keith157 wrote:Indeed they do, and I agree they live up to their publicity. As to fat content, you do need some, 10-20% tops I'd say. With your own machine you can control the meat and it's content, I've used well marbled chuck and frying steak for premium burgers in the past.
I avoid anything called 'extra-lean' mince, it has no flavour, fat content is typically 5-8%
I think 20% fat content is a good amount for a burger, but that's 20% including the fat in the meat, not 20% added fat. You could make do with 15%, but I really wouldn't want to go lower than that. If your meat has 15-20% fat content you don't need to add any more.
Just looked up the subject in 'Modernist Cuisine':
"Pieces of meat should be 2-6mm in diameter. Coarseness is a key feature, but enough of a gel must form to stick the components together to avoid separation into grease and grainy meat. The goal is to have just enough of a meat gel to hold the patty together but not so much that it becomes rubbery."
There is a focus on stopping the fat from leaking when cooked.
"Start with high-quality fatty tissue. Be careful what you choose: many fat-containing tissues in meat cannot be added directly because they have too much sinew or other components that make them difficult to eat (skin is a good example)."
"With high-quality fatty tissue as the base, the goal is then to keep the fat cells intact, subjecting them to as little mechanical disruption as possible. Careful grinding technique is key - we don't want to overgrind or allow the mixture to get too hot. The pure fat molecules in pork fat melt at 30-40C, Even if the bulk mixture is much cooler than that, friction can easily raise the surface temperature of the fat cells into this range when they're forced through the grinding plate.
Grinding the fat separately from the meat is also helpful. Chilling the fat helps keep the temperature low even with the heat induced by grinding. Do the grinding in small batches, and cool the grinder between them"
"Meats of different textures or origins should be ground separately. Likewise, remove fat from the meat, and grind it separately after you have finished grinding the meat. To obtain fine grinds, start with a coarse grinding plate, and move to finer plates in stages."
It says meat and fat should be chilled to just below freezing before grinding, so they are firm but not solid, and you should also chill the grinder head (using ice cubes)
Some blends are suggested, with proportions:
rare beef:
100g filet mignon
45g rib eye cap
20% fat, cook to 52C
short rib
pure short rib meat
30% fat, cook to 54C
MC team favourite
100g short-rib
100g rib-eye
25g hangar
25% fat, cook to 56C
steak-house blend
100g chuck
50g sirloin
50g flank
25% fat, cook to 54C
It says to cut 2cm meat cubes prior to grinding, removing any large chunks of fat, and chill to -1C. Use a 4mm grind plate.
Collect the ground meat in a cylindrical mould cut in half, and lined with cling film, and then do the same with the other half of the mould, then press the two halves together to form a cylinder, and slice to your desired thickness.
Do not salt prior to cooking, as this extracts myosin protein, which makes a rubbery gel; do not add egg, starches (bread) or protein-containing liquids such as milk.