"Omelet" writes:
> "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...

I'd not call that grinding, it does not produce the same texture, but is
often used for specific recipes where that's the texture desired as for
tartar. That method is (or used to be used) for making forced meat, for
chopping potted meat, becaeu it was too soft for grinding and would just
smear. That procedure was most often accomplished in a wooden bowl with a
chopping knife that was curved to match the bowl... was called "hock
fleish"/chop meat... typically used for stuffing pasta.

> 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.

If you're grinding in batches of 10 lbs and more why do you need to buy
mystery meat, don't you make up packages for your freezer? When I grind
beef I almost always make up a few large burgers, those can always be used
for a small amount of ground beef. My beef burgers are anywhere between 8-14
ounces... larger don't usually get a bun, those are eaten as chopped steak.

> 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.


The stupidmarket where I shop is part of a big New England chain (Price
Chopper), most of their stores have two entirely separate meat departments,
one large department that sells the usual prepackaged but will custom trim.
The smaller department is just like the old fashioned butcher shop, they
don't sell any prepackaged and they sell a better quality including USDA
Prime. Naturally they charge more and I do buy certain cuts, like
porterhouse, short ribs, deckle, marrow bones, etc. Deckle is the cut used
to make kosher pastrami but is also excellent braised. Their regular meat
department will not custom grind, the custom meat shop will custom grind but
you'd not want to pay their prices... and you'd still not really know what
was ground in that machine previously and how long ago, so it would still be
mystery meat.

> 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.

Home grinders have the footprint about that of an electric can opener, they
are not very heavy, perhaps 7-8 lbs, and don't need to be left on the
counter. I keep mine in a small pantry with all my pots and other
appliances... but there is no reason a grinder can't be stored anywhere, the
floor of a coat closet works if one is so short of space... but I really
don't believe a space can't be found in even the tiniest kitchen... and most
people have a lot of crap cluttering their kitchen space that they never
use, dump it.

> 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.

Ordinary spices and herbs every cook keeps will suffice, there are no rare
difficult to find items in sausage. And there are all kinds of sausage,
from ordinary fresh, to cured, smoked, fermented, and there is no rule says
you have to stuff casings, I rarely do, I mostly make sausage pattys. If
anyone is going to dabble in sausage making beyond ordinary fresh I strongly
urge they read a book on sausage making.

I don't eat much cured/smoked sausage so I don't make that and when I get
the urge I'd rather buy a small amount of a premium brand. In fact I don't
like to have a large amount of salami, pepperoni or even balogna in my
fridge because I'll pig out on it. But I do eat a lot of ground beef/pork
and that I always grind myself. I actually prefer a ground round/chuck beef
steak to those expensive beef steaks, half they time I'm disappointed as
even when I choose them myself they often contain a lot of fat bone and
gristle... I hardly ever order steak out, I think the last time has to be
like seven years ago when I first moved here and it was suggested I try a
particular steak house, was just okay, not something I'd ever try for steak
again, a smallish porterhouse for $35, and only like half was edible, not
even enough to feed my cats. I frequent this restaurant about ten times a
year but I never order their steak dinners. I much prefer to buy
stupidmarket steak and grill it at home.

Their web site sucks (menu is down) but The Quarry Steakhouse has a great
bartender (top notch 2nis), their salad bar is excellent, real homemade
soups, bread baked on premises, and they have plenty of other entree choices
besides steak... their chicken, pork, and veal dishes are perfect Since
it's only a half hour away sometimes I do lunch and just have the salad bar
and drinks... dinner time and weekends they are crowded and you need
reservations.

http://www.quarrysteakhouse.com/qsh/index.htm