Science: For the Best Burgers, Don't Buy Ground Beef-See Why It's Best to Grind Meat Yourself! 

They should add one minute to the video, explain which cuts of beef and/or trimmings equals a Million dollar burger taste.

Which cuts of beef did you use and how did you grind it?

In the end... you should have cows at home for even better quality control.

My family is mad at me for making hamburgers. I followed the instructions... down to the Pot :(

Home ground burgers are so superior it's not even comparable. Even a well-done home ground burger is so tender you'll think it's undercooked. Just amazing!

My grandmother must have known something about this. Instead of buying hamburger, she would choose steak or a roast and then ask the butcher to grind it for her. And sometimes she would ask him to add some suet to it. Must admit, I thought at the time she was nuts to not just buy hamburger. 😒

This was very helpful. I asked Google why "overworked" ground meat is said to become tougher. This wasn't the top result, but it was the first one that actually explained it instead of just repeating the rule. Thanks!

i work in a warehouse meat department. all the steaks that turn brown before they get sold goes in the trim bucket. this is common practice in the meat packing industry. its actually kind of disgusting.

Bravo, I'm glad that you pointed this out to people, perhaps more folks will start grinding their own burgers from now on! 😁 You've scored me as a new subscriber for your factual content & informative nature! In fact I'm going to view all your other vids now, somehow I have the feeling that you're going to be my new "Go to guy" for kitchen and cooking tips! Keep up the fine work! 😁

This sounds strange when I was11 my parents bought me a kids cookbook by betty Crocker it had burger recipe with some evaporated milk in it it was moist and tasted great.

I grind chuck all the time to make burgers. I put 250 grams in my Weston burger press for uniform thickness. I used to buy 80/20 from the store but will never go back to store bought.

The taste of home ground is more like what I remember growing up on a farm. Delicious.

This is completely true. I made home-ground burgers once... and now no-one in the family considers that there is ANY other way to do it. The best bit is that because it's fresh cuts of meat you can grind with chosen seasonings and have them medium rare, or however you want it. I would never make a burger out of store-bought mince nowdays. You can also really taste the beef flavour.

YES 100%. I made the homemade burgers with the suggested cuts from another episode. It was expensive but incredible!

I use USDA Choice 2/3 chuck roast and 1/3 USDA Choice beef short ribs for my hamburger grind. I remove all the hard fat and gristle. The burgers hold together very well in the in the pan or on the grill and are in every way superior to every grade of hamburger sold in the grocery store. Also, since it's not the grocery store pink slime, you don't need to cook your burgers well done.

I gave this video a "Like", but frankly I'm a little disappointed that they didn't go more in depth. When I grind my own hamburger at home the texture is crumbly, but so much so that when I form a patty it just falls apart! I was hoping they would address this and show how to make the meat stay together!

I tried this method last night (minus the pot) and they turned out beautifully. I'm never making ground beef hamburgers ever again!

the other issue is that the surface of the raw beef is not sterile so grinding it and then leaving it leads to higher bacterial load compared with grinding at the point of cooking. important if you prefer your burger less well done. interesting and informative videos btw thanks :)

I don't know why all these people are saying the home ground is inferior to store bought. Going to try for myself! They must not be doing something right.

Two of my favorite things in one video. Hamburger + Messy Destructive Science Experiments = joy! Science is delicious fun.

I like the idea of grinding my own. I like rarer hamburgers and I can also mix in flavors like onions, thyme, oregano, ginger, seaweed, or so much more. Garlic would burn and be bitter on a hot griddle cooked burger but great on a souis vide. You can also add things like butter, nut oils, cream, bread crumbs or your favorite cereal. The more I think about grinding my own the more I like it. Thanks for this.

What he did to that burger just hurt my heart.

I agree. I always used to get tough and rubbery burgers whenever I used store brought meat. I will at some point get a mincer and start making my own burgers from fresh chuck since I'm not really a fan of store brought burgers.

What cuts did you use? What blade did you use in food processor? How long was it in the freezer? Why did you cook your patties from frozen?

Where I live it would cost 5 to 7 dollars a patty. The ground beef from the store averages about a dollar a patty. I would only ground my own if it was just me and my wife. If I have a bunch of friends or kids over, they're getting the cheap stuff.

I'd still eat the splattered burger, scrape it off the board with my hands and put it right in my face

I was checking ground meat labels the other day and was appalled at how much crap they put in it - dextrose, corn starch, etc. There are less and less traditional markets where you ask the butcher to grind the meat for you. I eat keto and want to start cooking some recipes that call for ground meat - lasagna, burgers, etc. I’m considering getting the meat grinder attachment for my Kitchenaid stand mixer

The real question I have is, if you grind your own meat fresh the day of a barbecue, would the burgers be tight enough to actually grill? Or is the only option pan frying so that you dont have burgers that slightly stick to the grill and completely fall apart when flipping?

