How Many Times Should You Grind Meat For Sausage? -

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The aim of a sausage maker before or after grinding meat is to have a fine texture for a nice sausage and this will want to make you discover anything and everything that would give you that fine texture.

So in the process of discovering, I’m sure that you must have noticed that the number of times you have to grind your meat to make a sausage differs a lot based on the recipe – making you wonder if the results you would get would be quite different if you decide to grind your meat differently from the way it is in the recipe.

So in essence, how many times should you grind your meat for sausage? You should grind your meat for sausage at least twice.

After going through a lot of recipes, I noticed that the number of times needed to grind your meat differs, and although some sausage makers grind their meat twice, others get the result that they want after grinding their meat once, but this is usually not advisable.

Typically, it is all about the result you want at the end of everything either chunky, fine, uniform, and coarse.

Why double grind your meat you may ask?

On this note, the major reason why double grinding your meat is essential is to achieve a consistent product. You wouldn’t want to have your meat breaking down, and this would happen when it is not finely ground and it would also make the meat thick and damp in texture.

I can tell how well you want a nice texture after grinding meat, so double grinding your meat should give you what you want.

How to grind your meat for hamburger

To grind your hamburger meat is a very easy task to do, it isn’t as hard as you think it would be, but you would be needing some equipment:

Wood Cutting board
Knife
A meat grinder or a food processor (The LEM Stainless Steel Big Bite Electric Meat Grinder is an excellent option in case you don’t own one already).
Two bowls for mixing.
Ice cubes.

As a burger lover, I’m sure you might have tried a lot of burgers from different restaurants and you have this favourite restaurant that makes the best of the best burger.

So you decided to make your own to taste the same, after spending time to make the burger, it feels like something isn’t right or probably that you have missed an ingredient or something. Then, you keep searching and searching for what you missed – Do not panic.

The only ingredients I know that you missed, that didn’t make your burger taste the same as your favourite restaurant’s burger is homemade ground meat.

I know that this may sound a bit off but it is what it is, that is the ingredient your favourite restaurant uses.

You should take note that, grinding your meat puts you in charge of your meat- where you get it, plus the amount of fat that goes into your meat and technically, grinding your meat makes you feel assured of how fresh your meat is, and the perfect ratio of fat that you add to it.

Before you start with the process of grinding your meat, there are important rules you should take note of.

Ensure that your meat grinder is very cold – put every part of your meat grinder in the refrigerator for an hour or two before you make use of it to grind.
Ensure that your meat and fat are cold.
Put your mixing bowls in the refrigerator – it is very important to make this cold too. Fill one bowl with ice and place the other bowl on top of it. These should be placed below the grinder so that the meat can fall into the bowl on top of the bowl filled with ice to keep the meat cold.
Grind the meat twice with the grinder- as I said earlier about the texture of the meat, you have to grind your meat twice to get a consistent product. Grind the meat with the coarse and fine die to get the texture you want.
Shape the burger patties carefully – do not apply too much pressure on it, compact it delicately and to avoid your petite from bulging, make a simple dimple at the centre of the pattie.
Make sure your burger patties are cold- keep them in the refrigerator for at least 10minutes.

NB– regardless of the type of meat you choose to use for your burger, make sure that there is at least 20- 30% of fats included.

Ingredient:

2.5 pounds of boneless chuck steak or meat.
7.5 pounds of top sirloin steak.

Method:

Get your meat grinder’s accessory-ready- do not forget to put the meat grinder accessory into the refrigerator for at least an hour or two before you make use of it.
Slice the steaks/ meats- slice or cut the meat to 1½ cubes. Then put it into a plastic container, cover it, and put it in the freezer.
Set up a bowl that would hold the ground meat – fill one bowl with ice and place the other bowl on top of it. place these bowls below the grinder so that the meat can fall into the bowl on top of the bowl filled with ice to keep the meat cold.
Fix the meat grinder accessory- follow the instructions on how to fix the grinder in the user manual.
Grind the meat/steak- run the meat or steak through the grinder and make sure the bowls are placed underneath.
Grind your meat twice- You should grind your meat twice for you to have a consistent product.
Put your ground meat or steak in the freezer to chill- put the ground meat into a plastic plate, cover it, and put it in the freezer for at least 30mins till you are ready to make use of it.

