How much fat when home-grinding beef?

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Addie

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I have three pounds of ground up sirloin beef cut up and ready for grinding. About how much fat would you add to the grind? The butcher gave me some beautiful pork fat cut right from the side of the animal. There are small pieces of pork meat throughout. Not much to even worry about.

How much in weight (ounces/pounds) should I add to the beef? I opted for the pork fat as to beef fat. I usually add a very small amount. But have never been happy about it. This time I want to make the meat more juicer for burgers and possibly a very small meatloaf. :angel:
 
Addie, how much fat is there in the beef? If the sirloin is fairly lean, say 90%. If you add 5 ounces of fat to three pounds of beef, you'd be at around 80%. I wouldn't go any more than that. try it with 3 or 4 ounces and see how it looks. You can always add more.
 
Addie, how much fat is there in the beef? If the sirloin is fairly lean, say 90%. If you add 5 ounces of fat to three pounds of beef, you'd be at around 80%. I wouldn't go any more than that. try it with 3 or 4 ounces and see how it looks. You can always add more.

Thanks Andy. The sirloin had minimal amount of marbling. Not even enough to consider. I deliberately picked them out because I had the pork fat in hand and was looking forward to using it. Will follow your recommendations and see how it goes. Thanks so much Andy. Math is not my best subject. In fact math is not even in my vocabulary. Me and math are the family joke. :angel:
 
burgers I like to do with 80/20 - ie 20% fat.

3 lbs beef (48 ounces) plus 05 ounces fat = 09% fat
3 lbs beef (48 ounces) plus 08 ounces fat = 14% fat
3 lbs beef (48 ounces) plus 10 ounces fat = 17% fat
3 lbs beef (48 ounces) plus 12 ounces fat = 20% fat

let us know how it comes out - I'm curious how pork fat works compared to beef.
 
burgers I like to do with 80/20 - ie 20% fat.

3 lbs beef (48 ounces) plus 05 ounces fat = 09% fat
3 lbs beef (48 ounces) plus 08 ounces fat = 14% fat
3 lbs beef (48 ounces) plus 10 ounces fat = 17% fat
3 lbs beef (48 ounces) plus 12 ounces fat = 20% fat

let us know how it comes out - I'm curious how pork fat works compared to beef.

These are ADDED fat percentages. Depending on what's already in the beef, this would be added to that amount.
 
Pirate did the grinding for me. I have to stand on my small stool to reach the top of the grinder to drop the meat in. (STOP LAUGHIING!) He has experience in a professional kitchen and knows what he is doing. He mentioned that some stores and a lot of restaurants add MSG to their grinds.

So I did the cutting of the meat into chunks, he did the grinding and taste test, and now I get to weigh, wrap and do the cleanup. All the grinder pieces are now soaking in hot soapy water with bleach.

Pirate made himself a burger after it was all ground. Really juicy, better flavor. His review. Juice was running down his fingers.

I diced the pork fat real small and he added it to the beef chunks as they were being ground. It was well dispersed throughout the beef as it was being ground. So it is a nice mixture. It is a 20/80 % mixture. I will use it again.

I have found over the years of grinding, that the faster I have the KA turning and grinding, with the small plate, I get a great grind and mixture. No waste left inside the grinder. I am very happy with the results I got today.

Thanks everyone for your help. I now understand more of ground meat. :angel:
 
Pirate is still raving about how juicy his burger was. Wants to make a couple more today. I told him he is getting a couple of hot dogs and a salad. He can make another one tomorrow. I may even join him and have a burger myself. :angel:
 
Personally I wouldn't use pork fat because I like my burgers done less than most.

I also don't add fat to my ground beef for burgers, I like the taste of the beef and it only takes a little fat to get it nice.

Glad the meat worked out for you Addie, if you are happy with it then make sure you know what you did so you can do it again.
 
Personally I wouldn't use pork fat because I like my burgers done less than most.

I also don't add fat to my ground beef for burgers, I like the taste of the beef and it only takes a little fat to get it nice.

Glad the meat worked out for you Addie, if you are happy with it then make sure you know what you did so you can do it again.

Thank you Frank. I still have about 3/4 pound of pork fat. I know most folks like their burgers partly rare. And I like my roast beef rare. But for some reason not my burgers. I don't want blood on my tomato and lettuce. And it doesn't mix well with mayonnaise. The pork fat is pure white. No connective tissue, no gristle. Just pure white pork fat. The kind you would trim off the edge from center cut chops. Or the cap from a pork loin roast. I have to go shopping for more meats this coming Saturday and will try to get some more pork fat so I will have it on hand. The loss of beef juices from cooking the beef well done, is replaced by the pork fat. Along with the flavor of the pork. :angel:
 
Interesting article, Andy. So, does this mean that the black globs that I get on chicken legs and thighs when cook them are not blood clots?
 
Interesting article, Andy. So, does this mean that the black globs that I get on chicken legs and thighs when cook them are not blood clots?

I find I get those globs only when I have frozen the meat. Specifically the chicken. I just knock it off and remove it from the pan. They can call that glob mess anything they want. I just want to call it gone. :angel:
 
Interesting article, Andy. So, does this mean that the black globs that I get on chicken legs and thighs when cook them are not blood clots?

Carol, I think you worry too much. Blood is drained out of animals when they are killed. I realize it's natural to assume anything red in meat must be blood but that's not the case.

