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  #1 (permalink)   Report Post  
Tank
 
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Default 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.


  #2 (permalink)   Report Post  
zxcvbob
 
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Default 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
  #3 (permalink)   Report Post  
PENMART01
 
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Default 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."

  #4 (permalink)   Report Post  
Tank
 
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Default 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.



  #5 (permalink)   Report Post  
WiScottsin
 
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Default 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."






  #6 (permalink)   Report Post  
PENMART01
 
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Default 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."

  #7 (permalink)   Report Post  
PENMART01
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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."

  #8 (permalink)   Report Post  
Mike Pearce
 
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Default 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



  #9 (permalink)   Report Post  
WiScottsin
 
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Default 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.


  #10 (permalink)   Report Post  
John Gaughan
 
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Default 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/



  #11 (permalink)   Report Post  
Wayne Boatwright
 
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Default 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
  #12 (permalink)   Report Post  
Melba's Jammin'
 
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Default 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.
  #13 (permalink)   Report Post  
sf
 
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Default 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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