Anybody else like me who would prefer the texture of the store bought beef Pattie? I am not implying it would taste better , but I hate crumbly beef and prefer a solid bite.

I never knew that I was supposed to smash my burgers with a pot. Can I use something else: Like a shovel or a toilet seat cover?

I always food process mushrooms and saute with Worcestershire til most of the moisture is gone. Cool it down and mix with the ground meat. Makes insanely tender, juicy burgers and my kids have no idea that there's mushrooms in the Patty.

How much was the cost comparison between the meat you bought and grind and the store ground meat

I'm not really buying this... The smash burger looks good, but how did the "store bought" bounce back up? Was there some yeast added to it that they didn't show?

I think how much it splatters is really irrelevant beyond the basic point of the texture of the burger. A lot of you are obsessed with that one factor. If making your own tastes better, that should be the most important factor.

It's the difference in grind too. Store grind is different. I mean if it's ground chuck, it's ground chuck. Don't really see how it makes that big a difference. Idk maybe most stores are shitty. But Publix has really high quality meat.

My favorite is when we would grind our meat using the kitchen aid attachment and bbq them on a charcoal grill.... Ahhh perfection!

I don't "grind" meat, I mince it. I don't "broil" hamburgers, I grill them.

FYI, you can ask your butcher in any decent (not Wal-Mart) butcher shop to grind any cut of meat for you to any desired texture.

Pure genius.. The "Smashburger"! Why didn't I think of that? I have a feeling that "Smashburgers" could put "Five Guys" out of business...

The finess of grind, temperature and sitting time govern how much of the sticky protein is released and how long is allowed to work. If you use a hopper/crank type meat grinder, the results will be significantly different than if you grind meat using a food processor. if you grind coarsely, the meat will fly apart in that drop test but be VERY hard to chew. A better test is to pan fry the ground beef for use in a pasta tomato meat sauce and measure the particle size distribution.

1:58 now THAT'S smashburger.

Totally dodged the whole topic of ‘controlling fat’ and adding the right type and quantity of fat

Or you can go to a butcher, select the roast or steaks you want ground and take them home to cook. Full control, freshly ground and I don't have to clean the grinder.

my local butcher grounds the meat I buy right in front of me. I know exactly what is in it too.

To answer the question "what can we learn from this? " Keep your dutch oven away from your burgers.

what is the fat content of the store boght to fresh ground ? that would also play a role in the end result.

Used to use press . Now get organic ground chuck at butcher's. Lightly packed. I gently pull apart,add burger seasoning and gently make burger. Waaaaaaaaay better than pressing them

Damn it!! No wonder I can't make good burgers, I'm not smashing them with a dutch oven after cooking.

Any professional butcher will tell you, you have to grind burger meat at least twice for the patty to hold together and have proper fat distribution throughout

I used to grind my own meat, but thankfully these days I have a girlfriend.

Yes, you can grill or pan fry but there are two more options. Grind the meat on a large setting (plain or "gourmet" with onion, roasted peppers, herbs, etc into the grinder) . Shape immediately and place in fridge. Grill using a plancha (heavy cooking pan as used in Spain) or a pan with holes. This last option is the best of all worlds - the burger stays together but is touched by flames.

Could the difference also come from the fact that it is not ground in a grinder but chopped by a food processor.

