One of the best aspects about going to your butcher is that they can give you tips about how best to use certain cuts and maximise your eating experience. Grinding your own burgers can not only be extremely rewarding, it can also be cheaper and fresher than buying premade burger patties in a shop. Although, like many cooking techniques, there’s a science behind grinding the perfect steak burger which we’ll be delving into here.

The first decision you have to make is what kind of steak you’re going to use to make the burger patties. Depending on the steak cut you choose, this can greatly influence the texture, flavour, and price of the burger patties you make. The first aspect is the fat content of the meat you’re using. Generally, a 80% protein to 20% ratio is perfect, as it allows the burger to stay juicy and flavoursome. This can be adjusted slightly based on personal preference or diet considerations, although we don’t recommend going below 15% fat.

When it comes to flavour, you are free to choose whatever steak or beef roasting joint you enjoy, as long as it’s boneless and fits the ratio. So even if you have a very lean steak, you can use some offcuts to add some fat into the mix when you’re grinding. Taking all these points into consideration, these are our recommendations for the best meat to use for burgers:

• Sirloin steak
• Chuck steak mince(chuck roast)
• Short Rib(boneless)
• Brisket
• Rump steak

If you’ve never made your own burgers before, or another kind of meat product like sausages, grinding burger meat could be an intimidating prospect. However, if you follow these simple tips, you are almost guaranteed to produce delicious burgers for any occasion.

• Keep everything cold – this includes the meat itself, as well as the components of your grinder. This is essential to stop the meat sticking and creating a mess when grinding.
• Cut the meat into cubes first – a chilled large piece of meat can be difficult for standard home grinders to chew through. Cubing your meat speeds up the process and helps prevent jamming.
• Work in batches – if you’re planning to make a large amount of burgers, don’t put all the meat through at the same time. Batch grinding allows you to be certain you’ve got the right consistency.
• Double grind – don’t be afraid to run the ground meat through a second time if the consistency isn’t to your liking.
• Clean everything thoroughly – grinders have small openings that often get clogged with meat after use. It’s therefore important to clean equipment thoroughly to avoid contamination.

Shop quality beef steak cuts online

While we stock a wide range of steak cuts that are ideal for grinding or enjoying whole, we also recognise that many people value convenience. That’s why we stock beautiful steak burgers that are ready to grill as they come. In fact, all our meat produce arrives at your door in a condition suitable for either freezing or preparing immediately. Contact The Village Butcher if you have any questions.