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5/1/16

Grinding your own meat to make hamburger patties and ground beef packages



Why do we grind our own meat?  First: the safety.  Cuts of meat like steaks and roasts are least likely to be infected with bacteria (such as e Coli).  Store bought ground beef can have meat from hundreds of different cows in it.  More likely to be contaminated.  Second:  the taste!  We feel the flavor simply cannot be beat. Also, we know it's 100% pure ground beef. No fillers. No preservatives or additives!  Third:  The cost.  The price of ground beef has gone through the roof in the last five years or so.  Although roasts are expensive as well, I still come out ahead when I compare the costs; especially when I get lucky enough to find good deals on the roasts to begin with.  Since I'm freezing everything for future use, I have the opportunity to shop sales, watch for new mark downs and buy when I know it's a good price.

Note:  I use a very (very) affordable meat grinder. No big name, no bells and whistles.  

As a matter of fact, my husband saw it on clearance at the hardware store and bought it.  I didn't even know I wanted one... until I started to use it.  Now I never want to be without one.  For a couple years now I've made our own ground beef but also I use it to make amazing chicken, spinach and feta sausages and ground chicken for enchiladas, etc.  I also use a food vacuum (another buy my husband spied on clearance during a Lowe's shopping trip!).  It is a very no frills, inexpensive food vacuum.  You can of course freeze in freezer Ziploc or similar style bags though! 


Set up the grinder, a bowl to put it in and slice your roasts (I like chuck roast for best flavor) into 1-2 inches pieces

Form the meat into 1 or 2 pound packages or into hamburger patties
For hamburger patties I season the meat in the bowl and mix well with my hands before forming
the patties.  We like this when we grill them later as they are ready to go - no seasoning or preparation needed.
We just pop them onto the grill, cook, and serve.


I food seal ours in packs of 2 or 4 patties.


From two small/medium roasts I got 13 hamburger patties and 2 packages of ground beef.




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