mid-morning snack time.

By now, we've all seen the ads for McDonald's new 1/3-lb Angus burgers. While I commend the effort of trying to push something aspiring toward quality upon the masses, I of course say, why bother?
Please take a moment to watch this informative video on how to make the perfect burger yourself. Chef/restauranteur/cooking show host Hubert Keller shares some excellent tips that go beyond the basics (i.e. don't press your burger). Of course, freshly ground meat makes the best burger, but if you don't have a meat grinder, he does a neat little demo showing how to chop up a piece of steak and turn it into a patty. Then, he makes a sandwich of two patties stuffed with... well, just watch it! Guaranteed to make your tummy growl-- and hopefully inspire you to put a little more effort into your diet than making a visit to the drive-thru.
(source)

sausage thought: patties.

have yet to invest in a meat grinder? fear not! you can still make yourself tasty sausages, just in patty form. i don't know if these would be quite as satisfying to make, but i'm sure they would be just as great to eat.
i think i would miss the bewildered look on people's faces as i described to them the stretching and ballooning of the intestines as they filled with meaty goodness...

source.

ground meat experiences

i had several amazing ground meat experiences this week that i thought i should share.

in an attempt to bring an out of town guest into my meat-consumed lifestyle without too many major projects, we made a quick trip to marconda's meats in the 3rd and fairfax farmers market. the man and i bought the most amazing steak burgers a few weeks ago, so i decided to go on a search for some really great ground lamb to make a twist on soulvaki.

if we had been exceedingly ambitious, i would've loved to try this recipe, but we just cooked up some patties in the trusty cast iron with some lamb they ground fresh for us. we added some chopped onion and garlic, oregano, lemon zest, white wine, salt and pepper and made some rice and salad for an excellent simple (and cheap!) meal.

since we were at the fancy butcher shop, i had to get some more steak burgers that i cooked up last night, protein-style, for the ever-dieting man and i. gosh, such good meat. i'm usually kind of distrusting of buying preground meats... well, i guess i should clarify. i hesitate to buy preground meats and cook them nice and medium rare, so this was definately a treat because i knew i could trust the butcher-- i know where their beef comes from and know that they grind their burgers on-site. so tasty with fresh, leafy greens, onion, tomato, and avocado.

(not our burger, but an example of protein-style for the non-in 'n out initiated. ours were thousands of times tastier.)

i still want to try the alton brown meat grinding techniques... they're supposed to be the best, he says so himself! soon.

got any (meat) plans this weekend?

a birdie shared a great idea with me from good eats-- homemade gyros!

looks like another fun use for the new meat grinder. and i'm on the look-out for some sort of rotisserie contraption to fit in our oven. it doesn't need to spin or anything, our oven has a convection setting and i don't object to turning it often... any ideas? one of those stand-alone convection rotisseries looks great-- but not when you have about ten inches of counterspace!

maybe i can rig something up, i'm a resourceful lady...

my first go at sausage making.

my sausage making experience was everything i'd hoped for. my friend over at tryharder and i made a day of it, starting out with a return trip to huntington meats. let me continue my raving of this excellent butcher-- they were amazingly helpful and when i told them what my mission was, the guy who was helping me got a big grin on his face and pulled out a ragged notebook filled with all of their personal sausage recipes and gave me lots of ideas! how great is that?!

so anyway, they sold me heaps of casings with storage instructions (in the fridge in tupperware with a really lot of salt-- they keep for a long time and then can be rehydrated) and five pounds of pork butt (fyi- total cost: $18). he offered to grind it for me, but i took pride in saying, "no thanks, i'll do it myself!"

so, i think i will just share this process in a photo essay. i will say, at least for a first-timer, it is a two-person job. maybe after a few more tries i will get the hang of it and try it solo, but it is more fun to bring a friend along on the meat fun!

here's the pork after i trimmed the fat and cubed it up.

feeding it through the grinder.

here are the meat worms coming through the other side.

seasoning the ground meat. (we pan-fried a little piece to test for flavor after mixing)

feeding it into the casing. (this was the tamest of the pictures...)

loooong sausage!

twist, and done!

i tweaked the chorizo recipe a bit but i would definately recommend it. nice and spicy with good flavor. will be great to cook with big pots of rice and veggies, but tasty enough just grilled up plain! what flavor should i try next?

adventures in sausage making!

oh, how i love random holidays...

here's my plan for the day:

playing with my new toys!!!

so that's the surprise! the super-amazing man got me the kitchenaid meat grinder with the sausage stuffer attachment for valentine's day! he was so proud- he discovered it before i did. i was so excited to show him the sausage-making video when i found it last week, and when i pressed play, his face fell. "you spoiled my surprise!!!"

don't worry. still the coolest gift ever, the gift that will keep on giving.

i think today i will try this simple chorizo recipe, since i'm craving something spicy. mmm... i'm not usually big on recipes, but i'll give it a shot.

meat grinders and custom sausages

i am so inspired by the gentlemen at wurstkuche (http://www.wurstkucherestaurant.com), a new belgium beer and sausage restaurant in the downtown la arts district. although they don't make their own sausages, they have offer a really great variety, including veal/rabbit/white wine and alligator/hickory-smoked pork and lots of tasty brews and sodas. pretty neat to see young locals experimenting with meats.

makes me want to invest in one of these:


(image source http://www.surlatable.com)
super classy kitchenaid meat grinder attachment! i love my kitchenaid and use it often, but don't think i've ever consumed something i've made in it. i wonder if you can attach a pork casing to the end for sausage making? hm, what would i make first? maybe something with lamb... how about a custom sausage station for a restaurant idea? put your meats, seasonings, and veggies or cheeses in a dish, bring it to the meat grinder, and then grill them up?