ground meat goodness
As an adjunct to my sookha keema nori roll post, I would
like to share some recent ruminations on ground meat in
general. I have found the ground meat to be very
versatile of course. Another use for heart meat is as a
ground meat, it’s perfect for adding to ground, fattier
meats such as lamb; there are even grass-fed beef that
although natural and not “finished” in the feed-lot have
more fat than the typically lean grass-fed beef, it
depends on the breed of cattle and time of year they
were slaughtered. I use a mini-prep food processor to
grind my meat. It takes about 7-10 pulses to chop the
heart into a suitable grain of “ground”. Lamb heart is a
terrific way to make ground lamb leaner for example.
Other than sookha keema, I’ve been using some
ingredients with much success in my ground meats, and I
still feel somewhat of a newbie when it comes to cooking
meat-based foods as I have been mostly vegetarian since
I started being a “hard-core self-sufficient home-cook”
in the fall of ‘99 (coincidence with getting CR4YT? I
think not!). So here’s a short list of ingredients I’ve
fallen in love with for addition to ground meat:
I like: basil (usually fresh), freshly ground dried
rosemary, sage, onion powder, freshly minced garlic,
cayenne pepper powder, freshly ground peppercorns,
crushed dried thyme, fennel and anise (classics!), and
seasoned with a little salt.
The way I’ve learned to cook with my pantry is “on the
fly”, most times I’m using meat that is seasoned with a
little salt and garlic as soon as the meat has been
defrosted, that way I can experiment with the herbs and
spices and obtain instant feed-back, experiencing the
results for myself immediately after cooking.
Now that I’ve shared a little of my personal life with
all of you, please reciprocate by sharing your own
ground meat repertoire. Ground meat is versatile and
makes a reliable, fast meal, I consider it my number one
comfort and convenience food. Marinades are great, but
sometimes I’m in a hurry or haven’t planned ahead.