How do you grind meat without grinder?

[rush]

I saw a recent video of Hubert Keller cutting up a piece of steak by knife, to turn into ground beef and mold it into a burger. I thought it was really cool, because I never knew you can grind meat without a grinder, and I really loved his technique.

That said, the clip was really short, and he really didn't explain how to do it. He just shows it for a few seconds and assumes you get the idea. I did a search on how to grind meat without a grinder, and I came up empty. There were a ton of links on how to grind meat WITH a grinder, but like I said, I don't have a grinder, nor do I really plan on purchasing one.

Thanks!

 

[DaveSoMD]

I'm just guessing here but I'd say start with a very sharp knife becasue it will cut better and faster. Have the beef partially frozen as it will cut easier. If it is in small pieces it will firm-up faster in the freezer. Working in small batched, cut into small cubes and then cut the small cubes smaller and then work like you would when chopping herbs.

I know you said you don't want to buy a grinder but I have on that is a hand crank that you mount onto the counter or table to use. It is similiar to this one Amazon.com: Weston #8 Meat Grinder and Sausage Stuffer: Kitchen & Dining

If you have a food process you can use that too. Cut the beef into 1" cubes and working in small batches, pulse like 8 - 10 times.

 

[justplainbill]

Split meat into thin slabs. Slice slabs into thin spaghetti like strips. Cut several strips at a time into 1/8 to 1/4 long pieces. Works best with a 6"+ thin sharp knife. Likely you will have to touch up the knife edge several time during the course of making your hand cut chopped meat.

 

[buckytom]

jpbill and dave, have either of yous guys actually done this before? i'm curious as i'd looked into this a long time ago, nd the general consensus was that it doesn't exactly come out the same as ground beef.

ground beef is pulverized as it's broken down, so it becomes more tenderized than if you just slice meat. i guess you'd have to pound the meat as it's being sliced in order to try to get the same effect.

rush, please post your results if you try this. thanks. i'd be very interested if it works.

 

[justplainbill]

Yes, it's a bit of a pain; but I've done it, because I prefer the texture to the pastyness of home ground meat. Hand cut sausage meat used to be the gold standard with some Slovenskas.

 

[Bigjim68]

Unless I need a large quantity of ground beef, I generally chop the meat. With a sharp knife, it does not take that long, and I prefer the texture. Also makes it easier to remove any cartilege or silverskin. Partially freezing helps.

 

[mollyanne]

Jim, Bill, Tom, Rush, and Dave...men and their knives...it's time for a woman's perspective:

Step 1...Ring the buzzer in the meat department
Step 2...Smile and ask butcher to ground once for coarse or twice for fine
Step 3...Wait 30 seconds while he grinds and you freshen your lipgloss
Step 4...Wink and whisper "thank you" over your shoulder

Men make things so difficult

 

[bigdaddy3k]

Old School Iron Chef!! They use two cleavers and then do a drum solo!

 

[bigdaddy3k]

Jim, Bill, Tom, Rush, and Dave...men and their knives...it's time for a woman's perspective:

Step 1...Ring the buzzer in the meat department
Step 2...Smile and ask butcher to ground once for coarse or twice for fine
Step 3...Wait 30 seconds while he grinds and you freshen your lipgloss
Step 4...Wink and whisper "thank you" over your shoulder

Men make things so difficult

I always get weird stares when I do this. I think the wink pushes it over the edge. I'm not getting the meat cutting service I used to either!

 

[mollyanne]

I always get weird stares when I do this. I think the wink pushes it over the edge. I'm not getting the meat cutting service I used to either!

...well, it helps when you lean in and show a little cleavage when you ask...no, I didn't say CLEAVER...ha, but for guyz you might get better service to show a little cleaver

 

[DaveSoMD]

buckytom - Nope I have never tried making "ground" beef with a knife. I was just taking a stab at an answer based on how I cut my raw meat.

 

[buckytom]

thanks guys. i think i'll try this soon.

jpbill, i agree about sausage meat. i've found the best (fresh not dried) sausage has slightly larger chunks of meat rather than finely ground. my old italian food purveyor/mentor taught me that this was how to tell a quality sausage as it's harder or impossible to mix in fillers like breadcrumbs and other stuff when the meat is chunkier.

 

[Mimizkitchen]

...well, it helps when you lean in and show a little cleavage when you ask...no, I didn't say CLEAVER...ha, but for guyz you might get better service to show a little cleaver

Mollyanne thats like a guy having to ask directions when he's lost... Never gonna happen...

 

[FrankZ]

Mollyanne thats like a guy having to ask directions when he's lost... Never gonna happen...

That's cause we have GPS.

 

[bigdaddy3k]

Or a good sense of direction. And my cleavage is quite a sight thank you.