Grinding Your Own Meat for Burgers and Sausage.

Let me first say that I hardly ever buy pre-ground burger meat or
prepackaged Italian or fresh Kielbasa sausage. If you have ever ground your own meats then you will know exactly what I'm talking about and if you have never had fresh kielbasa (not smoked) put it on your bucket list.

About The Beef: 

If you think that the ground chuck from your grocery store originated from the scraps of chuck in the butcher shop you're probably wrong. Most often they get a tube of meat from a meat supplier, regrind and package. So in reality no one in your meat department can certify that all of the meat in your package is all chuck and that's not a good thing.

After I started grinding my own chuck I found a worthwhile difference in both quality and price. When I say quality I mean taste and tenderness.

It is pretty simple, just buy a chuck roast and grind it, season it with salt and pepper and package it into freezer bags. I find that packaging in 8 oz quantities a good start unless you know ahead of time that you're going to need a greater quantity for a particular recipe.

Related link for pics: My Burgers


About the Sausage:

 It has been said that if you knew what was inside that hot dog then you'd probably never eat it. Well I don't know if that is true but realistically, no part of a hog goes unused and that includes all sausages. But you can make sausages from prime parts and not entrails for a fraction of the price.

For about $1.25 per pound, I make my own bulk Italian and Kielbasa that I can adjust for flavor and without preservatives, etc.  Note: Although I have the capability to make links I haven't felt the need.

What I do is find some cheap pork chops on sale, these will be kinda fatty and that is exactly what you need. Cut out the bone, grind, add in the spices, mix well and then eat or freeze.

Or, if you are not interested in grinding your own meat, buy pre-ground pork at your grocery store and add in the spices.

Related link for  Fresh Kielbasa and Creamy Scrambled Sandwich

Related link for Italian sausage Infused Pasta Sauce


About the Spices:

For my burgers I use Cooper's Old Time seasoning from Llano, Texas. I only incorporate the these spices (probably just salt and pepper) into the meat.

For my Italian sausage I use Legg Zesty Italian. For one pound of meat I use 2 Tbsp and add a tsp of Fennel.

For the fresh Kielbasa I use Legg Fresh Kielbasa. 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp per pound.

Note: The Legg spices are for 25 pounds of meat so they are a great value. Also, I mix the pork and spices in a stand mixer for 2 minutes.

About the Grinder:

I have been using the Maverick Meat Grinder for 7 years and I'm very happy with it. It's really simple, all you have to do is cut the meat in long strips, semi-freeze and run through the grinder. Grinding time for 1 lbs of meat is about 3 minutes.