Garden My Way

Whether it's out of concerns for the price you pay at the supermarkets, or the quality of the ground meat you buy, grinding your own meat at home makes a lot of sense. You can make your own hamburgers and freeze them, or make you on homemade sausages with whatever spices you like, the options are endless. 

1. Finding the right meat grinder: There are many options when it comes to meat grinder, finding the right meat grinder is the first step. We use a stand alone meat grinder with 1800 W power rating. KitchenAid sells a meat grinder attachment, be sure your KitchenAid base unit has enough power to handle the grinding, the basic 350 W unit is may not be adequate for the meat grinding job. 

2. Grinding the meat: Any cut of meat can be used for making ground meat. Cut the meat into 1-2"  cubes. Feed the cut up meat into the grinder slowly. Run the ground meat through the grinder again to get a better texture. Make the ground the meat into patties or divide into portions that are convenient to use.

3. Ground Beef: For hamburgs ground chuck is a good choice. Grind the cut up meat first and then run the ground meat through the grinder once more, this will give you a finer texture. Press the meat into patties and stack the hamburgers with a piece butch paper (or wax paper) in between. Pack them into freezer bags and then into a paper shipping box. Seal the seams and freeze the hamburgers until ready to use.

4. Breakfast Pork Sausage: Use cushion meat ground pork. Cushion meat tend to be lean, add additional bacon for the breakfast sausage can add flavor and fat. Freeze the breakfast sausage in to sandwich sized bags, then pack the bags into gallon sized freezer bags. Store the freezer bags in corrugated shipping boxes and place them in the freezer.

To make homemade sausage add garlic salt, pepper, ground sage, hot pepper to the ground pork. Add maple syrup for sweet flavor. Blend well and form into sausage patties. Freeze for later use.