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How to grind meat at home: tips and meat blends

Learn how to grind meat with a grinder, blender, or two knives, plus tips on trimming, combining meats, and keeping meat patties juicy.

Translated from Slovak · October 25, 2026 · 2 min read

In shortGood-quality ground meat is the foundation of meat patties, stuffed cabbage rolls, pelmeni (meat-filled dumplings), and savory pies, so it is worth knowing how to prepare it properly at home.

You can grind meat in a meat grinder, process it in a blender, or chop it with two sharp, fairly heavy knives. Always remove veins, membranes, bones, and cartilage before processing.

Chopping meat with knives does not crush it, so it retains more of its juices. Place a kitchen towel under the cutting board to keep it from slipping.

Ways to prepare ground meat

Prepare ground meat in one of three ways:

Grind it in a meat grinder.
Process it in a blender.
Chop it finely with two sharp knives.

Before grinding, remove all veins, membranes, bones, and cartilage from the meat. Meat chopped with knives stays juicier because it is not crushed as it is in a grinder, keeping the juices inside. A blender works similarly to a grinder, but more gently.

You can chop meat with one knife, but two make the job faster. Use sharp knives with some weight to them; chef’s knives work well. Use a heavy, sturdy cutting board, and place a kitchen towel underneath it for added stability.

Combining several types of meat is often recommended because they complement one another in flavor and juiciness. Mix chicken breast, turkey, or lean beef with moderately fatty pork for ground meat that is slightly fattier and juicy. Less common combinations are also worth trying.

Meat pairings

Reliable meat combinations include:

Beef and veal.
Beef and chicken.
Veal and chicken.
Pork and turkey.
Pork and rabbit.

What can you add besides meat?

You can add the following to ground meat:

Oil.
White bread soaked in milk.
Bacon.
Shredded cheese.
Raw vegetables, such as potatoes, pumpkin, or zucchini.
Apples.
Grains, such as rice or bulgur.
Tomato juice.

Add apple to brighten the flavor of ground beef or veal; 1 apple is enough for 600 g of meat. White bread helps meat patties hold their shape and gives them a milder flavor. Soak it in boiling water, milk, or cream. You can cut off the crust and run it through the meat grinder.

If a ground chicken dish is too dry, add tomato juice, using 50 ml per 500 g of meat. Add a little lemon juice to give a ground fish mixture a fresh aroma. Potatoes, beets, carrots, and juicy zucchini also go well with ground meat; grate them finely before adding.

Spices

Different spices suit different types of meat:

Beef: black pepper and nutmeg.
Veal: cumin and coriander.
Pork: black pepper and nutmeg.
Chicken: turmeric, if you like curry.

A classic seasoning blend for ground meat usually contains ground black pepper, dried garlic, sweet paprika, ground coriander, mustard seeds, nutmeg, thyme, and cumin. The Italian version contains dried tomatoes, carrots, peppers, and oregano.

Use ground meat to make meat roulades, stuffed rolls, meat patties, meatballs, porcupine meatballs (meatballs with rice), and meat dumplings. These dishes are also suitable for special occasions.