Last Updated on 20th July 2022 by
There are several ways you could grind meat, depending on what kind of equipment you have. I’ll show you a few methods for how to grind meat at home, using a food processor, a blender, or grinder.
How to Grind Meat with a Grinder
Probably the easiest way to grind your meat to make ground beef or ground pork is to use a grinder. I understand that not everyone has one, which is why I have other methods listed below for grinding meat, but let’s start with the grinder.
First of all, make sure that you have your meat cut into small cubes that are about an inch or two on each side. That’s really the most work you have to do for this grinding method, and when you cut your meat, ensure that the connective tissue is cut off. Also make sure that all of your meat is cold; it will be a lot easier to work with that way.
You should keep your grinder in the freezer and your meat in the fridge until you’re ready to use them to grind meat together, for best results. When you put your meat into the grinder, use a high speed, between six and eight on a stand mixer.
If your grinder is not set high enough, you’re going to have a lot of trouble cutting through the meat. It’s also going to take a while to grind your meat. If the grinder isn’t set high enough, you could also overheat it, and you don’t want that either.
The good thing about using the grinder on your meat is that it creates not juicy ground meat, since the meat will retain a lot of its flavor and fat.
How to Grind Meat in a Food Processor
So, how to grind meat without a grinder? You could use a food processor, and once again you want to cut your meat into chunks that are about an inch or two on each side. They don’t have to be cubes if you’re using the food processor, but you do want to lay them out on a tray in a single layer in the freezer for about 15 minutes before you begin grinding.
When you’re ready to grind them in the food processor, make sure you’re not using batches of more than about half a pound, for food processor that has a 10-cup capacity. Use the pulse setting on the grinder rather than running the grinder constantly, because what this will do is give you an even grind for your meat.
You’ll probably end up with some smearing on the food processor, and that’s going to cause some of the fat to come off as you grind it, especially compared to the grinder, but not by much.
Having to freeze the meat ahead of time gives you another step compared to the grinder, and it will take extra time to work your meat in batches, but this isn’t a bad way to grind meat.
The food processor offers you a really simple way to grind meat that doesn’t have a lot of cleanup, and there’s no real fuss involved. It’s a really good alternative for people who don’t have a grinder or a stand mixer that has a grinder attachment. It’s also going to give you meat that’s a lot fresher and better than what you can buy in the store.
How to Grind Meat in a Blender
The other method I want to share with you for grinding meat is to use your blender. Keep in mind that low powered blender motors are going to have trouble grinding the meat and you’re going to have to work slow and easy. It will take a long time to grind a large batch of meat this way. Make sure that you do work in small batches in the blender, and this way you won’t overwork your blender.
The blender is good in a pinch for meat grinding, if you’re not planning to grind meat on a regular basis. Before you put any meat in there, make sure that you’ve chopped them up small. Don’t worry about getting it into cubes or cutting down to a certain size; just make sure that your chunks of meat are small.
Set the blender to the chop setting and run it for about 20 to 30 seconds after you put some meat in there and close the lid. Check the meat after about 30 seconds and see what its consistency is. If it needs to run further, continue using the chop cycle for another 20 or 30 seconds. Keep doing this until all of your meat has finished grinding.
For pureed meat or meat ground so fine you can use it for baby food, you’ll have to work the meat through the blender for longer periods of time. To make sausage in the blender, you don’t need to chop it for long, as you need a course ground meat. For burgers, use a finer texture so that you end up with a well pureed meat that can be mashed together to make a solid patty.
How to Grind Meat for Burgers
Some methods of grinding meat work better than others when you’re trying to make burgers. The grinder attachment on a stand mixer works really well for solid patties, but a food processor will give you loose patties. If you wanted to know how to grind meat for sausage, use the food processor, and those looser bits will work just fine there, but for patties and burgers, the grinder is the best option.
Grinding your meat at home can be an excellent way to create really flavorful meat, and I find that the meat does taste better when you make it yourself at home as opposed to buying ground meat in the store. I think you’ll find the same thing, and that’s due to the fatty content in the meat, which is really important to making it flavorful.
I'm Pauline, a mother of four grown children, my passion for cooking stemmed from the joy i get cooking for my family. I love to try new dishes, especially when dining out but creating and sharing my own recipes is my favourite thing to do!