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For the Love of Ground Meat

larb

Larb, one of my very favorite ground meat dishes, and something I cooked early on here on the blog.

When I started eating meat after 13 years of being a vegetarian, I began with fish (ironically, it was raw fish—sushi—that enticed me off the wagon), moved to chicken (skinless, boneless breasts), and about three years into my omnivore status, I decided it was time to try “the hard stuff”—beef and pork. I found early on in that phase that I gravitated toward ground, minced, or shredded meats, something that still appeals to me to this day. Perhaps it was how those muscle cuts were so obviously animal flesh, with all their explicit fat, bones, muscle fibers and tendons, something I was still apprehensive about, and the grinding and shredding of meat helped mask that reality.

It was also easier to eat, not to mention that when I cooked it, ground meat was, and is, usually much more forgiving, especially when it’s loose; it takes a certain set of skills to cook a steak, a leg of lamb, or a pork chop and not have it turn out tough to inedible. That said, nowadays I do feel comfortable roasting whole chickens, cooking strips of bacon, and cooking an entire filet of salmon in parchment. But I still prefer to cook ground meat, even after 17 years of omnivorous living.

During the quiet months of this blog, I tried a number of ground/minced/shredded meat dishes and found some pretty delicious recipes from fellow bloggers and food sites. When I tried them out, I posted pictures of some of the outcomes to my Instagram account, but it’s worth collecting them here in one place. Here are four that I really enjoyed.

Spicy Garlic Pork and Ground Pork via Two Red Bowls

spicy-pork-eggplant

This is the most recent ground meat dish I made and is the one I’m the most excited about. It combines the classic pairing of eggplant and pork, surrounded by a well-balanced mix of savory, spicy, and sweet notes, creating something that is pretty addictive. Ever since I made it my mind keeps wandering back to it. I suspect that its uniquely memorable flavor has to do with the time the pork sat marinating in soy sauce, sesame oil, as well as the high-quality pastured pork I used. It also has what I consider to be a lot of garlic cloves but in the end the garlic was not overpowering and was just right. I also loved the inclusion of ginger.  Continue reading “For the Love of Ground Meat”

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Bareburger – Grass Fed Burgers in Astoria, Queens

classic bareburger with beef

As I eat more and more real food, I find myself craving more meat; I’ve sure come a far ways from the vegetarian days of my youth that consisted of a lot of soy. I still eat plenty of meatless meals, but meat is taking more of my attention these days. And since I’ve learned to braise tough cuts of meat until they turn into silky, flavorful meals, it will be even easier to eat meat on a budget.

I also attempt to be as thoughtful as possible when I’m buying meat. We do not cook conventionally-raised meat in this house, and instead we gravitate toward grass-fed and wild meats. They are better for everyone involved – the animal, the human consumer, and the environment – and in my opinion, these meats are just plain tastier. Sometimes I eat conventional meat, but it’s not as often as it used to be, and it’s always outside the home.

When I was a kid, I loved hamburgers; as an adult, I love them, too. I’ll admit – I like consuming meat that is ground up, including sausages. So, I’m fortunate to have a burger place that recently opened up near my apartment that serves organic, grass-fed burgers: Bareburger.

Continue reading “Bareburger – Grass Fed Burgers in Astoria, Queens”

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Orange and Pale Ale Marinated Steak

grilled steak sliced

The other day I wanted to cook the little pastured blade steaks I had ordered from the CSA, but wanted to add a little oomph to them beyond simply salting and peppering.  I know this particular cut can be a little tough, too, so I wanted to prepare them in way that would relax them a bit.  Right around that time, I had received the August issue of Sunset Magazine, which featured a selection of marinade recipes, one of which sounded perfect for my little steaks.

marinated steaks

This marinade called for orange juice and beer as its main ingredients, both of which help to tenderize meat.  It also included garlic and onion as aromatics.  I decided to try it.  The night before I wanted to cook them, I put the marinade together and poured it over the steaks.  By the next evening, they were ready to go!

Well, the marinade definitely helped to tenderize the steak – while not buttery in texture by any means, the meat sliced well and was delicious, cooked at medium.  The marinade gave them wonderful flavor, while allowing the inherent taste of the meat to come through.  It was well-received in my household and I would totally use this marinade again.

steak on the grill

It will come as no surprise to some of my friends that I would be a little lost at sea when it comes to cooking slabs of meat, having been a vegetarian for so many years.  I needed a little guidance, so I must give props to the instructions in Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food.  It has great basic info for a noob like myself!

Orange and Pale Ale Marinade
adapted from Sunset Magazine, August 2010 issue

1/2 cup medium-bodied beer, such as pale ale
Zest and juice of 1 large orange (2 large oranges would work, too, if you want more orange flavor)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon naturally fermented soy sauce
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 medium onion, peeled and coarsely shredded on a box grater
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Whisk all ingredients together. Put beef in a nonreactive baking dish and pour marinade over, turning to coat.

Marinate for one day, then grill.  Makes enough marinade for 2 pounds of beef.

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Delicious, Natural Beef Jerky

jerky

This weekend I tasted some amazing beef jerky.  I wasn’t looking for it – in fact, I haven’t thought about jerky for years and years – but feel fortunate to have come across it.

Not many people know this, but I love beef jerky – like, a whole lot.  I find it to be one of the most delicious things to snack on.  When I was in high school, I had a teacher, Mr. Salazar, who made his own jerky and would share it with his students.   He taught my advanced english and history classes, and had an unorthodox approach to administering tests – he thought that students did better on them if they had something to eat during the test.  So a potluck was scheduled each time we had a major test.  His contribution was always beef jerky (he also kept some in his desk drawer).  And it was crazy delicious.

I stopped eating it when I went vegetarian.  Even when I started eating meat again in 1998, it took me a long time to warm up to beef products.  By that time, I’d come to learn that most commercial beef jerky was not made from the best ingredients, and I couldn’t find any “artisanal” beef jerky, so I put it out of my mind.

This past weekend I visited the Greenpoint Food Market, in part to discover some great, locally made food, and in part to support my friend Charlene, who was selling her cookies there.  I was happy to see so many savory options (as I’m not eating sugar right now), since last time there seemed to be an overabundance of chocolates, cookies, and candy.

Greenpoint Market Collage

One of the first tables I encountered was staffed by the King’s County Jerky people, and I was instantly intrigued by the idea of artisanal beef jerky.  I asked them a little bit about their product, and they were happy to share. Turns out the beef they use comes from local farms upstate, is humanely-raised, grass-fed and grass-finished, and smoked over real wood.  There’s no artificial anything, and no MSG.

I tried their samples, first the Classic flavor – so tasty!  It is flavorful, well-spiced (with ancho, chipotle, smoked paprika, black pepper, cumin and coriander), and smoky.  It smells amazing, too.  They make two other flavors, a bulgogi (spicy) and orange ginger.  I tried them all, and found I really preferred the classic flavor, though they were all good.

One interesting thing they told me – for them, the grass-fed beef is ideal because it’s naturally low in fat, and when you’re making jerky, you don’t want particularly fatty beef because it slows the whole dehydration process down.

They recently secured a commercial space in East Williamsburg (Brooklyn), so I expect we’ll be seeing their products around town sooner than later.  Very exciting!  I do not buy many “healthy” snack products – most have so much sugar, or are made with unhealthy oils, or are just way over processed, that they are totally unappealing.  This jerky will easily find a home in my pantry.  Hooray for quality snacks!

mmm... jerky