Grinding Meat w/Vita-Mix

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

@Melissa M c C a l l

@Bill Tex Landreth

I have used the Costco short ribs for burgers with excellent results…

Tex, while you are indisputably the king of un-ground meat, that ground beef looks overworked to me both in the bowl and in the raw patties. In our experiments, we’ve gotten the best texture from ground beef we barely touch. We grind it into a bowl, toss (never mash or compress) with copious amounts of salt and pepper, place it into mounds, and then very gently form lacy patties. The more I touch/compress the beef, the more I see a drop in quality of the final product.

Overworked no doubt because I used a Cuisinart Food Processor. But, the end result was perfect. I will be getting the grinding attachment for the Kitchenaid soon enough.

[John_Davis]

@Bill Tex Landreth

@Melissa M c C a l l

Overworked no doubt because I used a Cuisinart Food Processor. But, the end result was perfect. I will be getting the grinding attachment for the Kitchenaid soon enough.

Love the Kitchenaid grinding attachment.

JD

[Kent_Zimmerman]

@Bob Wood

Why would one use a $400 machine to grind meat - a use for which it is not intended - when for $30 or so you could have one of these old reliables? Or $50 for the Kitchen Aid attachment?

@Bruce Hubbard

I am sure you could make macaroni and cheese in a rice cooker . . .but why?

Don’t get all “judgy” on me, fellas. If I wanted that, I would just go post on that other wine board. And it’s OK to address me directly. I don’t bite.

Like I said in an earlier post, I don’t have the $30 counter-top grinder, nor do I have the KA attachment. I did have the meat, the Vita-Mix and some curiosity on how it would turn out. The net result was similar to Mr Landreth’s, and we somehow managed to choke down said burgers without incident.

This was my first attempt at making my own, but if I continue I will most certainly invest in the KA attachment.

[John_Davis]

Nothing wrong with culinary experimentation…

JD

[wdabrowski]

Grinding meat, whether for baby food or to make sausage or meatloaf, doesn’t require any special equipment. While you may want to invest in a meat grinder if you grind a great deal of meat frequently, for most people, a regular kitchen blender is perfect for the job. You can grind meat before or after cooking it.

[Jason_T]

I suppose if ‘most people’ have the palate of a yak, then the equipment doesn’t matter if making sausage (I defer on meatloaf - never tried to make it). But as outlined above there’s reasons equipment (and technique) matters when making sausage (and, I’d think, hamburgers).

[wdabrowski]

A couple weeks ago I made chorizo for my husband. He took chorizo for breakfast. Chorizo is my favorite dish and my husband also like the dish. My mother teaches me how to make chorizo. Thanks a lot of mum.

[J_a_y_H_a_c_k]

I have the meat grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid and it works far better than a food processor. Much more even texture and a food processor and it does not turn the meat into mush. Impossible to over do it. Also great for integrating spices. I sprinkle the spices on the meat before grinding an the grinder mixes them in automatically. Great technique to spice Moroccan lamb burgers with Ras el Hanout. I lost the small hole grinder attachment many years ago so I run it through the large hole attachment twice and it comes out just right. Can also be used for salmon burgers and meat loaf.

[Jason_T]

Jay do you have the metal attachment or plastic? I have the plastic attachment (by plastic I mean all parts are plastic except auger, the blade and the thingy with the holes in that the meat comes out of).

I’ve tried making sausage a couple of times and always chill everything including the meat as cold as possible and I still feel like I’m not getting as clean a grind as I’d expect- it looks like some of the over-worked hamburger pics (though not quite as bad) up above. I’m not sure if it’s something I’m doing or if my unit is defective. I can’t imagine how it could be, and the feedback I’ve heard on these has been great. Though I’ve heard great things about the metal ones too.

[Kent_Zimmerman]

Ha…pretty funny to stroll through here and see someone resurrected some random thread of mine from 2009!

Anywho…I use the grinding attachment for my KitchenAid now, whether it be for burgers, meatballs, or meatloaf. I have found that as long as I store the metal parts of the grinding attachment in the freezer right before I grind, I get a pretty clean grind without having to freeze the meat I’m grinding.

Still haven’t tackled making my own sausage but need to get the additional attachment and give it a shot.

[Michae1_P0wers]

@Kent Zimmerman

Ha…pretty funny to stroll through here and see someone resurrected some random thread of mine from 2009!

Anywho…I use the grinding attachment for my KitchenAid now, whether it be for burgers, meatballs, or meatloaf. I have found that as long as I store the metal parts of the grinding attachment in the freezer right before I grind, I get a pretty clean grind without having to freeze the meat I’m grinding.

Still haven’t tackled making my own sausage but need to get the additional attachment and give it a shot.

Thanks Kent, I’ll have to try the freezer trick. I’ve been happy with my grind on the KA attachment, except that sometimes fat can really build up, or material can tangle in around the blade area. Overall though I’ve beeb happy with results.