Shoulder clod for ground beef?

[pigskins]

Meat grinder arrives today! Anxious to grind up some beef and when I was at the wholesale club over the weekend they had huge shoulder clods for $2.29 or $2.39/lb I think. Don't see any sales at the butcher yet so was thinking of getting one of those to grind up. I've heard/read that clod is chuck and chuck is good for ground beef, so... will this be good for ground beef?

 

[Andy M.]

IT is chuck an should be good ground beef. Make sure you include the fat.

 

[Alix]

Should be. Do make sure you are grinding in an appropriate amount of fat into your beef. Sometimes when you grind your own it tends to be way too lean.

 

[pigskins]

Thanks! Oh I would never leave out the fat!

 

[Alix]

Thanks! Oh I would never leave out the fat!

Didn't really think you would, but some folks forget it and then later have issues. I like to use pork fat in my beef grind. It gives it a nice flavor.

 

[FrankZ]

Didn't really think you would, but some folks forget it and then later have issues. I like to use pork fat in my beef grind. It gives it a nice flavor.

How well done do you do your burgers? I have thought about using pork, but when I grill burgers they are usually medium-rare to medium.

 

[Alix]

I don't do burgers all that often Frank. I use ground beef for a lot of other stuff though.

 

[FrankZ]

When you do burgers do you add the pork and how well do you cook them?

I tend to grind more meat than I need for whatever I am doing, cause it is fun to grind. I take the left over and freeze it usually. The only down side of that is if I do a coarse grind then that is what I have for whatever I will use the meat for.

Nothing like grinding 5 or 6 pounds at a pop.

 

[joesfolk]

The course grind is absolutely the best for chili. But for bugers I prefer a smaller grind. The nice thing about grinding your own meat is that it doesn't get all packed together like in the grocery store. You can gently mix in whatever to make meat loaves and they come out light and juicy as opposed to dense.

 

[Zhizara]

I prefer the flavor of 70/30 hamburger.

How about using some pork fat like from a whole ham?

 

[FrankZ]

Usually when I cut up the chuck I remove the big pieces of fat, and don't sweat the small stuff. Comes out fairly lean but it is still tasty. It does seem, to me, that my burgers cook faster then when I use store ground.

If I am going for burgers I usually do a small grind. Chili is a coarse grind. I also used the coarse grind for the burek filling.

 

[Uncle Bob]

When the local yokels run chucks in the add...Somewhere south of $1.99, I'll buy 4 or 5 roast to grind...The ones i look for are not the same ones I would choose if looking for a pot roast to braise....The "grinders" I call them have a little more fat than the others...At home I trim them of any funk..which usually isn't very much...In the freezer for a short spell I get them very cold and then run them through the grinder..I then run the grind through the grinder a second time to more evenly distribute the fat into the grind....Into vacuum seal bags and into the freezer....

 

[pigskins]

Awesome! That''s exactly my intent. The hard part is waiting for the meat to go on sale. The grinder arrived today as expected, gotta wash it out, etc. 1.99 or less would be a blessing!

When the local yokels run chucks in the add...Somewhere south of $1.99, I'll buy 4 or 5 roast to grind...The ones i look for are not the same ones I would choose if looking for a pot roast to braise....The "grinders" I call them have a little more fat than the others...At home I trim them of any funk..which usually isn't very much...In the freezer for a short spell I get them very cold and then run them through the grinder..I then run the grind through the grinder a second time to more evenly distribute the fat into the grind....Into vacuum seal bags and into the freezer....

 

[Uncle Bob]

Less than $1.99 is getting harder to find for sure...Any price less than regular price for ground chuck is ok...Plus your quality factor goes way up!!!

Have Fun!!!

 

[FrankZ]

$1.99/Lb around here and I might ask what kind of animal the meat came from. $2.99/Lb seems to be a good sale price. Mind you I can get the 75/25 store ground for $2.99/lb, the 93/7 is like $7.99/Lb.

 

[DaveSoMD]

I can get ground round for $2.09 / lb right now.

 

[Uncle Bob]

$2.99 a pound for 'hamburger' around here and I might ask ..what kind of fool do they think I am? ~~~ Ridiculous!!

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

I also used the coarse grind for the burek filling.

Z you make meat burek?

 

[FrankZ]

I made this a few weeks ago.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

I will get into trouble if my wife reads this, the best shop bought burek in the Balkans is Bosnian. My wife makes the best home made burek I have eaten, she pulls the pastry by hand.