Burger R.I.P.?

A couple of weeks ago I nearly declared the burger dead to me, and to my family. I had just read the horrific story of a young woman permanently handicapped from the E.coli she had consumed in a good ol’, home-cooked, all-American hamburger. This was on the front page of The New York Times and included this beautiful girl’s photo. I know this is not a nice way to commence a conversation about burgers, but I was shaken down to my boots and I’m sharing.

After a few weeks of complete swearing-off, I started to think about the problems that made this specific burger so poisonous. What emerged over and over was the source of the meat. In this article the author isolates the four(!) slaughterhouse/suppliers for the ground beef — a fatty mix from Nebraska, lean combos from Texas and from Uruguay, and a super-lean mix from South Dakota obtained by melting away the fat from cheaper, fattier cuts. These four components were then combined at Cargill, Inc. in Wisconsin for packaging and distribution to, in this case, Sam’s Club. Apparently it takes a village to make a hamburger. Incidentally, the burger contained, in addition to E. coli, a small amount of bread crumbs, even though the package did not put either one on the label.

The solution for me was either to forget burgers altogether or — it dawned on me — to grind my own meat. The problem seems to lie in the pre-ground stuff, certainly in the packaged patty. So I have rescued burgers from the jaws of oblivion but only barely. We will not be eating any burgers we don’t source ourselves (sorry, Little League cookouts, snack bars, and…In-and-Out). This does have an added benefit. It’s time to slow down the consumption of meat, to become particular about its origins, and to pay what it really costs to consume this excellent source of protein. Burgers have become altogether too common, and what’s available out there is a mere shadow of the real thing. But just wait till you taste the ones you make from scratch.

There are several options for ground beef. Chuck is a great all-around cut, since you end up with about 20% fat which makes a great, juicy burger. Top sirloin is also a good choice but is a little more expensive and a little less fatty, about 15%. Sirloin tip and top round cost somewhere between the other two and are about 18% to 20% fat. Brisket can also be ground or combined with other cuts for nice flavor, but my favorites are either plain chuck or a combination of chuck and top sirloin. I also went the extra step and bought hormone- and antibiotic-free beef, partially range-fed (most producers still fatten the cow on grain for the last few months). Of course you can also have the butcher grind these cuts for you while you wait, even though they’ll ask you why you don’t just buy their pre-ground beef (in some cases they have done their own grinding on site). At my market I paid a little more for the chuck than its equivalent pre-ground but I control the quality and content. And I paid less for the sirloin cuts than the pre-ground.

When I tried grinding my first burger I gave myself lots of time, anticipating a long, slow process. After all, why is this task so ubiquitously done by the butcher — it must be hard! Let’s just say it took me five minutes to grind a couple of pounds of beef, and that’s exaggerating. Even the hand crank is easy and quick.

Some folks recommend sterilizing the grinder before using it to avoid contamination.

Frankly, I don’t find this step necessary. The grinder is likely to be as clean as your knives unless you used it three hours before and didn’t clean it at all. Most bacteria on a dry surface expires after a couple of days, and if you wash and dry the grinder well and put it away after each use, it will be ready to use when you need it.

The meat should be refrigerator cold before grinding. If you like a leaner burger, trim off some of the visible fat and any tough fibers. Remember that trimming away too much fat will make the cooked burger somewhat dry.

If you are using a Cuisinart to chop the meat, chill the bowl and blade in the freezer for a few minutes while you prep the beef. Cut the beef into large chunks, sized to fit into the grinder (for the Cuisinart, into 1- to 2-inch cubes).

I started with great-grandma (that’s bisnonna in Italiano) Ambrogina’s aluminum hand-crank grinder, secured to the counter top with the clamp. I dropped in chunks of beef and cranked away. Periodically, pull some of the fibers from the front of the grinding plate if they start to interfere.

Next, the Cuisinart. Place 6 or 8 cubes of meat in the chilled Cuisinart fitted with the steel blade and pulse 15 to 20 times, or until the meat is well chopped. Check it as you go to avoid over-processing. This method produces a little less consistent texture, so watch for large chunks and re-chop them. Empty the ground meat onto a plate and continue with another batch until all the meat is ground.

If you already own a Kitchenaid, I recommend investing in the meat grinder attachment. It’s easy to attach and easy to clean. It comes with a pusher to help force the meat through the grinder, a nice addition. And with this grinder you can cut the beef into longer pieces — no wider than the opening but up to 3 inches in length.

The Kitchenaid has two grinding plates, one more coarse than the other. Kitchenaid recommends grinding twice but I like the grind to have a loose, uncompacted texture, so I only pass it through once. I like the course grind, but the finer plate works just as well. In the end, the three methods yield pretty much the same result:

Hand-Ground Hamburgers | 6 servings

The meat is all ground, ready to make into patties. So fire up the grill or heat up the pan, because burgers are best cooked hot. If you have a very hot broiler, that works, too, but mine doesn’t quite get hot enough.

2 1/4 pounds chuck roast, top sirloin or other whole chunk of beef
1/2 onion, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Thin slices of good-quality cheese

Light the grill or heat a heavy cast-iron skillet. Lightly mix the chopped onion and a pinch of salt into the meat without overworking it.

Gently shape the meat into patties, again without compacting the meat, which will make the burger dry. You will get about 3 patties per pound with a few extra ounces to fill them out. Season with more salt and pepper, and don’t be shy here.

Drop the patties into the hot skillet or onto the preheated grill and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on the first side.

Turn the burgers and cook on the other side for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until the burger releases juices. Add cheese after the turn if you want a cheeseburger. Don’t press on the burger like the short-order grill jockeys do, because that will simply squeeze out all the good juices.

To thoroughly kill any bacteria burgers have to be cooked to 160°F, but that’s well-done and not the way I like them. I’d rather take the time to grind the meat and have a nice medium-rare burger (about 145°F). Toast the buns in the last few minutes of cooking and serve burgers with all the fixins’. Most of all, take the time to enjoy the freshness and flavor of a burger you made from scratch (and grind).

Whether we like it or not we are going to have to move away from our mother’s era of convenience and into our own era of carefulness. The ubiquitous burger is the first thing we can snatch back from the fate of being over-processed, over-sold, and ultimately unsafe.

In the words of J. Wellington Wimpy, “I’d gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”

Kelly McCune © 2009

Tagged as: Beef, Grill