I just picked up a cheap meat grinder ($30 Norpro from Amazon), to grind up my own meat.
I read that "beef chuck" is the recommended beef for burgers. However, when I went to the market to look for "beef chuck," I was confused with the varieties. They had "beef chuck shoulder," "beef chuck cross rib," "beef chuck top blade," etc etc.
Does it matter which one I get? Is there a certain variety of chuck, that is specifically recommended for homemade burgers?
Anyway, I ended up opting for "beef loin, top sirloin," because it was on sale for 3.29 per lb. It was cheaper than any of the chucks, and I also heard sirloin is considered higher quality, than chuck... which brings me to my next question...
What is the difference between "top sirloin" and "beef loin, top sirloin?" Or are they the same thing? I ask, because the "top sirloin" was 2.79 per lb, but they were selling them in massive bulk... like 6 lbs or so, per package. I tried looking for a smaller packaging, and I stumbled across "beef loin, top sirloin," but it costed a little more (3.29)... not sure if it's because it's better quality, or because I was buying less (1.5 lb).
My last question is, should I trim off the thick layers of fat on my "beef loin, top sirloin?" I'm not even sure if it's "fat" or something else, but I have two chunks of "beef loin, top sirloin" in the packaging, and each one has a 1/2" border (or layer) of fat on one side. Should I chop it off, before grinding it?
I understand that you're supposed to have some fat in the burger, but I'm not sure if that isolated layer of fat, qualifies... 'cause it's pretty thick and conspicuous... not sure how it'll blend with the rest of the ground meat.
I read that "beef chuck" is the recommended beef for burgers. However, when I went to the market to look for "beef chuck," I was confused with the varieties. They had "beef chuck shoulder," "beef chuck cross rib," "beef chuck top blade," etc etc.
Does it matter which one I get? Is there a certain variety of chuck, that is specifically recommended for homemade burgers?
Anyway, I ended up opting for "beef loin, top sirloin," because it was on sale for 3.29 per lb. It was cheaper than any of the chucks, and I also heard sirloin is considered higher quality, than chuck... which brings me to my next question...
What is the difference between "top sirloin" and "beef loin, top sirloin?" Or are they the same thing? I ask, because the "top sirloin" was 2.79 per lb, but they were selling them in massive bulk... like 6 lbs or so, per package. I tried looking for a smaller packaging, and I stumbled across "beef loin, top sirloin," but it costed a little more (3.29)... not sure if it's because it's better quality, or because I was buying less (1.5 lb).
My last question is, should I trim off the thick layers of fat on my "beef loin, top sirloin?" I'm not even sure if it's "fat" or something else, but I have two chunks of "beef loin, top sirloin" in the packaging, and each one has a 1/2" border (or layer) of fat on one side. Should I chop it off, before grinding it?
I understand that you're supposed to have some fat in the burger, but I'm not sure if that isolated layer of fat, qualifies... 'cause it's pretty thick and conspicuous... not sure how it'll blend with the rest of the ground meat.