Homemade Ground Pork
Making homemade ground pork is an easy process to always have ground pork at home whenever you crave fresh meatballs. This simple tutorial will show you how simple it is buying, grinding and storing ground pork meat at home for many future dishes.
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Ground Pork Recipe:
Let me start by saying that I have never purchased ground meat from the store, whether it’s pork, beef or chicken. Many people think why go through all that trouble when you can buy ready ground pork. Here’s why: when I work with meats, I like to know how clean of meat I’m eating, making sure there are no blood vessels or any unnecessary little things were included in my ground meat. I am very picky when it comes to meat! 😀
Also, when you prepare it yourself, you’ve got the solid meat and a bit of fat, which makes cooking flavorful and not dry. The best way to satisfy my expectations is to buy meat myself, grind and store by freezing. You can even use this ground pork to make homemade sausages.
Why I Make Homemade Ground Pork:
Here’s what I do…every time or whenever I need ground pork, I look for a sale on natural pork; it must be natural and not regular (taste is different). I purchase 5-10 packs and each pack is about 3-5 lbs. I prepare it, grind it, set aside good amount of ground pork to cook meatballs in the oven same day and freeze them to enjoy later, weigh out remaining ground pork to my desired amount (depends on the recipes I usually make), place in ziploc bags, flatten a bit and freeze.
Every time I need ground pork, I take it out into the sink before bed and use it in the morning, just don’t let it sit for whole day in the sink – refrigerate once thawed if you cannot use it ‘now’. My husband prefers fried/fresh meatballs over frozen, so a lot of times we thaw a bag of ground meat, mix in required ingredients and fry on a skillet. Sounds like dinner 😀 , but for us it can be breakfast, lunch or dinner! When you have meatballs at home, fresh or frozen, you always have something to eat!
You can follow the same process to make ground beef and ground chicken. You’re going to need an electric meat grinder. (I’ve been using this pork grinder since 2013; my mom and sisters have the exact same one. Wouldn’t recommend it unless I really loved it 🙂 ).
Ground Pork Ingredients:
- natural pork meat
- cold water
How Do You Grind Pork at Home?
1. Cut pork meat into 1.5-2” pieces, disposing any blood vessels or little unnecessary things and place pieces into large sieve. Optional, but I like to rinse meat pieces in cold water to wash off any blood etc. Leave in sink for any excess water to come out from sieve for 5-10 minutes until you’re ready for the next batch. Line paper towel with a cloth towel or cutting board. Transfer washed meat onto the paper towel, and with a second piece of paper towel, pat dry any excess water.
2. Grind cut meat pieces, and weigh out ground meat into plastic freezer bags. (For example, I do 2.5 lb for oven meatballs, 1.5 lb for fried meatballs, 8 oz for meatball soup, etc. )
Freezing Ground Pork:
3. Press bagged ground meat down to about 1” thick so it thaws faster when you need it. Refrigerate any ground meat you’re going to use same or next day and freeze the rest. (Avoid storing ground pork meat in the refrigerator for more than 2 days).
Common Questions
Is it cheaper to grind your own meat?
Grinding meat at home is not necessarily cheaper, but the flavor is a whole lot better and you have more control over grind size and quality.
Is it worth getting a meat grinder?
Our meat grinder is not only used to grind meat, but we also use to make cookies and use for other needs. Maverick meat grinder comes with several attachments that are very handy. It is definitely worth it getting a meat grinder, in my opinion.
Can you clean a meat grinder in the dishwasher?
We recommend checking the manufacturer’s care instructions. When in doubt, hand wash with hot soapy water.
More How-To Recipes:
- Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs (Every Time) – perfect every time
- How to Cook Buckwheat – a healthy breakfast, side dish or dinner and so easy
- Homemade Farmer’s Cheese (tvorog) – easy cheese in under 1 hour
Buying, Grinding and Storing Ground Pork Meat
Ingredients
- natural pork meat
- cold water
Instructions
- Prep: Cut pork meat into 1.5-2” pieces, disposing any blood vessels or little unnecessary things and place pieces into large sieve. (Optional, but I like to rinse cut meat pieces in cold water to wash off any blood etc. Leave in sink for any excess water to come out from sieve for 5-10 minutes until you’re ready for the next batch. Line paper towel with a cloth towel or cutting board. Transfer washed meat onto the paper towel, and with a second piece of paper towel, pat dry any excess water).
- Grind: Grind meat pieces, and weigh out ground meat into plastic freezer bags. (For example, I do 2.5 lb for oven meatballs, 1.5 lb for fried meatballs, 8 oz for meatball soup, etc. )
- Store: Press bagged ground meat down to about 1” thick so it thaws faster when you need it. Refrigerate any ground meat you’re going to use same or next day and freeze the rest. (Avoid storing ground pork in refrigerator for more than 2 days).
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Lyla Hoffman says:
Hi Olga! Just got a grinder (for my birthday!) and will be grinding my own meats from now on, maybe branch out into making some sausages too! Do you ever add any extra pork fat to your meat? I think it’s called leaf fat.
Olga in the Kitchen says:
The pork meat I usually use is (I believe it’s called pork butt), it comes with quite some fat. I grind that as well. However, if you are grinding a meat with not too much fat, I would recommend adding some extra fat. The fat makes meat meals more juicy and tender once they are cooked. Sometimes if I am doing something and have leftover fat that is not needed at that moment, I grind it, freeze it and use it in my meatballs next time.
Chelsey M says:
Thank you for sharing this tutorial. From now on, I will only do my own homemade ground pork. It tastes so much better than what I used to buy from the store. Love your recipes and tutorials.
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Thank you for the wonderful review, Chelsey!
darli says:
what cut of pork do you use?
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Hi! I usually use the pork shoulder. From experience, it has the best results when you cook anything from ground meat, but in general, when you choose meat to grind – you always want it with some fat in it, not just plain meat. The fatty white parts is what makes meatballs or any savory dish tender and juicy. If you choose all meat and barely any fat in it, meatballs (for example) will turn out dry and not as tender.
Cheryl says:
When grinding pork what size holes in the grinding plate are best to use? 5 mm or 7mm?
Olga in the Kitchen says:
I’m using 5 mm plate. You don’t want it too small or too big.
Seth says:
What cut of pork do you recommend for grinding? I see in the photo above you’re using Boston butts– is that the optimal choice?
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Hi Seth! I usually use the pork shoulder. From experience, it has the best results when you cook anything from ground meat, but in general, when you choose meat to grind – you always want it with some fat in it, not just plain meat. The fatty white parts is what makes meatballs or any savory dishe tender and juicy. If you choose all meat and barely any fat in it, meatballs (for example) will turn out dry and not as tender.
Kim says:
Thank you for the visuals and useful information. As I’m having a hard time finding ground pork at this time, this is especially helpful! Can I assume if it doesn’t say enhanced that the pork is natural or is it regular? While I can find pork shoulder in my local grocery store, it doesn’t say natural or regular.
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Hi Kim, it doesn’t matter – all depends on your preference or at this time, whatever available on hand. This exact same process I use for chicken and beef as well.
Galya says:
Thank you for the tips. This is so useful. I make meatballs a lot and with your method it works out just perfect.
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Thank you Galya! I’m so happy this post turned out to be very useful for you 🙂
Kseniya says:
Thank you Olga for the tip :))
Olga in the Kitchen says:
You’re welcome, Kseniya! ?