Cathy, I don't usually grind my own burger but I do grind my own sausage. I add seasonings to taste when I grind the meat. Sometimes I make just enough to cook immediately and sometimes I make a lot then stuff into casings for links and freeze those.

It depends on what you really want to accomplish, but if you can keep the thing in an easily accessible place and if it's pretty easy to clean, I'd grind what I needed and season it just before cooking.

So where's the pictures?

Annie

Annie, Thanks for the response. Actually I did some at length reading on the sausage forum weeks ago before I made the investment in a grinder. I'm certainly going to be looking for mentors when I get to sausage.

Also, I have been making the furbabies' food (thanks Peppi) since Noel was diagnosed with diabeties and the suggestions are to grind up the chicken bones. I've been throwing in bone meal but I might venture into using actual bones since this grinder supports that.

The only picture thus far is of the grinder.

Here is a link that might be useful: Meat Grinder

Cathy, I used to have a grinder just about like that. Then I got the grinder for my KA, which I've used a lot. Not sure what ever came of the other grinder but I no longer have it.

But yes, I do like to grind my own meat and mostly use chuck when it's for burger. I'll use something leaner for a few things. But as far as I am concerned chuck has the best all around flavor.
I like to add fresh garlic and onion to my burgers. So if I'm grinding, I just slip in a hunk of onion or a clove of garlic for every pound. I don't remember ever using jalapenos but you certainly could. I save the cheese until after the burgers are cooked.

I grind pork to go with beef for my meatloaf too. I have to pass it through twice to get it fine. But it's kinda nice to grind beef course for chili and spaghetti sauce and when I make my pasties.

You'll find many uses for it. Have fun!

Nancy

I'm jealous!

Oooh, Cathy, that's nice. Did you get the sausage stuffer too?

Nancy, I never thought of grinding the onion right up into the burger, that's a good idea. Because Carl grinds my burger for me, I don't bother grinding my own, but that would work well with venison and other things too.

Annie

I have the KA attachement for meat grinding but have yet to use it for that.I bought it to use the strainer for tomatoes!

I realy need to go play with it.

Nice Cathy-- you'll love it.

We use ours alot--
As Nancy said-- we prefer chuck for hamburgers & I often grind onion-- pepper-- even cooked bacon into it.

You can also grind chicken & turkey for a "lighter" patty.

And make your own sausage-- for that we prefer pork shoulder butt-- we almost always make our own Polish , Italian & Breakfast sausages now-- much easier to control the fat contend & know it's fresh.
Annie recommended a good source -- Michael Ruhlman & Drian Polcyn's " Charcutterie"-- lots of good methods, recipes etc--

Bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries please! Dont' know if you have any left.... that Head Country seasoning is great for burgers.

I REALLY need to try grinding some meat for burgers. I've yet to take this on yet. I think some have mentioned using there FP for the task...don't have a meat grinder here yet. Mmmmm, then there is the whole sausage thing...

David

David, I used the food processor to chop pork for that last batch of italian sausage and it works well, but needs to be done in small batches so it does take time.

Diane, you're right. Larry Engelhardt gave me that book, "Charcuterie" and I've used it a lot. The recipes are good and the instructions are clear, I've made sausage, pancetta and corned beef with instructions from that book and they've all been very good.

David, I just ran out of that seasoning, Elery loves it. I just ordered some more on line, burger season is coming...

Annie

I also have the KA attachment that has never been used and I found several chuck roasts in the pantry freezer that I had forgotten about so maybe I will grind one up for burgers on the grill. Do you grind up the fat also or toss it?

Claudia

Cathy, you're amazing! You must cook for an army, LOL!
Enjoy!

David, we had burgers tonight seasoned with Head Country, thanks buddy!

Thanks everyone for the great tips. I did a test run making hamburger patties. I have a gadget that forms and stores patties, it's a perfect partner for the grinder. I had some 3 alarm cheese that I ground up with the chuck-I didn't have Nancy's note in time.

Nancy, I guess it was the butcher who did the jalapenos and cheese and all this time I was giving you the credit. I thought of the onion too late. I have a lot of Florida sweet onions, I'll press a thick slice into each patty before grilling.

