PING Sheldon - Ground Beef King

Tank said:

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

Quoted message said:

"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."

"PENMART01" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Essentually you ground previously frozen meat (a no-no), that had been

kept

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

does freezing prevent microbes from continuing from spoiling meat,

freezing

Quoted message said:

only slows things down... and home freezers don't really get nearly cold

enough

Quoted message said:

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.

"Tank" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"PENMART01" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:20040217162449.22937.00002392@mb-
m04.aol.com...

Quoted message said:

Essentually you ground previously frozen meat (a no-no), that had been

kept

Quoted message said:

frozen way too long (way long enough to be tossed). Next time grind

beef

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

*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

Quoted message said:

does freezing prevent microbes from continuing from spoiling meat,

freezing

Quoted message said:

only slows things down... and home freezers don't really get nearly cold

enough

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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 fsis.usda.govfreezing.htmOpen ↗ 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."

"Mike Pearce" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:97AYb.2688$23.236@lakeread04...

Quoted message said:

"PENMART01" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:20040217210650.11541.00002177@mb-
m12.aol.com...

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You incorrectly assume that home freezers maintain temps of 0 F or less,

very

No I didn't, I just stated a fact.

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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.

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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.

WiScottsin said:

"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 johngaughan.netjohngaughan.netOpen ↗ [email hidden]

John Gaughan <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

WiScottsin said:

"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.

Quoted message said:

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

In article <[email hidden]>, "Tank"

Quoted message said:

This cubed round steak was from a cow my father-in-law purchased from the Ottawa county fair last
fall. Cut by local butcher,

Quoted message said:

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.

Melba's Jammin said:

In article said:

This cubed round steak was from a cow my father-in-law purchased from the Ottawa county fair
last fall. Cut by local butcher,

Quoted message said:

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!!

Quoted message said:

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