Cooking For Engineers

[hrr]

On a recent episode of the Today show, the chef recommended using beef brisket, ground twice, for the very best hamburgers. I have an old-fashioned clamp-on galvanized meat grinder, and want to try grinding my own meat so I know what I am getting is the brisket and not what happens to be in the grinder. Simple question: Do I grind it fine, medium or coarse? Or maybe coarse the first time, and then fine? Or what

[GaryProtein]

On the food network, they had a hamburger cook-off, and one of the winners/runners-up was a burger where half the meat was ground (regular ground beef) and half the meat (I think tenderloin or some other premium cut) was cut into small cubes, and it was all combined.

[jimjimjim9]

Yes, mix the grinds of fine and coarse. And, don't forget PORK. The "Best burger I ever had!" comments have always come after a 50/50 grind of beef and pork, at a 50/50 coarse/fine grind.

Also, the pork fat proves tastier than the beef tallow, so I trim the beef to allow fuller inclusion of pork fat. Total fat content to 20%, equals "80% lean ground meat".

Brisket is a marvellous cut to grind. In the porks: butt (shoulder) is the best, because its the highest used muscle area in the pig. This pork cut is also sold, sliced, as "pork steak." Look for the cross section of clavicle bone.

The unknown sleeper on the beef cuts for most flavor is "chuck arm shoulder" or "arm roast" or "shoulder roast". When doing just a small grind (4 lbs, enough for a family night plus a small stash of frozen patties), I use 2 lbs beef arm shoulder and 2 lbs pork butt, which you can just grab in 2 lb trays at the grocery. On larger grinds, I include brisket. "Trimmed brisket" in 2 lb trays usually costs twice as much as pork steak or beef arm roast.

"Packer timmed brisket" is a 10 pound cut (the pectoral area) that has two distinct sections separated by a huge log of fat.

If you have a Kitchen Aid mixer, then the grinder attachment is a marvellous tool for meat and much more. The hand grinder can become tiresome, while the K.A. makes a 10 lb grind a breeze. Place a flap of Saran wrap at the exit port, secured by a rubber band from broccoli stems, to eliminate any horizontal splashing onto your belly. Partial freezing of cubed meats is best.

Re-Cap cuts: brisket yes, but arm is easier from "butchering the cut" standpoint. And be sure to try the 50% pork butt. Don't tell the guests; just watch them slurp and slobber and roll their eyes.