alan wrote:
> I never ground meat for hamburgers. I have a Kitchen aid mixer with
> the grinder and pasta extruder attachment. I think I can figure out
> how to use it, I have made pasta with it, but what I don't know
> anything about is what to buy.
Alan, I'm sure Sheldon won't mind me sharing his advice to me when I
first became GrinderGirl:
Hi,
I don't mind helping people. When just starting out with meat grinding
it's best to begin on a small scale until you familiarize yourself.
You will quickly feel comfortable and will expand on your own....

The one main thing to keep in mind is that grinding meat is not a way
to save money... do not get caught up in thinking to look for the
cheapest cuts, instead look for the best cuts you can afford... there
is no reason not to grind expensive steaks to make burgers, they'll be
the best burgers you have had, and in fact will be better than the
steaks had you not ground them and you'll come to prefer your steaks
ground.

But the most important thing is to follow the rules of food safety,
work clean, quick, and cold... everything that comes into contact with
the meat should be refrigerated, all bowls, the cutting board, and most
importantly the grinder itself. If you live in a warm climate do your
grinding during the early morning before the heat of the day.

One of the easiest beef cuts to start out with is top round, it's
readily available, reasonably priced, and makes excellent burgers and
meat loaf.

You can expand to grind all kinds of meats, including pork, chicken,
fish, most anything.

The thing is to just dive in.

Enjoy.

Sheldon