I decided to try grinding my own beef. This exercise goes beyond simple do-it-yourselfism or a desire to use as many KitchenAid mixer accessories as possible. Ground beef is much more exposed to air than are larger cuts. Waiting to grind the meat until it is ready to cook helps to keep it in the best shape possible as it hits the pan or grill.
I bought some chuck roast, saved a chunk, and cut the rest, about one pound, into fairly small chunks.
I had kept my grinder in the freezer---keeping the grinder cold helps to avoid smearing the meat into a paste. I pulled it out, attached it to the mixer head, and put in the meat. The first few pieces of meat required some pushing to get them into the grinder mechanism. But once the process started, the meat fed itself into the grinder neatly. However, the process moved slowly, even with the mixer at medium high speed. Unfortunately, freezer cooling doesn’t last all that long. The meat eventually started to smear into a light pink paste.
Here is the meat after the grinding process. Some nice pieces of ground beef, some smear.
I formed the meat into loose patties. Pushing down patties makes for good kitchen action in movies but loose forming provides better texture. I cooked it in a pan on the oven to 160 degrees.
I added some home fries and had myself a meal. The texture wasn’t perfect due to the smearing. But the meat clearly tasted more like its non-ground equivalent. The beefier taste was very nice. The next time I decide to have home-ground beef, I will try chopping it by hand. That process will avoid smearing and probably won’t be any slower than waiting for the grinder.
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