Archive for the 'beef' Category

Buzz Burgers

Saturday, November 18th, 2006

…to obesity and beyond!

No, this isn’t a rant about Macdonalds - this is my recipe for home-made beef burgers.

I’ve made burgers before, but they’ve always been a mess. Mother-in-law gave us a burger press from Lakeland - a useful gadget, and the firmer, better-shaped burgers were a hit with the children at Henry’s birthday party.

Ingredients - makes about 9 burgers

  • 2 x 400g packs of organic minced beef
  • 1 egg
  • handful of breadcrumbs (I whizz slightly stale bread up in the magimix and freeze it)
  • 1 large very finely chopped onion
  • 2 or 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
  • large teaspoon of mustard (I used French wholegrain)
  • small sprinkling of fine mixed herbs (I used dried French ones from a stall in Borough Market)
  • few dashes of Tabasco sauce
  • burger buns
  • lashings of Heinz Tomato Ketchup (if you can find it, the organic variety tastes sweeter)

Put the mince in a bowl and break it up with a fork - you could use your hands but with small children clutching at your apron strings, I get a bit paranoid about handling raw meat. Also, if you use a fork, your children can help.

Crack in the egg (2 if 1 isn’t enough), add 2 or more slugs of Tabasco sauce and the mustard. Sprinkle the herbs in. Stir in the onion and garlic. Then gradually add breadcrumbs until the mixture is nice and thick. Scoop into your burger press, press out the patties, cook, enjoy!

Posted in beef | 6 Comments »

Granny Jean’s Hotpot

Tuesday, October 24th, 2006

This recipe comes from my Mum.

Lancashire Hotpot is traditionally made with lamb, but this hotpot variation calls for beef.

- Some diced stewing steak. About 500g.
- Potatoes - loads.
- One onion.
- Half a pint of red wine.
- Veggie stock cube (optional).

Preheat the oven to 170c.

Peel the spuds and cut them into chunks about the same size as the pieces of your meat.

Coarsely chop the onion.

Throw the meat, potatoes and onion into a large pot.

Pour in the wine and top up with boiling water. Add the stock cube if you want.

Put the lid on the pot and leave in the oven for three hours. I usually take it out and give it a stir once an hour, but there’s really no need to!

Serve while piping hot. You can garnish with beetroot, and it’s also really good with some biscuits of shortcrust pastry to help mop up the juice.

I think it’s a great dish for this time of year. It’s lovely to put on before going to see a fireworks display. When you come back home the delicious smell will meet you at the front door, and the meal will warm you all up again. If there are any left-overs it’s just as good reheated in a saucepan the next day!

Posted in beef, meat, potatoes, root vegetables, stew, vegetables | 1 Comment »