Tenderizer warning for home grinders

[Brad Olson]

When I make hamburgers I grind my own beef. I cube the beef a day or so ahead of time, salt and season it, and leave it in the fridge to dry-brine before grinding.

Recently, I did this with a store-bought seasoning, or to be more specific, a seasoning and tenderizer. When I ground the beef it had a weird, mushy texture and the burgers were disappointing, and I blame the tenderizer - in this case, papain - for adversely affecting the protein structure of the meat and causing it to really break down during grinding.

Just something to keep in mind. Cue the "The More You Know" music.

 

[Mark_E]

Yeah - dry brining is usually great, I do it all the time, but it really doesn't work for ground beef. The salt causes the ground beef remnants to adhere to each other resulting in toughness. There are a number of articles on this.

See what Kenji says at the bottom of this article. See the last two paragraphs.

Dry-Brining Is the Best Way to Brine Meat, Poultry, and More

A comprehensive guide to the salty science of dry-brining.

www.seriouseats.com

Here is a more in-depth discussion.

Salting Ground Beef | The Burger Lab

Do you salt your burger patties before grilling them? Well, ya shouldn't. Read the science behind salting ground beef. Warning: this piece contains graphic images of burgers being smashed, maimed, cut, tortured, and otherwise destroyed.

www.seriouseats.com

I like to cook my cheeseburger on a griddle unseasoned, flip it, wait, then sprinkle some salt just before adding cheese. This gives me a nice tender burger.

Good luck

 

[LMichaels]

Salting ground beef simply makes beef sausage