Making Burger what went wrong?

[Gulf of America]

When you put the ground meat in the freezer between grinding and packaging, are you covering it? I wonder if it’s getting freezer burnt at the -10 with all the surface area induced from grinding.

This is 91/9 elk burger that’s been in the freezer since 2022. I don’t do anything special to refreeze meat throughout the process - the meat was semi frozen through the grinder for the first grind and was still painfully cold to mix at the end of the multiple grinds and staging.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

When you put the ground meat in the freezer between grinding and packaging, are you covering it? I wonder if it’s getting freezer burnt at the -10 with all the surface area induced from grinding.

This is 91/9 elk burger that’s been in the freezer since 2022. I don’t do anything special to refreeze meat throughout the process - the meat was semi frozen through the grinder for the first grind and was still painfully cold to mix at the end of the multiple grinds and staging.
View attachment 398775

2 more years and that'll be a delicacy. Damn I'm hungry

 

[Gulf of America]

2 more years and that'll be a delicacy. Damn I'm hungry

I got a bull and cow that year and wound up with 120+ lb of burger. Haven’t burgered any elk since then and struck out this year, and suddenly we’re down to the last 5 lbs. So 2 more months might be optimistic, let alone 2 years

 

[Northwoods]

You mentioned that the burger is a little mushy looking as well. My guess is your meat kinda got ground to a pulp when it was being forced from the plate with the larger holes through the smaller holes all on one grind. Hopefully you stopped before you ground all of your burger. Does your grinder allow you to use just one plate, or at least two plates with the same sized holes?

 

[grizzly63]

You haven't really explained the two days of initial cooling? Any chance that the meat semi-spoiled due to lack of air movement? Was it all packed together?

 

[huntin24/7]

I’ve been twice grinding through the largest hole grinder plate with 10-15% beef fat for over a decade for all my burger. The meat is pretty much always frozen and thawed twice before eating when all is said and done. I’ve had nothing but excellent results with flavor and consistency. Personally not a fan of burger meat through the small plate.

 

[elkocd]

You haven't really explained the two days of initial cooling? Any chance that the meat semi-spoiled due to lack of air movement? Was it all packed together?

No. Meat was cooled well in a 32ish deg cooler and all the cut meat is great.

 

[Boarmaster]

What's with people double grinding?

I process a bunch of deer every year and elk some years and never double grind anything. Just run it through the grinder once and typically use the plate with +/- 3/16" dia holes which most would call coarse.
Never had a problem or complaint with the burger.

Me either I been grinding once for 40 years. To each his own but I just make sure the meat is semi frozen or very close too it when it goes in the grinder.
I don’t add any additional fat to my basic grind either the last 30 years.
Again to each his own.

If the OPs meat looked the same coming out of the grinder and only changed color after it was packed it would seem to me whatever caused the color change happened after it got put in the freezer not anything to do with the grind or fat.
In my experience the less messing around between hitting the ground and
the meat packed in the freezer the better. I know sometimes the situation can determine things.