DIY food processor ground beef patties

You can easily make your own Ground Beef Patties with just a little time and a food processor. Learn how easy it is with this delicious recipe that makes your burgers your own.

In my search for the great hamburger, it seems only right that I look for great ground beef patties. And while I could go to my local butcher and ask for his best blend, I suspect he will just reach into his case and give me what he already has. Instead, I want to try and make my own ground beef patties.

I don’t have a meat grinder – can I?

I don’t have a meat grinder. A kitchen aid attachment is definitely on my ‘to buy’ list, but just is a bit out of budget at the moment. So, we are going to use a food processor to make our ground beef patties. The positive of using a food processor is that you don’t need to go out and buy specialized equipment, particularly if you rarely grind meat.

The drawback, however, is that you have to pay attention to your grind. If the meat in your food processor spends too much time bathing in the blades, it can become a soupy mess. We do not want soupy messes… we want ground beef patties! So, while reading, keep in mind that the recipes I will be sharing have instructions targeted to food processor owners. All instructions could easily be modified for a grinder.

Why grind my own burger?

First, it gives you control over what goes into your hamburger. From the cut of beef to the kind of steak. Second, who knows how long the hamburger has been sitting and what kind of preservatives have been added? Grinding your own can help assure that you have control over the freshness of your cut. Finally, it can be fun to make your own hamburger patties.

Ground beef patties – take one – an oopsies

I am not shy with fat when it comes to burgers. I feel that a great burger needs a decent fat content to keep that juiciness. Keeping that in mind, I worked to keep the fat content between 20 and 30 percent.

For the first round and using the guidance of Serious Eats , I chose a three cut blend that included equal parts sirloin, beef chuck, and short ribs. These three cuts have respectively increasing fat contents. Sirloin weighs in at about 11%; beef chuck at about 20%, and short ribs at 43%.

An equal part recipe gave me a finished blend that was almost exactly 25% fat. This is right in the sweet spot for fat content of great ground beef patties. What I learned, however, in this first run was that I needed to be more aware of the beef that was going into the blend. I believe the sirloin had far too much silver skin (stringy, icky, connective tissue) attached to it before I cut. My final burger was tasty, but became unenjoyable because of the pesky connective tissue that did not break down.

Another thing I learned was that short ribs provided fat that was very easy to work with and crumbled into the food processor very well. In the instructions, note that I say to put the meat into the freezer for just a bit. This really makes the meat easy to handle and creates fat that looks like great hamburger marbling. Just with this first experience, I could tell that short ribs were essential, in terms of final taste and ease to work with.

Ground beef patties – take two – pretty dang good

So, I had one grind under my belt, but was not satisfied. Because of the silver skin, I decided to go without Sirloin. I decided to try a blend that was equal parts beef chuck and short rib. Doing the math on this, we ended up with a final product that was about 31% fat.

I was also more cautious about the meat that was being put into the processor. I cubed the chuck that I got, but also made sure to trim and fat that seemed like it may be connective tissue or silver skin. Maybe legitimate grinders are able to handle this better, but it did not work out so well for my first run in the food processor.

In terms of negatives for this blend, I would say the fat content was an issue. And I have no problem with a fatty blend, but it was problematic for how I cooked it. I used my grill to cook the burger (that is where they are supposed to be cooked, right.. Or caste iron, I suppose). Even though I have anti flare guards up, it still caused problems during the grill. The fat was crying out of these burgers.

The final product here was vastly superior to my first. The taste was excellent and the burger was juicy. I am including the recipe I used in this post below. If you are going to use these patties, make sure to prepare for the flare ups.

Theoretical next grind

I have now done a few grinds and am really enjoying where this is going. I will continue to experiment with cuts, as I am enjoying the process. Perhaps, I may switch back to a sirloin OR perhaps an eye of round cut instead of chuck. I am leaning to the eye of round, as it lean like a sirloin (just a tad leaner), a bit more reasonably priced than sirloin, and looks like it might have less connective tissue going through the center. This blend might give the great fat content from short ribs and quality beef with very little connective tissue.  I will have to see if the taste of an eye of round stacks up to a sirloin, but all of the umami that short ribs brings is going to help.

What next?

Well, go make some ground beef patties, ya dringus. Even if you don’t have a grinder, you can try it out with your food processor. I think it is worth the experience to try and make your own ground beef patties.

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