I am want to do my own ground beef. Thinking about getting a whole packer brisket to grind.
Question - Would just grinding the brisket provide an acceptable meat to fat ratio (80% ballpark)?I know it can vary between briskets but I am looking for a ballpark suggestion. If not, am I likely leaning towards adding fat or using less of the fat from the brisket?
I did this just recently with a USDA choice whole packer from Kroger. Bought 3 on sale at $1.99 a pound, and ground one into 13 pounds of ground beef.
I feel the fat ratio was about right - I trimmed and discarded a few ounces of yellowish or discolored fat, then just cubed the entire thing up into little 1inch (approx) cubes that I felt would shove into my Kitchenaid meat grinder. Mixed it all up, fat and lean, and then put the big bowl in the freezer for an hour or so, then got to work.
I used a coarse grind, and my only complaint has been that it is a little coarse for smash burgers. I froze all the meat in 1/4 inch balls that I vacuum sealed, to be smash burger ready. Next time I might try the medium grind plate, or just compress the balls a little tighter. I don't think you would have any issue with pre-made patties cooked without smashing and scraping on a griddle though...
DaveD Not that long really. I did all this while we were watching a movie or show off Netflix on a weeknight. Each step was a few minutes - maybe 15 for the longest. Trim & discard unwanted fat (2-3 minutes). Cube up with a slicer (8-10 minutes). Freeze for 30-60 minutes (freeze the grinder too!). Grind for 10 minutes. Then package. I chose to make 1/4 pound balls (10 minutes), freeze those for an hour, then vacuum pack (10 minutes). Wife asked why I was so busy at one point, haha.
DaveD I won't do this every time I want ground beef, but I wanted to try it at least once with $1.99/lb brisket. And while my time is worth something, the time spent on my butt watching Netflix on the couch versus watching across the kitchen island while doing something constructive is not.
I don’t see any issues with this plan like Jim. I was going to likely do the same depending on pricing of prime and choice briskets at Costco next time I am there.
I cringe when I think of beautiful briskets being ground up into hamburger. it is similar to taking a Rolls-Royce and chopping it up, melting it down, and making hubcaps out of it.
It’s cheaper per pound than chuck by far, and when I find brisket for 1.99 or 2.99 a pound it’s cheaper than ground beef. And makes a great burger. We don’t always want sliced brisket for every meal unfortunately….
Plus when grinding, I have zero waste compared to trimming for smoking, and shrinkage during smoking.
Brisket is typically the lowest price per pound beef available to me. Until the “prime shortage” that started earlier this year I always picked up Prime packers from Costco - usually for $3.69/lb, which is a couple bucks/lb cheaper than anything else available.
I felt no guilt grinding a Prime packer. The fat ratio is about right (point only is a little high in fat, flat only is slightly low), and my wallet removes any other sense of guilt because I’m saving a lot of money.
I have used ground brisket for burgers for a while now and the fat ratio is pretty good. If I grind brisket trimmings and chuck together for burgers I go for at least a 75/25 ratio and sometimes closer to 70/30. I pushed that to 60/40 once but as the burgers cooked there was so much fat rendering out of them that they almost disintegrated as I cooked them.
Maybe next time I grind a whole brisket I will separate the fat and the lean and see what the ratio is.
Please do and let us know. Take a photo, if you can, of the whole packer before you start so we get an idea of how it was sold to you. I'm curious about doing this as well, if I can find brisket at the right price.
I'm going to have to try this. My local Kroger has Chuck at $8.99, which is absolutely ridiculous. Understanding that the discolored and hard fat gets trimmed off, what about the fat layer between the flat and point? Does that all get mixed in with the meat?
I did not discard all of the hard fat - just the discolored stuff. And I kept the fat between point and flat. I didn't separate - just cut into little pieces with my brisket slicer, then mixed all those little cubes around in a couple of big bowls. The burgers I've done so far rendered well - there were no chunks of hard fat in the smash burgers, at all. Melted if you will. The griddle grease cup could attest to that as well!
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PK 360 (burns premium lump charcoal with wood chunks)
28 inch Blackstone Griddle (propane)
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AP Rub by Malcom Reed
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Latex gloves
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I save brisket trimmings. You know those thin little pieces on the end of the flat that make you feel like a terrible BBQ pit master because it turns up all dry and inedible?!? Yeah, those little pieces get trimmed off and saved, and then ground up because I hate them, and then I turn them into tasty, tasty smash burgers on the gridle. I trim several briskets before I grind this meat up. But it's a delicious, delicious victory over dry smoked brisket flat.
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