How to Grind Meat without a Grinder in just a few minutes? Sounds like a topic that will probably elicit a lot of questions from our readers. Like:
Q: Really? Minutes?
A: You betcha.
Q: Noooo…You must be kidding?
A: Not really!
Q: Wait, why would you want do that in the first place?
A: Let us count the reasons.
First of all, grinding meat without any type of meat grinding device is definitely doable, and I promise to show you exactly how.
But more importantly, there are many reasons to hand-grind meat yourself. In fact, I’ve stopped buying many pre-ground meats from the store, opting instead to do it at home.
Here are a few reasons why.
Why Hand-Chopped Meat is Better Than Store-bought Ground Meat
Reason #1: TASTE
Hand-chopped ground meats taste so much better than machine-ground meats.
While packaged ground meats are readily available and we’ve all gotten used to their texture, some dishes––especially in Asian cooking––are just better using meat that has been finely hand-chopped the old-fashioned way.
If you ask anyone from my parents’ generation, they will tell you that they hand-chop ground meat when making fillings for dumplings, wontons or baozi. Ultimately, the texture will be meaty and flavorful instead of mealy and indistinguishable.
Reason #2: HEALTH
Store-bought ground meats are often ground with scraps and then packaged neatly, so that we ultimately don’t know what’s gone into them.
You also have little control over the cleanliness of the process or the fat content. Ground chicken, for instance, is often made from chicken breast, making it very lean. Likewise, ground pork found in the supermarket is also quite lean.
At the supermarket, I can get different lean meat to fat ratios in ground beef, but not for pork, chicken, lamb, or turkey.
Reason #3: PRACTICALITY
If you cook a lot like we do, how often do you find yourself wishing that you had some ground meat for the dish you want to make at that very moment? My answer is…very often.
Being able to take any piece of pork shoulder or a pack of chicken thighs to transform into ground meat is super convenient, and saves you a trip to the grocery store.
Reason #4: Precision
Not only that, you get to control the coarseness and texture by chopping the meat more or less finely. This can give you greater control over the final results in your dishes.
***
Trust me, you will be as thrilled as we are with this newfound skill. In fact, Sarah is going to be sharing a great homemade breakfast sausage recipe that uses this technique––and we’re very excited about it!
OK, here’s how to grind meat without a grinder—in just minutes. I used a piece of pork shoulder in this example, but this method can be used with boneless beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, etc.
How to Grind Meat without a Grinder
Step 1:
With a sharp knife, slice your piece of meat on 45° angle, only cutting 75% of the way through. Do not cut all the way to the bottom. Make your slices about ¼-inch (0.6 cm) thick.
Step 2:
Flip the piece of meat over and repeat Step 1, slicing at a 45° angle in the opposite direction.
Step 3:
Flip the meat back over, and slice at a 90° angle this time, again 75% of the way through, with a ¼-inch (0.6 cm) between each slice.
Step 4:
Flip the meat over and repeat Step 3.
Step 5:
Now gather the meat into a pile, and using the part of the knife or cleaver closest to the handle, rapidly chop the meat from left to right a couple times.
And that’s it, you’re done! If you want a finer texture, repeat Step 5 until it’s the way you like it. You may need 3 minutes instead of 2. But who’s counting?
Scroll down for the video showing the entire process, as well as the recipe card with printable instructions.
And here are some recipes that you can use this method with!
Recipes Using Ground MEat
Garlic Chive Stir-fry with Pork
Garlic Chive Stir Fry with Pork or Cang Ying Tou (苍蝇头) literally translates to “Flies’ Heads” in Chinese. It’s an excellent stir fry dish to have over rice!
Restaurant-style Sichuan Dry Fried Green Beans
Sichuan Dry Fried String Beans or Gan Bian Si Ji Dou are cooked in China using Sichuan peppercorns with a little heat from the addition of dried chili peppers and ground pork.
Pork Larb, The National Dish of Laos
Pork Larb is a Southeast Asian meat salad from Laos that only takes minutes to make and is delicious!
San Xian Wontons
San Xian Wontons are not your average wontons. The delicious trio of shrimp, pork and chicken filling is incredibly flavorful, and not difficult to make at home!
Spicy Asian Meatballs
These spicy Asian meatballs are not your run-of-the-mill variety. They are delicious, unique, and will redefine your meatball expectations!
Chinese Pickled Long Beans with Pork
Pickled Long Beans with Pork is a favorite stir-fried dish with perfect level of tongue burning chili flavor, crisped bits of ground pork, and vinegary pickled long beans whose flavor is transformed by the effect of the wok’s searing heat.
This post on how to grind meat without a grinder will eliminate the hassle of taking out your meat grinder and washing it for a simple recipe like the ones above!
WATCH: How to Grind Meat Without a Grinder
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Recipe
How to Grind Meat without a Grinder in Minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound Any boneless piece of meat
Instructions
- Step 1: Slice your piece of meat on 45° angle, only cutting 75% of the way through––do not cut all the way to the bottom. Make your slices about ¼-inch (0.6 cm) thick.
- Step 2: Flip the piece of meat over and repeat Step 1, slicing at a 45° angle in the opposite direction.
- Step 3: Flip the meat back over, and slice at a 90° angle this time, again 75% of the way through, with a ¼-inch (0.6 cm) between each slice.
- Step 4: Flip the meat over and repeat Step 3.
- Step 5: Now gather the meat into a pile, and using the part of the knife or cleaver closest to the handle, rapidly chop the meat from left to right a couple times.
