The Burger Lover's Burger
5.0
(7)
Grinding your own meat gives you total control over your burger. It frees you to select the cut of beef you want and lets you decide how finely or coarsely to grind. The chuck top blade has all the right characteristics for a do-it-yourself burger that's got everything going for it: It's beefy, juicy, and tender when cooked to medium (160°F). To further enhance the meat's juiciness and flavor, we recommend dry-brining the steaks overnight before you grind them. See the Cook's Note below for what to do if you don't have a meat grinder and for more about the chuck top blade as well as tips for cooking burgers, see our complete Burger Primer.
• If you don't want to dry-brine the steaks, just pat your meat dry and proceed with grinding.
• If you don't have a meat grinder but still want to make your burgers from scratch, finely chop the meat by pulsing it in a food processor. The texture of the meat won't be exactly the same, but you'll still get many of the advantages of making your own burger patties. Another option is to go to a market with a good meat department and knowledgeable staff, and ask the butcher to grind chuck top blade steaks, gristle and all, only once—not twice (the way butchers usually do for burgers). Make sure to also specify that you want an 80/20 proportion of meat to fat. Just before grilling, season the burgers with 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt (the same amount specified for the dry brining) and several grinds of black pepper from a mill.
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