Where Did Chuck Roasts go?

[STEbbq]

I have been musing over how to make my next set of burgers. I have that sweet LEM grinder so I thought it made sense to consider a chuck roast to grind for burgers. However, SNF, Creekstone, Allen Brothers, Meat N Bone have none. Porter Road has them for $10 or so a pound and Wild Forks offers choice only.

Does this mean if I want to upgrade my burgers I need to order the already ground beef or should I consider a different cut? I don’t feel like this should be super hard to find a basic chuck roast that is prime or better.

If I have to do already ground, it is a good chance to try Fellers Ranch as I think they offer 10 pounds for $80 bucks.

[Jerod Broussard]

Choice is fine, especially Angus Choice.

[au4stree]

This👆👆👆. I really like angus choice options at my local markets.

[Bob K]

Agree with Jerod Broussard - choice Chuck is more than fine, it’s ideal for grinding. Prime is just an indicator of good marbling, and the beauty of grinding your own is you can add all the brisket fat you want.

[Murdy]

Also, the way stuff is trimmed these days, you can recover quite a bit of fat from around the edges of the roast, it doesn't have to come from the marbling.

[58limited]

Try a blend of brisket, chuck, and short rib meat. I used prime brisket but the chuck was choice - all sourced at the local grocery store.

[Steve R.]

A burger restaurant in my town does this, and it is excellent. 👍

[CRO]

My local butcher has this grind.
It's the best burgers ever!

[JoeSousa]

A couple times a year I just get a bunch of chuck from Costco. If you ask the butcher they will give you pretty much a whole boneless shoulder in the cryobag and it is cheaper than getting them individually. I will slice that into chuck roasts and keep some for pot roast, mississippi beef, etc. and grind a some (usually with any saved brisket trimmings I have) and form that into patties.

[acorgihouse]

I've been thinking I'd do same. I usually get chuck roasts from Costco, they usually have them, but I've recently been watching a YouTube channel: Butcher Wizard. I have no clue if he is a good, or even bonafide, butcher, but he has a lot of good recs for things including handling large pieces from places like Costco and Sam's Club. Has convinced me that buying a big piece, and butchering, with cuts going to ground beef, works better and costs less or at least no more.

[STEbbq]

So you guys are telling me to not spend more money and buy fancy ground beef from Creekstone or Fellers and buy a nice Chuck from the local Fresh Market instead?

https://shop.thefreshmarket.com/search?search_term=prime%20chuck&search_is_autocomplete=true

[Bob K]

Definitely choose a source you’re comfortable with in terms of how they treat the animals. (FM here in FL is a-ok with me btw.) But no need to worry about choice vs prime as you can dial in your own fat content during the grind.

[JoeSousa]

I love the ground beef from Porter Road for burgers. Decent ground beef locally is about $5-6 per pound so the $8 or $9 per pound is worth the extra few bucks for me. If I am just making tacos or throwing the meat in pasta sauce I don't really care but for a burger i want quality ground beef.

A place I recently tried REP Provisions has a burger blend that has I think 10% liver and kidneys added and it was very good. Didn't have that overpowering mineral organ meat flavor but was delicious

[mnavarre]

I really don't think paying the extra for Prime is with it for burgers. I just buy choice and adjust the fat with other cuts or trim fat. That's the nice thing about finding your own, you can play around with different cuts and different blends. My usual go to is about 70% chuck or shoulder and 30% short rib. Chuck, brisket, and short rib is a classic blend. Sirloin cuts give you a totally different burger than chuck. There's so many ways to play around with it that a straight chuck burger is... kinda boring.

[johnec00]

Don't know about Fresh Market in your area, but around here they have freshly ground chuck for $3.99/lb every Tuesday. Up till a couple of months ago it was $2.99 but . . . . Get there when they open and you can watch them grind it. It makes excellent burgers, meat loaf, etc.

[Alan Brice]

I was at Costco recently and talked to the butcher. All the prime beef is being bought up by steak houses. He did not expect to see prime beef anytime soon. unless something radical changes. Too bad, Costco was my go to for good meat at a fair price.
The choice is not the same also.

[Mosca]

This here.

[STEbbq]

I think I love you.

[STEbbq]

Not a member though so I was leaning this way…

https://fellersranch.com/products/wagyu-burger-family-pack-fellers-ranch%C2%AE-minnesotas-finest-wagyu-usda-certified-conger-mn

[Mosca]

I’d be interested in knowing more about Feller’s, from someone’s direct experience.

[Potkettleblack]

Just to put a cap on this, the prime rating is based on the marbling of the carcass at one rib (I think #13), right in the ribeye. It's indicative of the marbling for the whole animal, but cuts that are naturally well marbled or naturally very lean, there's less variation. Chuck is one of those. Prime vs choice is not that big a difference in chuckies.

[JeffJ]

I've gotten so used to grinding my own that I barely have the stomach for the preground stuff - never quite enough fat and it's packaged really tight. I for my patties as loose as I can get away with and they are much better texturally.

As has been said several times - Choice is totally fine. Usually when I'm grinding I'll grind some for burgers and will then grind a separate pound or two to be vac sealed for weeknight tacos, or whatever. I always make sure the burger grind gets the excess fat.

[Bad Hat BBQ]

I would like to hear about that LEM Grinder....

[STEbbq]

I found it for $63 on an Amazon warehouse deal. I see one is now $82. @fzxdoc

LEM Products 1224 #8 Countertop Grinder,Silver https://a.co/d/cl9xDg1

[STEbbq]

fzxdoc

[smokenoob]

Last time I saw Chuck he was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas……

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Grind a brisket for burgers. At $3.99 or so for Prime, sometimes less, it's cheaper than store-bought ground.