat…cut into 1 inc cubes and three times the fat would get caught in the big holes….had to undo the device three times to clean the holes cause they were clogged.

WHAT DID I DO WRONG? was it the meat? was it indeed gristle because to me it was fat and if fat then why did it get clogged?

Meanwhile I do have hamburger meat but there is no way I am putting it thru twice…and i had to cut off all the fat/gristle…

YOU MUST tell me what I did wrong…please..please don’t ignore this – btw the good thing about all this is that I actually got my hubby in to help out he was so impressed with me as well he cut the meat so all I got was meat and no white whatever….