When I was a little girl I remember going to my maternal grandparents’ house and seeing meat being ground for sausage. I didn’t like sausage at the time and thus my focus was directed not to what was being made, but on how it was prepared. What I remember was a large, silver, wood handled, heavy tool – a shiny grinder. This fine mechanism was heavy enough that it needed to be clamped to a big white wooden stool. Most of the time I could only watch, but on occasion I’d get a turn at the handle; what a strenuous task!
Fast forward a few years (okay, quite a few). I am now the proud owner of that same heavy tool.
The meat grinder doesn’t look quite as humungous as it used too, but I’m a little bigger myself.
And instead of being latched to the top of the white step stool (which had fold down stairs, interestingly) it’s now connected to my favorite thick wooden cutting board.
To grind your own beef for burgers …
Cut the beef in cubes and season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
Add cubes of beef to grinder just a few at a time.
Begin to grind.
After grinding a few pieces, prepare pan to test seasoning of meat.
Prepare grill pan over high heat.
Make a tiny, less than an ounce patty.
Cook as usual and taste. If seasoning is correct continue grinding.
Roll into meatballs.
Flatten each meatball into a patty. Prepare as usual on BBQ grill (or in grill pan if the temperature is over 99 degrees or under 30; though admittedly I have photos of Ken grilling out in either extreme, but he paid me not to post them.)
To freeze: place each patty on a piece of parchment (or waxed) paper. These can be stacked together and stored in a gallon size ziploc bag.
This is a fabulous way to use up bits and pieces of meat that are left over from trimming steaks, i.e. the pieces of milenesa that are simply too small to make a roladen or the end piece of a whole beef tenderloin that’s rarely good for simple steaks or even Wellington.
~Enjoy!
