The grind


 
CaseT

CaseT

TVWBB Platinum Member
Well a buddy called me frustrated with the quality and price of 80/20 he got the other day. I said why don't we grind some up. We set aside a few hours on Saturday and picked up 40 pounds of primal cut top round. It was on sale for $2.79/pound. Burger here right now is $5.99-8.99 per pound for 80/20, unless you buy the tube of goo. Its running $3.99/pound.

It was a cool morning 38°f in the garage. Set up a production line. We ground, bagged and vac packed It all up. Very little waste with top round. Just a pound of hard fat that had to be trimmed. The meat is pretty lean but it makes good burger. We did a double grind. All in all we both ended up with 18 pounds of ground round for just under $3.00/pound (vac bag cost factored in equipment and time negligible). Beer was more expensive per pound than the meat!

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20 pound meatloaf! Ready for second grind.

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I don't know why, but those meat grinding pictures just made me smile! ;) I do the same thing with my neighbors every 2-3 months or so. If I'm going to haul the grinder out, I always offer to re-stock them on ground beef (or pork, or chicken.) That top round sure does look lean, I'd want a little more fat in mine, I think. The last batch I did was some top sirloin cap (picanha). Made some great burgers!

Your grinder looks like the model I had, and eventually killed off. :)

R
 
Cliff Bartlett said:
Nice post Case, start to finish. Looks like a fun, productive day. Your son is getting big!
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Thank you! He's still my number 1 grinder! He did the first grind my buddy did the second grind.

Eight years ago! He's going to be driving soon! Yikes!

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Rich G said:
I don't know why, but those meat grinding pictures just made me smile! ;) I do the same thing with my neighbors every 2-3 months or so. If I'm going to haul the grinder out, I always offer to re-stock them on ground beef (or pork, or chicken.) That top round sure does look lean, I'd want a little more fat in mine, I think. The last batch I did was some top sirloin cap (picanha). Made some great burgers!

Your grinder looks like the model I had, and eventually killed off. :)

R
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Thank you! Yeah I keep thinking that it will give up one of these days but it just keeps grinding away. We've run a ton of meat through it. STX Turbo has worked great.
 
Mark Foreman said:
My LEM #5, making burger. Gonna have to try your garage grind line!

Do you double grind your meat? I usually double grind mine, 5/16 plate, followed by either 1/4 or 3/16 plates.

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The line works great initially one cutting strips, one grinding and one bagging and vac packing. Another plus for garage grinding this time of years is everything starts and stays cold. Don't even have to freeze the grinder parts. I store them in the garage so they are cold!

Yes for burger we do a double grind. If I'm making sausage quite often its just on course grind. Really depends on what I'm making.
 
CaseT said:
Well a buddy called me frustrated with the quality and price of 80/20 he got the other day. I said why don't we grind some up. We set aside a few hours on Saturday and picked up 40 pounds of primal cut top round. It was on sale for $2.79/pound. Burger here right now is $5.99-8.99 per pound for 80/20, unless you buy the tube of goo. Its running $3.99/pound.

It was a cool morning 38°f in the garage. Set up a production line. We ground, bagged and vac packed It all up. Very little waste with top round. Just a pound of hard fat that had to be trimmed. The meat is pretty lean but it makes good burger. We did a double grind. All in all we both ended up with 18 pounds of ground round for just under $3.00/pound (vac bag cost factored in equipment and time negligible). Beer was more expensive per pound than the meat!
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Nice post with your son and buddy grinding burger.

Drinking beer is part of doing business! lol
 
Mark Foreman said:
I usually double grind mine, 5/16 plate, followed by either 1/4 or 3/16 plates.
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I double grind burger meat with a LEM #12 with 10MM (3/8 or .393") and then 6MM (1/4" or .236").

I like to use whole boneless chuck rolls for burgers. I save brisket, eye of round and whole tenderloin trim for added flavor.

Last summer I ground a few select packer briskets for burgers.
 

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RJ Humphrey said:
I double grind burger meat with a LEM #12 with 10MM (3/8 or .393") and then 6MM (1/4" or .236").

I like to use whole boneless chuck rolls for burgers. I save brisket, eye of round and whole tenderloin trim for added flavor.

Last summer I ground a few select packer briskets for burgers.
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We usually use chuck roll also it was my first choice actually. They only had one left and it was $4.85/pound. Last time I bought it 6 months ago I paid $2.89. So top round it was. Brisket was in the running as we've used it before too. It was $0.20 per pound more than the top round so my buddy said top round. It grinds good too and I have no qualms using it for burger.
 
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CaseT said:
We usually use chuck roll also it was my first choice actually. They only had one left and it was $4.85/pound. Last time I bought it 6 months ago I paid $2.89. So top round it was. Brisket was in the running as we've used it before too. It was $0.20 per pound more than the top round so my buddy said top round. It grinds goo too and I have no qualms using it for burger.
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At almost $2 more per pound for chuck, I'd have went with top round too.
Last chuck roll I purchased in the fall was about $3 a pound. I priced it last week and it was almost $6 a pound.

I won't buy the tube of goo either!!!
Cheers
 
Barb and I have been doing the grind your own for about three years. Still using the 35 year old KA with the grinder attachment.
Works okay if your not in a rush. But would like to step up to something a little more substantial.
Hope that top round works okay for you, that's what we got the last time because of the price difference between that and chuck. Burgers tend to just fall apart a little to lean for what we like.
 
Rich Dahl said:
Barb and I have been doing the grind your own for about three years. Still using the 35 year old KA with the grinder attachment.
Works okay if your not in a rush. But would like to step up to something a little more substantial.
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Rich

You can't go wrong with a Cabela's Commercial Grade Carnivore Meat Grinder #12 plate or LEM Big Bite Meat Grinder #12. Both are excellent machines!! I own a LEM #12 and have used a coworkers Cabela's #12 about a dozen times.

Fellow forum member Rich G owns a Cabela's #12 and Mark Foreman owns an LEM #5

With #12 size plate you won't need to cube the meat. Just cut into 1-1/2" square strips and feed them into the grinder. First grind for a 16-18 pound chuck roll will be a few minutes, as fast as you can feed it will grind.

A second grind takes more time. I've found the best way to handle the second grind is to load the tray with ground meat. Crumble the meat with your fingers to break it apart, push it over and into the feed to tube. Don't over pack the tube with meat. I rarely ever use the meat stomper on the a second grind.

Good luck on your search for a new grinder.

Cheers
 
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I like the LEM #5. Does all the grinding I need to do (usually less than 10 lbs at a time and I do not need a forklift to move it. However, you cannot get as many accessories for the #5 but then I have not gotten any. It's 1/3 HP.

If you make sausage, I would recommend that you get s sausage stuffer. Makes the job a breeze.

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This is the one I have, it's a 5lb model. Like it a lot.
 
I also have the 5lb LEM stuffer, it works great!

It’s well worth the money if your stuffing sausage. Using a stuffing plate with grinder is a pita!
 
Now thats some family / friend organized burger making, I see a burger cook in your future...:)
 
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