Annie, There are some thingies included that I haven't gotten to yet so I might have the stuffer. I am definately going to make breakfast sausage. TeresaNC has a recipe that I have noted to try. I'll check on your recommended book too.

David, The Head Country was the first thing I grabbed when I grounded the chuck tonight, thanks for the gift.- You would be a perfect candidate for a meat grinder. I was happy with it's performance. I got it at a good price ($70 no s&h) on eBay, never used.

Ellen, I'm just cooking for the two of us and DD's family on Wednesdays. Raymond can't believe how much attention to home cooking I'm doing. I think it's a diversion from the dreaded yard work.

Claudia, That's my question too--how much fat do you trim? I cut out just the big pieces.

Tomorrow is grilled hamburgers. I'll report back.

You need to have some fat in the ground beef, especially when grinding it for hamburgers. The fat is where the flavor is, dontcha know? For burgers, a good ratio would be 80% lean beef and 20% fat or 85%/15%. And I've always heard that you should not compact the meat too much when forming your burgers - that's what I have heard....I didn't say I was good at it.

For anyone who has a Kitchen Aid mixer, I would highly recommend that you get the grinder that will fit on it. There is money to be saved in making your own sausage and ground beef. You can take advantage of the sales on chuck roasts (are there still sales on meat???) and you know what is in your own ground meat.

Cathy, yep, I'd rather cook/bake/grind than do yard work any day! LOL!

Teresa

Wait, there's a sausage forum??

Cathy, when's the BBQ? Count me in! :-)

Cathy,
When you get into making sausage with your new machine checkout the link below. You will be dreaming of sausage.

For sausage making supplies check this site. They have good prices. or do a google search on Sausage Making Supplies

http://www.butcher-packer.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: Len Poli sausage recipes

Earl, that's where I get my sausage making supplies, it's right here in Michigan, in Detroit. Their products are good and their customer service is great. I highly recommend them too.

Annie

The Len Poli site is excellent. Here is another to visit for a lot of bare bones basics about why you do what with various types of sausage. I've never ground my own hamburger but I never thought about grinding other things with the meat. I'll be giving it a try this weekend.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sausage making

Teresa, I'm glad that you are looking out for me. I think I left ample fat. My first sausage will be with your patty recipe.

Earl, Thanks for chiming in with that link. Actually I have read some of your sage advice somewhere??

Kathy, I'll have to practice some more first. I'm still working on mastering my new Weber. That's going well thanks in part to Lakeguy's Grill book and other grill accessories.

Annie, Thanks for the recommendation.

Jim, I'll check out that link as I'm sure bare bones basics is what I need...ESPECIALLY SINCE I RUINED MY GRINDER THE FIRST DAY OUT!! Yup, I put the workings in the dishwasher. I am diligent about reading directions but in my haste to clean before grand babies came over, I didn't inform myself about cleaning the grinder.

Cathy, you didn't put the whole darned grinder in the dishwasher, did you? Tell me you didn't.....

If not, what went in there that couldn't go in? Did it melt or what?

Annie

Annie, Just the head, feed screw, cap, cutting plate, and hopper. The parts were so pretty and shiny going in and oxidized coming out. I scrubbed the roughness out, dried well, and rubbed with shortening. I'll check tomorrow to see if there is a degradation in the performance.

I got my KA meat grinder back almost 20 years ago, and originally I got it for beef, but I ended up using it much more for pork, ham, and turkey. I've tried grinding vegetables in it for deviled ham, but that didn't work too well. It also does not work for nuts, but it's great if you want to make your own sausage. And if you're grinding beef for hamburgers, you shouldn't make them too lean, or they will be dry and tough - at least mine were.

Lars

I agree, Lars, if the burgers are too lean they are dry. I have to add fat to my homegrown burger to make an acceptable burger.

Cathy, I think your grinder is OK. I base that on the fact that I put all the parts to my Squeezo in the dishwasher and the metal grinding mechanism came out oxidized, just like you mentioned. I wiped it off and have used it many times since then and it's just fine.

Annie