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General Cooking (rec.food.cooking) For general food and cooking discussion. Foods of all kinds, food procurement, cooking methods and techniques, eating, etc. |
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PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King
I had need of several pounds of ground beef
for recipes the wife was making. I had none at hand, so I ground some cubed round steak. This cubed round steak was from a cow my father-in-law purchased from the Ottawa county fair last fall. Cut by local butcher, freezer wrapped. Decent meat. Been frozen since last September. I cut the steaks cross-ways into strips, and ground it, fat and all. I ended up with about 12lbs of ground beef. Very red, not particularly marbled, however. It was extremely lean ground round. Unfortunately, the taste of the cooked meat was not that great. She made some meatballs with it, and there was almost an "off" taste to them. The meat did not seem to have that savory flavor we generally associate with hamburger or ground beef. The chili she made was OK, as was a Mexican taco pie type dish, obviously the spices carried the day on those two items. So, I am wondering. Was there too little fat for decent flavor? Should I have added some fat, or other cuts of meat into the mix? What is the best way to achieve a decent tasting ground beef mixture that can be used for burgers, lightly spiced dishes and similar things? Is cubed round steak the wrong cut to use for that purpose? Thanks. -- Tank This Space To Let. |
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PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King
Tank wrote:
> I had need of several pounds of ground beef for recipes the wife was > making. I had none at hand, so I ground some cubed round steak. > > [snip] I ended up with about 12lbs of ground beef. Very red, not > particularly marbled, however. It was extremely lean ground round. > > Unfortunately, the taste of the cooked meat was not that great. She > made some meatballs with it, and there was almost an "off" taste to > them. The meat did not seem to have that savory flavor we generally > associate with hamburger or ground beef. [snip] The meat was way too lean. You might have had a chance if you ground some fatty steak tails or brisket fat into the meat, or some fatty pork. Chuck roasts make a lot better hamburger than round steaks, unless you just *want* it to be all lean for some reason. Best regards, Bob |
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PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King
>"Tank" writes:
> >I had need of several pounds of ground beef >for recipes the wife was making. I had none >at hand, so I ground some cubed round steak. > >This cubed round steak was from a cow my >father-in-law purchased from the Ottawa >county fair last fall. Cut by local butcher, >freezer wrapped. Decent meat. Been frozen >since last September. I cut the steaks cross-ways >into strips, and ground it, fat and all. I ended >up with about 12lbs of ground beef. Very red, >not particularly marbled, however. It was >extremely lean ground round. > >Unfortunately, the taste of the cooked meat >was not that great. She made some meatballs >with it, and there was almost an "off" taste to >them. The meat did not seem to have that >savory flavor we generally associate with >hamburger or ground beef. The chili she made >was OK, as was a Mexican taco pie type dish, >obviously the spices carried the day on those >two items. > >So, I am wondering. Was there too little fat >for decent flavor? Should I have added some >fat, or other cuts of meat into the mix? What >is the best way to achieve a decent tasting >ground beef mixture that can be used for >burgers, lightly spiced dishes and similar >things? Is cubed round steak the wrong cut >to use for that purpose? Essentually you ground previously frozen meat (a no-no), that had been kept frozen way too long (way long enough to be tossed). Next time grind beef *prior* to freezing, and then mark with the date ground and use within 6 months. Many will tell you how they use all sorts of contraptions, like vacuums, to extend the shelf life of frozen meat... they are fooling themselves, those things are gimmicks... freezing does not kill microbes nor does freezing prevent microbes from continuing from spoiling meat, freezing only slows things down... and home freezers don't really get nearly cold enough to slow things down all that much. ---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =--- ---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =--- Sheldon ```````````` "Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation." |
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PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King
"PENMART01" > wrote in message ... > Essentually you ground previously frozen meat (a no-no), that had been kept > frozen way too long (way long enough to be tossed). Next time grind beef > *prior* to freezing, and then mark with the date ground and use within 6 > months. Many will tell you how they use all sorts of contraptions, like > vacuums, to extend the shelf life of frozen meat... they are fooling > themselves, those things are gimmicks... freezing does not kill microbes nor > does freezing prevent microbes from continuing from spoiling meat, freezing > only slows things down... and home freezers don't really get nearly cold enough > to slow things down all that much. > Why not grind previously frozen meat? Is safety an issue? What is your opinion on the length of time beef (or other meats) should be kept in the freezer? What about the lean/fat ratio? Should I use fat from other cuts to increase the fat content? It was suggested elsewhere that I use "tails" cut from steaks, and add some chuck roasts into the mix. -- Tank This Space To Let. |
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PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King
"Tank" > wrote in message ... > > "PENMART01" > wrote in message > ... > > > Essentually you ground previously frozen meat (a no-no), that had been > kept > > frozen way too long (way long enough to be tossed). Next time grind beef > > *prior* to freezing, and then mark with the date ground and use within 6 > > months. Many will tell you how they use all sorts of contraptions, like > > vacuums, to extend the shelf life of frozen meat... they are fooling > > themselves, those things are gimmicks... freezing does not kill microbes > nor > > does freezing prevent microbes from continuing from spoiling meat, > freezing > > only slows things down... and home freezers don't really get nearly cold > enough > > to slow things down all that much. > > > I'm afraid you're almightly Sheldon is passing on some false info here. He must have forgot to google before responding this time. From http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/freezing.htm Dept. of Agriculture site: "Does Freezing Destroy Bacteria and Parasites? Freezing to 0° F inactivates any microbes -- bacteria, yeasts and molds - - present in food. Once thawed, however, these microbes can again become active, multiplying under the right conditions to levels that can lead to foodborne illness. Since they will then grow at about the same rate as microorganisms on fresh food, you must handle thawed items as you would any perishable. Thorough cooking will destroy bacteria." |
