When I first got out of college (1977) I tried grinding my own ground beef. I had a Dormeyer mixer that’s quite powerful–my brother still uses it. I was never satisfied with the result. The market to which I referred is Tower Market on Portola here in SF (Sorry, not much help if you don’t live in The City), and while I don’t think they use Niman Ranch beef, I mentioned taste as why I doubt they use the commercial product because it simply doesn’t taste like what comes from Safeway et al. This is a good thread because we must take our safety into our own hands these days, and I thank all for your suggestions.