Besides, people around the world eat blood regularly. It's a great source of protein.
 
A burger diatribe

So, you are already down the road with your grind work, but I’ll insert my .02. Not a professional, but I do grind all my own beef usually as well as pork and I have been accused of making some decent sausage.

This topic is really a personal preference thing. For burgers, I have seen chefs grinding several cuts to combine for this awesome flavor they describe. I have had burgers in restaurants that purport to do these custom “artisan” upscale grinds and the burgers are good, really good, but not twice as good as what I do at home…certainly more than twice the price though…

The leanness of a grind depends on what you intend to use the grind for in my humble opinion. You can add extremely lean ground meat to certain recipes and it would be the preference.

For burgers, I use a chuck roast. Period. The Chuck has a great flavor and the right amount of fat from my experience. That’s it, nothing fancy, no additives but I cube the meat and load it in to the grinder skillfully to make sure the distribution of fat is good. My preference for burgers is one single grind with the ¼” or large die. There is A LOT of debate and arguments on this.

I do add intentional fat to certain things, like sausage and I render almost all fats for future use. I render chicken fat for schmaltz, I make bacon as much for the rendered fat as the actual meat and I have even recently started rendering beef fat or tallow. All have a use like butter, vegetable oils, shortening, etc. for certain applications.

I used to do all kinds of things to burgers…terrible things I thought were awesome at the time. I used to grill burgers (grilling is over open flame or coals, not that rigged skillet thing) and thought I had it down just right. Yea, there is a certain flavor the grill provides and it has its place and they are tasty, but since I have discovered the flat iron griddle, I have never grilled another burger by choice again.

So now, after years of burger making I’m a purist. One grind, chuck roast, handle the ground meat just enough to form a burger that just does hold together (over working the meat making patties is a mistake I learned), salt and pepper on both sides (don’t skip or skimp on this), and on to a really hot flat cast iron griddle, skillet or a flat griddle if you have a fancy range that has one built in.

I make 6 oz burgers and weigh every one because they are perfect for me, and I have been using ciabatta rolls for a while now; they hold up to the abundance of juices better than regular yeast type rolls. I have a square form I used to form the patties. I like a good sear or crust on both sides of the patty yet pink on the inside, but even when I cook them beyond pink they are still tasty and running with juices. That square shape fits most cheese slices well too!

I love the works on my burgers but stop before bacon, blue cheese, bbq sauces and many toppings you see all over restaurant menus. I worked so carefully to get this burger just right, why would I want to jack with it?

I take those ciabatta rolls, split them and toast/heat them in the beef fat on the flat iron the burgers were cooked, soaking up all that wonderful fat and beef flavor (to be clear, I only eat a burger maybe once a month, twice at the most). Real full fat mayo only on both roll sides, then the cheese topped patty, pickle chips, a little ketchup, lettuce, little more ketchup, tomato, onion, then deli style mustard. This stacking scheme helps the assembly stay together better.

But! We’re not done…I bought those pro-grade sandwich wrappers from a restaurant customer of mine. The good stuff with the paper on one side and thin foil on the other. A careful wrap leaving 1/3 of the burger exposed and tear away and fold back the wrapper as you go and I have my burgers hold together till the very end usually.

OK…now I’m hungry.

On the rare occasion I buy ground beef for burgers, I go for the cheap stuff 70-73% lean. 80-20 is too lean for my preferences.

Back when I was screwing up burgers and never realized it using 80-20, 85-15 and even 90% lean, my best trick for a moist burger was mushrooms. Yep, finely diced and mixed in. They release their water content as the meat sheds its fat out on to the skillet or in to the coals or flames usually causing a fire in the grill. But then again I used to add all kinds of seasoning like Worcestershire, herbs and all kinds of silly stuff…more like “meatloaf burgers”.

So this is my evolution and preferences. Studies are coming out turning conventional health and diet advice on its ear. Animal fats are not the evil we were made paranoid about. Salt is not killing us with the exception of those with uncontrollable high blood pressure. Butter is better for you than we were told and remember we were told eggs were killing us? Yep, now a super food. Fat has a lot of calories, so there is a real consideration for diet and weight loss or gain.

The medical field is like the attorney field of work and study, the professions are both called a “practice” for a reason.


All above is an opinion from personal experience and is not intended to criticize others or put my preferences above another’s.
 
Yeah, my grinding is all done. And the burgers are soooo juicy. It was the pork pure fat that made the difference. And I would like to add, your post made for interesting reading. Thanks! :angel:
 
Thanks for the feedback Addie and Kayelle. I write a lot and sometimes I can feel the eyes roll out there as I submit a virtual article in nearly every post. Good to know it is appreciated by some.

The quiet, short worded folks are the ones I worry about! There's always something lurking behind that!:eek:
 
Chef Kenny, I like your burger. :chef:

As I've aged to me simple has become better.

I also like to grind chuck for my burgers. It seems to work for me and it's cost fits my budget.

I'll experiment every now and again but usually find the added effort didn't improve the taste over simple. It just changed it. And not enough to say it was worth the worry.

Toppings are another subject altogether and are personal to each consumer of said burger.

I like to change things up just for the fun of it.

As I'm sure you know. No 2 burgers are the same. ;)

And that's the way it should be. :yum:
 
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