Question about grinding your own hamburger

[Mr. Bones]

No expert here, but I'd jus use th one pot of water, were it me doin it.

[Flat Rocker]

I have a chuck roast and a tip sirloin roast that I'm going to grind, both about 4.5 lbs. I plan to put both into boiling water for 30-45 seconds to kill the surface nasties. They wont' both fit in the pot at the same time, should I do one of them and dump the water and start with clean for the next hunk, or can the second go into the same water after the first one is out? I guess I could also use 2 pots at the same time, but if I don't need to I won't.

[JeffJ]

I have a Gourmia. It's electric, costs about $65 and it works well.

[surfdog]

They’re not as hard to clean as some people make out...
Where they usually seem to go wrong is over tightening "nut" that holds the discs in place. THAT can be a royal PITA.
Remove that and most of them are pretty straightforward...grab a bottle brush or even a rag depending on the design.

You should be able to find a dedicated grinder for under $100.
Might even score an electric one.

[jerrybell]

Cleaning isn't that difficult. I've seen may people suggest running a slice bread or two through the grinder to push the meat out of the plate. I do this and it does simplify cleanup. A long-handled round-head dish washing brush makes cleaning the barrel easy and the bristles will press into the holes of the plate when washing that.

I think a manual grinder is a good option. You can get a very nice manual grinder for $60 to $80. Lem and Weston are both good brands.

[NapMaster]

A homemade chopping board and two meat cleavers. Should be good exercise. 😅 Just messing with you.

[OSB]

Any meat grinder recommendations besides the kitchen aide attachment? I am looking for one that is simple to clean and does a good job. I hear they can be a nightmare to clean. Anything under $100 that meets this criteria?

[surfdog]

I’ve used my Kitchen Aide grinder many times.
It makes short work of it.
I just use the "regular/plastic" grinder on my Pro Line and previous Professional series.

[Huskee]

I don't have a lot of experience with the KitchenAid meat grinder attachment, but the experience I do have was top-notch. Highly recommended. Especially if you can find it on sale. I don't even have the stainless steel all metal one and I still love the one I got.

[CaptainMike]

I started with the plastic one and it works very well, however, Attjack posted a sale for the metal one and I grabbed it. It is much better and worth the extra $30 or so.

[Histrix]

Well, there's always a chance for pathogens. Everybody has their own assessments of risk. That's why some folks will relish steak tartare while others will never touch it.

[JoeSousa]

I use the grinder attachment on my Kitchen Aid when I want to grind my own meat. That sadly is only a couple times a year but unless you are doing dozens of pounds at a time it works very well.

And I have some of the end pieces I ground up the last time I smoked some bacon and need to work that into a burger sometime.

[jfmorris]

I've been eyeballing a meat grinder attachment ever since I realized the Kitchen Aide mixer my mother in law gave us a couple of years ago has all those fancy accessories. Otherwise, I guess I can find the hand crank meat grinder my grandmother used to clamp to the edge of a table and use... . All this talk of grinding bacon into the meat has me thinking I need to do this.

[jfmorris]

I second this.

[JeffJ]

Histrix the problem is the surface of the meat can still have pathogens and when ground all of the meat is exposed. If you want medium rare meat to be truly safe, either SV or drop it in boiling water for 30 seconds. This is why I like fattier meat for burgers. At 160 it's still moist and tender due to the rendered fat.