Is it cheaper to grind your meat?

Yes, it is. When you grind your meat yourself the money you would spend from purchasing a preserved packaged ground meat at the market would be saved plus you get to know that you have the freshest meat ground and the right fat ratio.

How to grind my meat without a meat grinder

I know you would feel that Grinding your meat without the use of a grinder is difficult, but it isn’t. You just have to know what result you want to get at the end of it all.

Equipment needed

Chopping board
Knife

Follow the steps below:

Step 1

At an angle of 45°, cut your meat with the use of a knife but not to the end. Cut the meat about ¼inch thick.

Step 2

At the opposite side of the meat, repeat the first step at the same angle.

Step 3

Turn over the meat and cut it at 90° like the first step. There should be about ¼inch in between the slices, do not cut to the end.

Step 4

Repeat step 3 on the opposite side.

Step 5

Put the meat together, chop the meat fast from left to right continuously. To achieve the texture you want, you have to repeat this step continuously until you get your result.

Food Processor

With the help of a food processor, You can also grind your meat, to make use of this follow the steps below.

Equipment

Food processor (This Cuisinart FP-14DCN Elite Collection 2.0 14 Cup Food Processor is good for this purpose)
Baking tin foil

Step 1

With the use of a sharp knife, slice your meat into smaller chunks.

Step 2

Put the chunked meat on baking tin foil and put it in the refrigerator for about an hour. It shouldn’t be frozen but it should be very cold.

Step 3

After your meat is cold, Put it into the food processor and blend. When you get the consistency you want and put them into a bowl.

Step 4

If you are yet to get what you want, repeat step 3 till you get what you want.

Can I grind chicken bones in a food processor?

Yes, you can grind chicken bones in a food processor. However, making use of the food processor when you do not have any idea of the working principles isn’t advisable. Ensure you pick the right accessory and apply the right settings to grind the chicken bones so that you won’t damage your processor.

What is the best meat to use for hamburgers?

Ground chuck is the best meat to use for hamburgers. This is because the ground chuck has enough flavour, plus it is tender and moist, and it has the amount of fat that you would need which is somewhere between 15- 20%.

Can you grind/stuff sausage at the same time?

The author of the charcuterie book suggested that you should not grind and stuff at the same time. They said you should grind the meat and mix the right liquid to make a bind and this liquid would help the meat not to break down.

How do I keep burgers from shrinking?

There are a few tips on how to prevent your burgers from shrinking when cooking.

Tip 1

When purchasing your meat at the market, pick lean meats with no water added.

Tip 2

Cook your lean meat at a low temperature.

Tip 3

If you choose to cook the burger on a grill, make sure the lid is not closed. The temperature of the burgers could get a bit high when you close the lid.

Tip 4

When you cook the patties, they would still shrink. So make the patties wider the way they are supposed to be and create a small dimple at the centre with your fingers so that the burgers won’t bulge.

FAQs

How to remove rust from a metallic meat grinder

Your Meatgrinder is bound to get rust after some time – whether you make use of it or not. How you maintain your meat grinder is what would determine if it would get rust or not.

The reason why your meat grinder gets rusted is that it gets exposed to air, water, and most especially the meat it grinds. There are few tips on how to remove rust from your meat grinder and I’d be listing out 3.

Make use of a brush – Get a brush to clean the rust that is already falling off. This tip works well when the rust has not eaten a lot into the metallic parts of the meat grinder. When you are done brushing off the rust from the meat grinder, make use of it to grind some fatty pieces of red meats.
Make use of a rust remover- you can get cherry-kool aid, this works as rust removing agent. Mix it without adding any sugar and then dismantle the grinder and apply the aid and leave it overnight. When you bring it out the next day, you would notice that the rust is already falling off. Clean and store it safely away from water or air.
Make use of a zud scouring powder – use a zud scouring powder. This powder would clean the rust from the grinder and allow the meat grinder to look new again. Use moisture to clean the chemical, then dry the grinder before storing it.

What does adding eggs to a burger do?

The egg acts as a binding tool to ground meat and other ingredients that are added to the meat while preparing the burger. The Michigan State University said that the higher the fat content added to the meat, the more the meat binds together while cooking. The fat is essential because it adds more flavours and juiciness to the burger.