In article >,
"brooklyn1" > wrote:

> There are very few butcher shops anymore (a stupidmarket meat department is
> not a butcher shop) and of those very few butcher shops that exist it will
> be even more difficult to find one that will custom grind anymore, and if
> you say you don't use enough ground beef to warrant your buying a meat
> grinder then you are certainly not going to find a butcher shop that will
> custom grind your mere pittance... they won't even explain, they'll simply
> point to the mystery meat in their meat case.

It is possible to simply "grind" a very small amount of meat using a
good sharp knife and a cutting board...

When I grind meat or make sausage, I never do less than 10 lbs. or more.

I actually do sometimes purchase "mystery meat" from the butcher shop at
HEB, but just the fresh ground stuff. In that, I know I'm getting good
meat as they take all the steaks and roasts that are fixin' to outdate,
grind them and sell them for around $2.80 per lb. I have yet to be
disappointed by it and you can visibly see the difference in those
packages when comparing them to the regular 80/20 etc. ground beef.

The "butcher shop" is visible to everyone behind the main meat counter
and I've watched them work a lot. I've talked with the meat shop
manager more than once, exchanged recipes with him and gotten some
useful grinding and prep hints from him. ;-) He's a cool guy and the
place is very, VERY clean.

He will not grind meat for me either (I only asked once) for the very
reason you mention above. He was up front about it. Now that I own my
own grinder, it's a moot point. I don't use it often but it's worth the
space it takes up in the pantry imho.

As far as making sausage is concerned, it's just spiced ground meat.
It's not rocket science. The trick is just getting the spicing
proportions down right and that can come with careful experimentation to
suit it to your personal tastes.

Cabelas sells pre-packaged mixes but I've never used them. The salt
content, for one thing, is WAY too high! I use about 1/4 the salt
called for in sausage recipes I've googled.
--
Peace! Om

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain.
-- Anon.


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