Mincing my own meat - which cuts?

Kevie192

Hi all,

I've just bought a mincer attachment for my trusty kenwood chef so I'm starting to think about what cuts of meat I need to buy for making mince...

Understanding that I can use cheap cuts, I went to the butcher today and bought 2lbs of 'beef cubes' to try out for myself.

I did notice that this was the same price as the braising steak so I can only assume it is just cubed braising steak. Their mince was cheaper than this and the same price as their shin of beef so I'm inclined to think their mince is made from shin...

So, which cuts of meat do you use for making mince? And does anyone know what their butcher or the supermarkets use for their value, standard, lean or extra lean mince? And what about burgers?

We also use lots of minced lamb and pork so which cuts should I use for those?

Many thanks,

Kevin

P.S. I'll let you know how the 'beef cubes' turn out when put in y lasagne!

Pink.

This thread has advice:

DIY Mince Meat

I'll add your thread to that one later to keep the suggestions together.

Pink

Kevie192

Thanks Pink.

I saw that thread but it really doesn't help with minced pork or lamb so doesn't answer my questions.

Thanks for pointing it out though.

anniemf2508

We use pork shoulder for miced pork. Never minced lamb so not sure what cut you would use

niandsa

We have just bought the mincer for our Kenwood Chef too. We made sausages last week and used 2/3rds pork loin and 1/3rd pork belly. They were fab!

This week we are making some beef mince and lamb mince to make lamb meatballs. We will ask our local butcher what to use, explaining that price is important but we don't want anything too fatty!

The sausages last week worked out at £1.80 per pound which was great. I'm hoping that his prices will work out cheaper than the pre packed stuff from the supermarket again.

Samantha22

niandsa wrote: »

We have just bought the mincer for our Kenwood Chef too. We made sausages last week and used 2/3rds pork loin and 1/3rd pork belly. They were fab!

This week we are making some beef mince and lamb mince to make lamb meatballs. We will ask our local butcher what to use, explaining that price is important but we don't want anything too fatty!

The sausages last week worked out at £1.80 per pound which was great. I'm hoping that his prices will work out cheaper than the pre packed stuff from the supermarket again.

I've read your post with interest. I would be very grateful if you could post the recipe for the sausages please. They sound scrumptous x

niandsa

We used a company called Weschenfelder to get the casings, rusk and seasonings. They have a great website and several different types of seasonings to choose from. Each pack is £2 and you use 1/2 to make 10lbs of sausage. The rusk is extremely cheap too.

The recipe is here. We used hog casings and their own Gold Pork seasoning. Hubby said they were the best he has ever tasted and he has eaten a lot of sausage! High praise indeed:D

Happy sausage making:j

anguk

For pork sausage I usually use belly pork and whichever joint is cheapest or reduced! I've never bothered with rusk, I just use breadcrumbs instead.

Sausagemaking.org is brilliant for anything sausagey or curing and their forum is fantastic for recipes and tips.

http://www.sausagemaking.org/

nuatha

Lamb; breast, flank and neck (not scragg) are the usual cuts for making mince.
Pork; shoulder and collar (neck end)
Beef; thin rib, neck, leg, shank and shin are the usual cuts for mince (though the last three may turn up as braising steak) If you buy shin, don't mince it, its easily the best flavoured beef cut but does need long low temperature cooking, ideal for slow or pressure cookers.
HTH

Badrick

I mince a lot of pork shoulder, mainly for sausages and pies.
Check at Mr T's for vacuum packed joints, which are £2.49 a kg when available..
If you are planning to make sausages, you'll also need some pork fat (I get mine from a chinese supermarket) otherwise they'll turn out dry and lack the succulence a good banger should have.

Very tasty and quite simple recipe on Sausagemaker.org
PLAIN SAUSAGE BY WHEELS about halfway down page.
Loads of helpful peeps on their forum. LINKY

The butcher's throw alot of the trimmings into their mince and the cheaper mince will get more of the fat and connective tissue added than the lean.

Picasso7

The only time I tried mincing raw pork it wasn't quick and easy because the white stringy bits kept getting stuck in the mincer and I had to dismantle it and pull them out. This was using a Kenwood Chef 701A. Am I doing something wrong or is this normal? I have to say that the resulting meatballs were truly wonderful!