Make Ground Beef At Home
It is very simple to prepare your own ground
beef at home. It takes just a few minutes with tools you probably have in your kitchen.
Why
You know what you are getting - Commercially prepared
ground beef is made of bits and scraps of various cuts of meat and discarded fat. It
is one of the most problematic beef products and more prone to contamination.
Very Lean - You have control of the leanness of the
meat based on the base cuts you buy.
Taste - It simply tastes fresher and better than
the commercially prepared product and makes the best hamburgers.
Tools
If you happen to have a meat grinder you can use it. Many kitchen mixers such as the
KitchenAid have a meat grinding attachment that also works well. But given the food
processor is a more common kitchen tool we use it in our instructions.
Method
You can vary the cuts if you wish but here is
a basic method.
Wash your hands. You'll be handling the ground meat so start with clean hands to avoid
contamination.
Makes: 1 pound ground
beef
1/2 pound beef chuck
1/2 pound beef sirloin
Cut the meat into 1 1/2" cubes. You don't need to use a micrometer but keep the
pieces uniform in size so you end up with a more uniform end product.
Place the chuck in your food processor fitted with the metal blade. Use short pulses
that last about 1- 2 seconds per pulse. *Pulse 10 times. Do not use the
"auto" button, only the pulse.
Remove the chuck and place it in a bowl or on a plate. Now repeat the process with
the sirloin. Add the sirloin to the chuck and mix well with your hands.
*Pulse about 6 pulses for a coarse grind for making chili.
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