beefequipmenthamburgers
I recently bought the grinder attachment for my Kitchen-Aid mixer. I tried grinding some chuck steaks but it was tedious as I constantly had to clear out stringy tendon/gristle pieces (not sure of the exact term, sorry). They did taste decent however. Next I tried some top round. It ground easily but seemed to have less flavor.
What are the preferred beef cuts for grinding tasty burgers?
There's no such thing as "cut proof", so you should still try to be careful. I use a Microplane glove with my mandolin, and it's worked out quite well so far. Cook's Illustrated also recommends this glove.
The meat for rouladen is cut from the upper part of the hind legs of the cow, or Oberschale.
You definitely don't pound rouladen; pounded meat tends to re-contract somewhat under heat, and this unacceptable in this case. I don't know how to cut it that way at home. In Germany, the butcher sells the meat pre-cut to the correct size. I guess that he "peels" it from the cut with a sharp knife. As far as I remember, it isn't cut across the grain like steaks. And it has to be very thin, from memory I would say that 1/7 inch thickness is normal. On this site, you can see some close-ups of the raw meat, maybe the butcher can recognize how to cut it from that. (Don't worry about the text, the recipe is far from traditional. I only gave it as a good illustration of the raw cuts).
Also, rouladen are supposed to be tender. If possible, get veal. If not, young bull's meat is better than the normal beef used for steaks.
Best Answer
For burgers I buy 2-3 different cuts - usually some sirloin and the end of a tenderloin (fattier and cheaper) and whatever else looks good. Slice thinly and stick in the freezer for 20 mins or so before you start grinding. I then mix in some finely minced onion and garlic, salt, pepper and a little Worcestershire sauce (all optional and to taste) before grilling.