Guys, even though he has some good points, I have better suggestions for a really, tasty, mouth watering burger. First off, You should grind your own meat at home. Use fatty cuts of beef, and try to have the meat at least of a ratio of 80% lean and 20% fat. Fat is what gives meat their flavor. When cooked, the fat in the meat melts and gives meat a nice juicy flavor. My personal favorite and recommendation to grind meat with is Chuck steak. When grinding meat, you can either use a blender (try putting in small portions of chopped up meat one at a time to prevent clogging), food processor, or just a regular meat grinder that you can probably find for cheap on Amazon. After you get your grind up meat, you can just form the patty circle with your hands, or you can use a hamburger mold, and you can make them as thick at you like (I usually make them 1/3-1/2 inch thick) Second off, seasoning. Seasoning on your burgers is very important. Using the right umami (savory) seasonings for your burger can make a huge difference in the taste and flavor at the end. Binging with Babish's burger seasoning is a good way to give your burgers a salty flavor, and you can experiment from there. My personal blend includes salt, pepper, msg, bonito flake, dried shiitake mushrooms, dried konbu, a single dried anchovy (5 of these courtesy of Babish), garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika (use smoked if you would like a smoky flavor going on in your patty). If you do decide to use my seasoning blend, I suggest seasoning the patty while its cooking, since the salt will slightly lose its flavor if you season the patty beforehand, and to only season one side, since this seasoning blend packs itself a punch already. Also I should strongly emphatically tell you, do not add ingredients in your burger meat, and do not season it before you form the patty . You aren't making meatloaf, your making burgers, and you want the texture of a good burger. Trust me, your taste buds will thank you later. Thirdly, I suggest pan frying your patties (I suggest a cast iron) instead of grilling them, since the juices in a burger is what contributes to a patties flavor, and while grilling a patty may give a burger a smoky texture, the juices will fall in the fire, and end up not giving a patty the flavors it righteously deserves. Also, I suggest toasting your buns in extra virgin olive oil in medium to medium high heat to not only give you an extra oomph to your burger, but also to not be soggy as much if too much of the juices are absorbed by the buns (I suggest getting thick slices). Cook your patties in medium to medium high heat until you see some cooked meat forming on the bottom. Flip it, put a slice of American Cheese on top, put 2 teaspoons of water into the pan and cover the pan until the cheese has melted. Put the patty on the toasted buns and set aside. Put any toppings you desire on your patty, I usually put shredded iceberg lettuce on the bottom bun, then caramelized onions, ketchup, and sometimes a slice of a microwaved tomato seasoned with salt and rubbed with olive oil. Enjoy your burgers guys! Your mouth will thank you for it!

shouldn't you thoroughly cook your burgers? since ground beef has more surface areas and crevices germs can get into unlike steak cuts which is ok if you sear the surface only. Also stores sometimes forget to clean their meat grinders daily.

Guy is trying to sell you a grinder, indirectly.

Burgers, meatloaf, meatballs, any dish that calls for ground beef, ground pork, is so much better, a thousand times better when you grind the meat yourself.

I've made my own ground beef for years, particularly when there is a chuck roast reduced for quick sale. Home ground beef is very crumbly and quite inferior to store ground for use in patties. It falls apart very easily and is nearly impossible to grill outside as it will crumble through the grates into the fire. Home ground beef is excellent for addition to spaghetti sauce, chili, stuffed peppers and other recipes where the beef doesn't need to hold itself into a patty. In the two test patties, the store ground burger would have a satisfying chew while the home ground crumbles as soon as you bite, giving the experience of a mouth full of pre-chewed burger.

Even if you buy it from the store, NEVER buy the tube kind in the sleeve like packing,, it is tough and chewy as hell.

When I was younger I used to grind my own beef but it actually has nothing to do with literally grinding my own beef🥴😉

I want a very lean burger to gain back 20 lbs of muscle I lost due to a back injury. Should I go with flank or sirloin? It’s okay if the burger isn’t as tasty as a fattier cut burger. I don’t want to develop fatty liver disease again either

Store-bought can be tender if you don't overwork it when making the patties. Helps if its the high fat type too.

So in what circumstances would you want the more dense patty? When you use butter lettuce? Pretzel buns? Or other ingredients with a more tough bite to them than "traditional" ones? Or is the more crumbly meat always ideal?

Not only is everything he said true, he failed to mention fast food burgers are made from fragments of up to a thousand cows. In an era of "Mad Cow" and the like, that's a worry. If you grind your burger from Chuck, not only are you getting the best flavor, you are using meat from one or two cows with full fat/lean control.

It's not just the cut of beef, it's that store-bought is not trimmed or ground properly, and is full of rubbery pieces, etc. Do your own and grind it finely.

You made no comment on the grinder you recommend. There's the cast iron, tin coated one Amazon sells for about $33, and there's a stainless steel model for sale for around $80. Can the stainless be worth more than twice the cost of the iron-tin model?

Thank you so much for this post. I learned a lot.

I was skeptical until I saw the pot smash the burger.. that just looked so delicious.. they should just smash all food in commercials...

If the hamburger is compressed the same .. you'll have the same results. Hamburger is about the fat as much as the meat, 15%-20%. If you want something specific or special then ask your butcher.

i dont know, am i the only one how even mashes the store bought ground meat a bit to get even tighter and therefore thinner burgers? I realy cannot accept ground meat without any concistency falling apart while eating the burger, neither do i like 5 cm thick buger patties ....

Thanks Dan, always a teaching moment. 2012 - you look like you are in high school

When you buy ground beef at a store it could be from 5-8 cows. Chicken, turkey loafs maybe 50 different ones.

Did they play the "Stuff You Should Know" podcast theme song when he was squashing burgers?

This channel has help me out a lot no joke

Or also have a trusty butcher willing to grind in front of you the cut you choose to grind.

