Adding Fat to Lean Meats

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MtnCreek

MtnCreek

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Hope this is somewhat on topic.

Question for those grinding meat. How do you evenly distribute fat throughout lean meat? If I were making sausage, I would just use a meat-mixer, but that changes the texture of the ground meat and IMO, makes it not as good for general use. My goal is to have fat evenly distributed throughout ground meat AND maintain the flowing ‘noodle like’ structure. Tips???

Thanks!
 
Mix the cubed meat and cubed fat evenly before grinding. Then grind it twice. First pass with a Chilli meat plate, (large holes) and then with the Hamburger plate (small holes). That always worked for us.
 
Yep, first grind is 'roughly' mixed evenly as you can manage to do it, then the second grind pretty much evens out the mix. Sausage requires actually 'mixing' with either an appliance or by hand.
 
Sausage requires actually 'mixing' with either an appliance or by hand.
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Not really. There are lots of times that I add my spices on the second grind. Just put all the spices in a container, shake them up to mix them well, put the meat in the hopper, shake spices evenly over the meat. The grinder finishes the "mixing". I very rarely use a meat mixer anymore.
 
I grind the meat and pork fat in a semi-frozen state so the finished product comes out as a chilled noodle consistency, then hand mix it together. I have a meat mixer, but quite honestly it's more trouble than its worth. Doing it by hand is faster.

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Cube both the lean meat and the hard fat (if both are chilled it is easier).

Put both (in the proportions wanted) into a large container and mix by hand.
 
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I quit adding fat when i grind meat MANY years ago! I mean why should i freeze fat that just takes up more freezer space?? Also, the fat is what goes "off taste" first when the meat frozen for a long time.

I just grind the meat, and add what fat i want when i thaw the meat out. That way i can add the amount and kind of fat that i want. Like maybe some bulk spicy sausage ?, or just plain ground pork, then adding spice to it the way that i want for what i'm cooking that day.

DM
 
i cube or cut the meat into strips and run it first through the courses plate i have then again through the medium plate. I dont like burger done through a fine plate. If its going to be for chilli, meat pies ect i dont even use the medium plate. In those cases i cube the meat and fat into about one inch cubes, mix it and run it just through the course plate. I then use my stuffer to pack it into hambuger tubes. You probably wouldnt want to do that though as again that will make it into a differnt consistancy but the advantage is packed like that ive had it in the freezer for two years without going bad.
 
I will throw some deer, then some fatty pork, then some deer, and on and on, but still you will end up wtih pockets of one or the other. So when you add your water and spices mix it well, i do this by hand but you can get mixing machines.
 
I like leaner burger. 5 handfulls of course-ground meat to one handfull of course-ground beef suit mixed a bit and then ran through the fine plate gives a nice, lean mixture. Meat weighs a lot more than fat. I don't know what the actual percentage is, but it's probably about 88/12 or something.
 
Bacon!!!!

I use bacon ends and pieces in place of the suet in my moose burger. Comes out tasting great. I use a 60% moose /40% bacon mix. Grind it twice and let it sit overnite in the fridge before packaging.
 
For burger, I don't add fat when it's ground. For burgers, I mix olive oil with it along with powdered beef stock. For sausage, where real fat is used, I'll mix it in when I mix the spices. For chili or anything else where the meat is browned, I use the oil to brown it.
 
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