So I have a KitchenAid mixer (450 watt, white) with grinder (oooh, ahhh). Since it seems like the price of chuck roast these days is better than the price of ground beef, I’ve been thinking about grinding my own hamburger meat.
Anything in particular I need to know? What cuts of meat work best? Do I trim the fat?
If the meat is well marbled, I think you can trim off the tough chunks of fat and discard them. Chuck works pretty well. Don’t overwork the meat or you’ll get mush.
Oh, and don’t forget to insert the little cutting blade, because not only does the meat not grind up without it, you also get to hear the peals of laughter from your mate for screwing the pooch and wasting $12 worth of meat. 
If you want to use the ground meat for hamburgers, let it remain a little fatty. If you’re going to use it for meat loaf or spaghetti sauce or gringo tacos, try to keep it pretty lean.
A fattier mixture will hold together better and be a lot juicier when you grill it for burgers. I got tired of dry, crumbly, tasteless patties when I used extra-lean meat and finally learned to buy 15% or 20% when I planned to barbecue up some hamburgers on the grill.
Yeah, for something like hamburgers, I would definitely leave the fat in. For stews, I’ll often trim out the more gigantic portions of fat that are pretty common in chuck, but for your purpose, you want about 20% fat in your final grind to make juicy burgers. Some folks go as high as 30% fat. If you cook your burgers to a lesser degree of doneness (say medium rare or rare), you can get away with less fatty cuts more easily. So, if you really are watching your caloric intake, you can go ahead and cut the fat; otherwise, I’d leave it in.
As stated above, the key is handling the meat as little as possible. Just handle enough to shape it into loose patties that keep together, salt and pepper them, and grill or fry. Oh, one more tip: some people also like to partially freeze their meat before grinding to firm it up and have an easier time with it going through the grinder.
This is not so much about the grinding of the meat as it is about the cleaning up after.
You’ll want to wash up right away, because it ain’t going to get any easier the longer it sits. First, take everything apart and rinse the pieces very well with COLD water. Hot water can cook the meat and fat onto and into the grinder parts, and there are lots of small spaces there! A bitch to clean. The cold water solidifies the fat that sticks to the pieces, and they break off easily. Then use warm soapy water to wash everything. I used to make sausage at an Italian restaurant and learned that lesson the hard way.
Another thing, keep the pieces together in a tub or container. The pieces tend to get lost in drawers if you’re not careful.
My parents gave us the grinder attachment for our wedding, and it is a handy tool. I keep my eyes open for sales on larger cuts of meat and stock up.
If I’m grinding for meatloaf or meatballs, I’ll often follow the meat with an onion. It adds nice flavor, and helps clean out the contraption.
Funny. I thought you didn’t need, didn’t want, and weren’t going to accept one, even if it just happened to show up in air frieght on your doorstep. 
And I see you found another use for it besides cookies and bread and cinnamon rolls. Next thing you know, you’ll be doing wallpaper paste with it. 
HEHEHEHEHEEE I’m laughing too. I remember when I did this, and then a week later you were on the Dope going “I think my grinder is busted… all I get is mush.” :smack:
You know, a funny thing happened. These KitchenAid guys pulled up in a big color-coordinated van with all the accessories and they actually twisted my arm and made me put a KitchenAid on my countertop. Actually, they didn’t twist my arm personally, they used the KitchenAid 2000 Twisterizer™ arm-twister attachment. I may have to get one of those.
I ground some taco meat last night, using about 50% beef top round and 50% pork top loin. It turned out very lean, very tasty (I toasted the cumin seeds first), and very hot (1 serrano pepper).
Also note that the blade is directional, the sharp part goes up against the plate. Reverse it, and you get mush.
Me, I just get whatever is on sale. If it’s really fatty, I’ll trim, otherwise the fat goes right in. If you’re looking for the best burger ever, I’d start with Alton Brown’s mix of 50/50 chuck and sirloin, then play around.