I want to know what ingredients/meats are in the original from the 50's hamburger meat. You can't find good hamburger any more

So, what cut of meat do you recommend for best burgers?

A lot of top burger places just follow the methods mentioned and let the beef speak for itself. The way it should be. Start with a single or combo of whole cuts of your preference, grind it coarsely, gently shape it into patties, and never freeze it. After that, it's just a matter of seasoning the outside well, searing/cooking it to the preferred doneness, and assembling.

Okay, I am sold on grinding it at home. So, the next question I have is; What cut and what method?

Well the burgers were not there same shape, or thickness. The store bought was rounder, thicker, and packed tighter than the fresh ground. Not saying that made all the difference, just that they were formed differently, and honestly I would happy grind my own beef any day over store bought. Just saying more than likely since the store bought one was thicker and packed tighter, and they also more than likely weren't cooked the same on the inside. That could had attributed to some of the difference in there extremely scientific demonstration.

Ever try regrinding your ground beef? Especially if you are making a sauce with it. It will crumble better and not give you big chunks. Also you can grind in bacon for a great bacon cheeseburger

I like your channel a lot and there is much to learn from your videos, with this one i don't agree though. First of all your homemade burgers would crumble by biting the Hamburger instead of the burger made from the sticky Proteined ground beef. and i don't think that is what i would like to have from a burger. second, You made your homemade burger by cutting instead of grinding. and therefore it didn't experience that much of mechanical force. which lead us to less activated proteins. the colder the meat, fewer salt and less mechanical force the more crumblelike the grounded beef will be. greetings from the german butcher

That’s crazy! I always drop a cast iron pot on every burger before we present it. I thought I was a trend setter. 😢

Grinding you own beef is the way to go. I use an attatchment on my kitchen aid. Try a sausage recipe! The first thing you will discover is that any sausage has between 30 and 50% fat 😣. When you look at that much fat next to lean meat you say to yourself i dont want to ingest that!!!! you look at ground meat differently after that. Trust me you will want to know whats in your meat. And dont get me started on pink slime!!!!

Grinding your meat in a food processor is better than store bought; however, if you're not careful, you end up with pureed beef, aka pink slime. A food processor requires a gentle touch. Better is to use a bench grinder or electric grinder with an 8 mm die. Pass it thru twice and it's done. The main advantage to doing it yourself is that you can choose the cut as the chef says plus you know what went thru the grinding process before. Some supermarkets aren't too fastidious about cleaning their machines between grinding operations so there's a risk of poultry or pork contaminating your beef. I suppose it doesn't really matter if you cook your burger medium to well done; however, we like ours just seared and bleeding. For that I use sirloin tips which has the best balance between fat and lean. Also, I prefer to process the tips with a sharp cleaver resulting in chopped beef rather than ground. That process aerates the meat, deepens the color, and actually sweetens it a bit. Takes me about 15 minutes to chop enough beef for 2 quarter pounders. Chopping by hand also allows you better control of the final grain.

Dan, Juan here , what should be the internal temp, so the burger its not dry, and yet safe to eat. , I hope you answer, thanks .

So THATS what happened to my friend Chuck! RIP ol' buddy.

What food processor/blender would you recommend for this task?

What cut do you suggest for burgers please

1:57 now presenting: litteral smash burgers

I don't understand the obsessive fear against making "Tough burgers". I consider some springiness a good thing. Far better than a mushy, disintegrating burger. Are there people(with teeth) who enjoy mushy, disintegrating burgers? The only burgers I would judge as being somewhat on the tough side is McDonalds, BK, Wendy's and other wildly popular franchises. They've sold billions of "tough burgers" and people can't get enough. The newest trend is to even SMASH the burgers!(So much for worrying about making tough burgers).

You know there's a store called "the butcher" where you can get your beef ground anyway you like right?

All i learned was, that home ground beef falls apart and will be a pain in the butt to handle on my burger. The should have showen how to prepare ground meat to not fall apart.

When you grind your own meat at home, how long can you keep it in the freezer? What is the best packaging for freezing?

Aww, look at baby faced Dan!

I feel blessed to see this before it airs

The SPLAT test. lmao

Yesh, but should one tenderize the meat with a hammar before grinding? And with what kitchen implement does one grind the chosen meats? And hou about combinding ground meats from different sources, like beef, pork, venison, buffalo? There's so much to the mystery of bettar burgers.

Ok, I'm confused, why what does having a burger that splatters everywhere prove? I don't like it when food is falling apart, it usually falls out of the bun then so what is the advantage here?

That's what you call Smash Burgers!🤣🤣🤣😆

I love filet mignon burgers! Mmmm