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PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King
> >From http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/freezing.htm Dept. of Agriculture >site: > >"Does Freezing Destroy Bacteria and Parasites? >Freezing to 0° F inactivates any microbes -- bacteria, yeasts and molds - - You incorrectly assume that home freezers maintain temps of 0 F or less, very few do... I bet if I checked yours right now it's well above 0 F. ---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =--- ---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =--- Sheldon ```````````` "Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation." |
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PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King
> "Tank" wrote:
> >Why not grind previously frozen meat? Why do you think? ---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =--- ---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =--- Sheldon ```````````` "Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation." |
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PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King
"PENMART01" > wrote in message
... > You incorrectly assume that home freezers maintain temps of 0 F or less, very > few do... I bet if I checked yours right now it's well above 0 F. Mine's at about 4 F. I just set it a to be a bit colder. -Mike |
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PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King
"Mike Pearce" > wrote in message news:97AYb.2688$23.236@lakeread04... > "PENMART01" > wrote in message > ... > > > You incorrectly assume that home freezers maintain temps of 0 F or less, > very No I didn't, I just stated a fact. > > few do... I bet if I checked yours right now it's well above 0 F. You lost the bet, I keep a pretty good eye on it using good thermometer. > > Mine's at about 4 F. I just set it a to be a bit colder. > > -Mike > I keep the Deep freeze right around zero. The refridge freezer gets opened/closed way too much to keep a steady temp. |
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PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King
WiScottsin wrote:
> "Does Freezing Destroy Bacteria and Parasites? Freezing to 0° F > inactivates any microbes -- bacteria, yeasts and molds - - present in > food. First of all, most freezers will not get this cold, and if it has an auto defrost, forget it. Second, not all microbes are inactive at the magic temperature of 0F. Some of them thrive at lower temperatures, although these are far less common. Finally, freezing any food for long periods of time degrades quality for other reasons (think freezer burn). -- John Gaughan http://www.johngaughan.net/ |
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PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King
John Gaughan > wrote in
: > WiScottsin wrote: >> "Does Freezing Destroy Bacteria and Parasites? Freezing to 0° F >> inactivates any microbes -- bacteria, yeasts and molds - - present in >> food. > > First of all, most freezers will not get this cold, and if it has an > auto defrost, forget it. That isn't necessarily true. I have a Frigidaire "commercial" frost-free upright freezer that easily maintains -10°F. For short periods when I plan to freeze larger quantities of food, I can pull it down to -20°F. > Second, not all microbes are inactive at the magic temperature of 0F. > Some of them thrive at lower temperatures, although these are far less > common. > > Finally, freezing any food for long periods of time degrades quality > for other reasons (think freezer burn). Only if improperly wrapped. Double or triple wrapping foods for the frost-free freezer will almost always prevent freezer-burn. I've successfully kept beef roasts for over a year when properly wrapped. AFAIC, it's worth the extra effort of multiple wrapping to eliminate dealing with freezer frost. Food in conventional freezers is subject to freezer burn, too, if imiproperly wrapped. Wayne |
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PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King
In article >, "Tank"
> wrote: > This cubed round steak was from a cow my > father-in-law purchased from the Ottawa > county fair last fall. Cut by local butcher, > Unfortunately, the taste of the cooked meat > was not that great. She made some meatballs > with it, and there was almost an "off" taste to > them. FWIW, we bought a side of Black Angus from my boss. He insisted that it be aged for something like 14-21 days (I don't recall exactly, but it was longer than 'customary') before butchering. The resulting grillable steaks were great and the ground beef (and lots of it!) was awful. It had a taste that I can only describe as dark, heavy, and slightly gamey. -- -Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> updated 2-10-04. |
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PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King
On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 09:33:25 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote: > In article >, "Tank" > > wrote: > > > This cubed round steak was from a cow my > > father-in-law purchased from the Ottawa > > county fair last fall. Cut by local butcher, > > > Unfortunately, the taste of the cooked meat > > was not that great. She made some meatballs > > with it, and there was almost an "off" taste to > > them. > > FWIW, we bought a side of Black Angus from my boss. You have a boss??? I thought YOU were the boss!! > He insisted that it > be aged for something like 14-21 days (I don't recall exactly, but it > was longer than 'customary') before butchering. The resulting > grillable steaks were great and the ground beef (and lots of it!) was > awful. It had a taste that I can only describe as dark, heavy, and > slightly gamey. Which sounds like an animal that was slaughtered under stress. I'm not an animal rights advocate, so I won't get into the details. However, I WILL tell you that a local organic beef beef farmer who was featured in the local paper recently stated that his agreement with the slaughterhouse is that they do it early in the day so his animals aren't stressed (probably due to hearing the stress cries of those who hear the death cries of those being slaughtered). Practice safe eating - always use condiments |
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