Buying burger patties is easy, and they taste great, but there is nothing like grinding a specific cut of meat and making your own hamburger patties. You get to tailor-make the Patty to what you like, and if you are trying to impress friends and family at a barbecue, here are the best cuts of meat for grinding hamburgers.
Sirloin provides an outstanding balance between lean and juicy when making burgers. On the other hand, chuck gives off great flavors while also being rich and juicy, thanks to the marbling in the meat. Brisket is also a favorite, but you need to grind it twice to break down the connective tissue.
Firstly, I want to discuss, in detail, why I chose those three cuts of meat as the best for making hamburgers. However, for people looking for something lean, I want to talk about the best types of meat to make lean hamburger patties. So, keep on reading for everything you should know about the best cuts of meat.
3 Of The Best Cuts Of Beef For Hamburgers And Why
Even though I might make some of these selections sound better than others, it is essential to remember that all three of these cuts of beef are excellent choices. With that said, here are my three favorite cuts of meat to grind for hamburgers.
Sirloin Steak For Hamburgers
In my experience, sirloin makes for the best burgers. It has a great balance between being flavorful and juicy while not overly rich. Sirloin steak typically has a long piece of fat on the outside of the meat with the correct amount of marbling in the meat.
So, when grinding your sirloin for burgers, you can choose how much fat you want to grind with the meat once you have trimmed the top.
The problem with sirloin is that it is not the most budget-friendly option.
If you plan to make lots of burgers for a party, I would advise against using sirloin; however, sirloin is perfect for a small to medium-sized family.
Grinding Sirloin for Hamburgers: Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Lots of flavor | Not the most budget-friendly option |
| Well balanced | Trimming the fat takes some time |
| Choose how rich you want the meat to be | |
| Juicy | |
| Great for small to medium-sized families |
Chuck For Hamburgers
The most widely used cut of meat when grinding burgers is chuck steak. It comes with a wealth of benefits, such as being one of the more budget-friendly options. Also, chuck has a lot of intramuscular fat, also known as marbling, perfect for hamburgers!
The fat makes chuck steak one of the juiciest cuts of meat for grinding burgers. When ground with the rest of the meat, the marbling makes the burgers juicy. Also, the burger is not tough because the intramuscular fat becomes disconnected from the rest of the meat when you grind it.
Instead, the fat melts into the meat and creates juices. Remember, the quality of the cut determines how much marbling there will be.
Too much marbling can make this cut overly rich that is why most people tend to go for choice grade chuck steak, as it doesn’t have too much fat.
Grinding Chuck: Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Widely available | You cannot remove the marbling |
| Also well, balanced | Some find it to be rich |
| Juicy | |
| Requires very little preparation |
Brisket For Hamburgers
Brisket can be similar to Chuck; however, one significant difference is that it has connective tissue instead of having soft intramuscular fat. Remember, cuts from the shoulders and other joints will have connective tissue. Unfortunately, many people confuse connective tissue with marbling. So let’s talk about that.
Marbling or intramuscular fat runs through most cuts of meat. It is soft, and while the meat is cooking, it typically melts into the meat, making it juicy and providing flavor.
Connective tissue is found in cuts of meat close to particular joints. It is tough, and while it can melt into the meat, this typically takes longer and is not as flavorful.
Brisket takes the most time to prepare because many people try and cut the meat in a certain way that allows them to remove some of the connective tissue before putting the meat into a grinder. With all of that said, brisket is still one of the best cuts of meat for making burgers.
Grinding Brisket For Hamburgers: Pros And Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Widely available | Can be tough |
| Budget-friendly | Preparation can be tricky |
| Easy to grind | Not the healthiest cut |
| Has a very traditional beef taste |
Best Cut Of Meat For Grinding Lean Hamburgers
The best cut of beef for lean beef burgers is sirloin. You can choose the amount of fat to add to the grinder while grinding the sirloin. However, beef is not the only type of meat that you can use to make burgers. so here are a few types of meat that are perfect for hamburgers:
- Turkey (The breast is the leanest part of the turkey.)
- Chicken (Chicken fillets need some trimming, but the breast is the leanest part)
- Game meat (Elk, for example)
If you want something as close to beef as possible while being lean, game is your best option. Many people choose bison or elk. It is typically the same concept as beef regarding which cut is the best.
You can buy lean Turkey mince for Turkey burgers, but if you want to make them yourself, try and get some Turkey breasts and grind them up. With chicken, most people don’t grind the chicken. Instead, you can just use the breast or fillet as the Patty.
How To Choose A great Cut Of Meat For Hamburgers
When choosing any cut of meat for any occasion, you need to know the difference between the three types of cuts. Each cut will be labeled according to what they are, and if they are not, you can ask the butcher where you are buying the meat, and they will always be happy to help.
The cuts are:
- Prime cut
- Choice cut
- Select
For most occasions, you want to look for prime-cut beef. It has a more intricate marbling pattern and comes from better cows.
However, for beef burgers, you want to look for choice cut meat.
Remember, you don’t want too much marbling in the meat. But, at the same time, you might not get as much flavor out of select cuts. So, a choice cut provides a great balance.
Final Thoughts
How you decide to make the patties will also determine how great they taste. You can opt to make thick, juicy burgers, or you can opt to go for some spicy burgers.
Whichever you choose, I hope that this article gives you a better idea of what cut of meat you should be looking for.
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