Ground Meat

We haven't boughten ground beef in about a year. We do get ground buffalo on occasion but because buff is handled and processed differently from beef (or so I've been led to understand) buff is considerably safer in its ground form. Ground beef, on the other hand, is a scary amalgamation of bits and pieces from many different animals, frequently including parts of the spinal column, where mad cow disease lurks. About this time last year, Ranger Daddy came home and made me promise we wouldn't buy anymore ground beef because overnight at work he'd heard a program about what is in ground beef. He's had a few restaurant burgers since then and the occasional bison burger but he really hasn't had his beloved burgers in a year. Until yesterday. Yesterday, we did what foodies all over the country have already done: We bought a meat grinder. Now in our case, we didn't buy an overpriced brand new one because the design of hand cranked meat grinders is virtually unchanged from a hundred years ago. We bought a 1890's model from an antique shop for $10. :=D Unlike some we've seen, this one is completely rust free and the mechanism works perfectly. We know because we tested it out on a couple pounds of just purchased beef shoulder after Yeled went to bed last night. I have freshly ground, burger shapes in the freezer now. You know, fresh ground meat somehow smells better than its pre-packaged counterparts.