Today's foodie entry is not so much a recipe as an homage to the DIY spirit of cooks everywhere. Intrigued by the possibilities of a vacuum FoodSaver I've recently began using, I decided to take the next evolutionary step in food preparation: grinding my own meat. Deciding to reduce my overall flesh consumption means I now concentrate on better quality products. And going guerilla on a slab of beef, pork or fowl means I can choose leaner, better quality cuts and season to my taste, not that of John Q. Public. Here's documentation of my experience so far.

As you can see from the leading photo, it all starts with a grinder. Mine is a 320 Watt VillaWare that I picked up for $42 and change from Tuesday Morning. If you purchase the same model, make sure it has the metal (not plastic) auger. I've read the company will replace the plastic version. Assembly, use, and cleaning are rudimentary. Just be sure to oil the blade and cutting plates before storing.

My first victim was a 2:1 combination of sirloin roast (lean) and chuck (for a bit of fat and moisture). This was the first and last batch of meat that I seasoned after grinding. Subsequent grinds have been lovingly hand rubbed with carefully chosen spices after cutting into manageable cubes, like the lovely specimen of Boston Butt below.

Like many grinders, mine came with a sausage stuffing horn. After purchasing some natural casings from a local meat packing company I was ready to stuff my first sausages. Here is where experimentation pays off. After a few tries you'll settle on a comfortable feed rate and a preferred plate size. Besides pork, I've made chicken sausage using boneless/skinless thighs. Deer and lamb have also fallen prey to my whirring blade. Mixed with a little beef fat and grilled, the deer tenderloin was tasty enough to make one swear off beef burgers.

With my imagination piqued, I'll be moving on to curing, cold smoking, kielbasas, and even salmon. Life may be a grind, but this is one way to take a bite out of the poor quality of store bought ground meat and sausages.