There are many recipes with minced meat. Lazy people will simply buy ready-made minced meat in the store, but this is almost a guaranteed way to spoil the taste of the product, because most often stores save a lot on the quality of meat. So, it is better to spend time once, but do everything with your own hands. Moreover, the minced meat can be easily frozen and thawed without losing its taste - we will tell you how to do this too.
Choice of meat
The first and probably the most important thing to pay attention to is the right choice of meat. In the case of store-bought minced meat, low-quality meat scraps are used, which turn into a pink mass when thoroughly chopped. We want to get a first-class product, so the meat should be chosen accordingly. For perfect cutlets, the best quality meat is suitable - the best parts of beef. However, even harder pieces are suitable for good minced meat, especially if they are carefully chopped. However, you should not choose completely low-quality parts, such as a leg. They don't have much meat, but hard cartilage, muscles and bones are enough.
Preparation of meat
Meat must be carefully prepared - remove fat, membrane, cartilage and bones. As a result, you will get pieces that have undergone primary grinding. But it's not all handwork. The semi-finished product must be cut into pieces of approximately two centimeters. This will facilitate further preparation of the minced meat.
Grinding
When grinding meat in a blender or meat grinder, the fibers will be severely damaged. When chopping with knives or a combine, this will not happen and the pieces will retain their juice and taste.
Minced meat cannot yet be called full-fledged minced meat. In order for minced meat to become suitable for cooking, you need to add some ingredients to it. Usually, these are salt, pepper, spices, onions and other additives determined by the specifics of the dish. Bread soaked in milk is often added to minced meatballs, and boiled rice is added to minced meat for cabbage rolls. Bread is added to minced meat not at all to save money, but because it helps to keep the juice released during frying in the meatballs.
supplements
Minced meat is prepared from beef, pork, veal, turkey and chicken. It can be prepared both from one type of meat and mixed with others, but you should remember that you should not mix meat with a bright taste or smell. So, for example, it is better to leave mutton in its original form, since it can drown out any additives. Beef goes well with pork, or chicken and turkey. Chicken can be mixed with pork, but it should not be done with beef.
Freezing
Of course, it's best to cook minced meat soon after you've made it without resorting to storage methods. But if you have to freeze minced meat, then do it according to the rules. They are simple - do not freeze minced meat with a shapeless piece. After placing the mass in a bag, make a flat pancake out of it and send it to the freezer in this form. This will help reduce freezing and thawing times. In addition, onions or other additives should not be added to minced meat that is planned to be frozen. It is better to do it before cooking.