How to Grind your own Meat

By janicecraig

We're here to wave away the mist and reveal how truly simple it is to grind your own meat, even if you don't have a meat grinder -- and the results are leagues apart from what you'd buy in the store.

Ingredients

• Choose Your Meat Wisely
• to to thumb is to choose a piece of meat with clearly visible fat marbled throughout. If you're aiming for extra-juicy burgers, you can even ask your butcher for some pure fat (called backfat) to grind into the meat.
• never be as flavorful as its bovine and porcine counterparts, as it has a much lower fat content.

Preparation

Step 1

Before processing, break your meat down into small, uniform chunks, about 1 to 2 inches. If you're adding in extra fat (we salute you), be sure to cut it to a quarter of the size of the meat pieces.
Lay the meat out in an even layer on a baking sheet, then wrap the entire thing tightly in plastic wrap. You're already halfway there!
The key to optimizing the texture of your ground meat, especially if you're working with a food processor and not a meat grinder, is to partially freeze everything: the meat, the food processor, and preferably your hands (Kidding. Sort of.). Chilling your meat and your tools will help you achieve a finer grind, and it will reduce the amount of meat "smear" that inevitably occurs when grinding meat in a food processor, as opposed to a tool designed specifically for that purpose.
If you know you'll be grinding meat a day ahead of time, put your food processor in the freezer overnight. If not, make sure to give it a good 30 minutes to get nice and frosty. Your meat is ready when the edges of each chunk are frozen firm, but the center is still slightly pliable.
When you're ready to grind, work relatively quickly so that everything stays cold. Fill your food processor only about 1/4 of the way up, giving the meat plenty of room to blend. Put on the lid, then pulse -- but be careful. The worst sin imaginable is to come this far with a beautiful hunk of meat, then over-process it into an unappetizing paste. Pulse 8 times, then take off the lid to check the consistency. It should look vaguely like the pre-ground meat of supermarket packages, but more loose, more free. Pick out a small amount and press the meat lightly between your fingers -- it should stick together and form a patty.
Transfer the meat to a bowl, picking out any larger pieces that escaped the spinning blades and putting them back in the food processor for a second go-round. Continue pulsing the meat in batches until it has all been transformed. If you're not planning on using it immediately, store your ground meat in airtight ziploc bags and keep in the freezer until ready to use.