To defrost or not - an experiment with mince meat
September 14th 2008 10:55
In the spirit of wasting less, not spending any more than necessary and attempting to cull the freezer of it's many unmarked bubbles of frozen plastic covered mysteries - I took out a kilo of mince and attempted to make it into dinner.
Of course, I could of defrosted it. But that would have taken time. So I just cranked up the burner, and bunged the whole rectangle slab right into the frying pan. I was somewhat enthusiastic in my cranking of said burner - and the icy chunk began to let of some carbony wafts rather than gently defrosting and turning into crushed meat of the more pliable variety.
The mince chunk was too large for the pan, and the bit over the end was bothering me. I had envisaged the solid rectangle breaking up into smaller bits, and then smaller and smaller again. To facilitate this plan, I thought i'd soften the meat brick with some boiling water. This just made the top layer turn a nasty shade of grey and the pan franitcally emit hisses of steam. Not wanting to be deterred, I thought adding more water would do the trick. Not learning from my prior mistake was clearly rubbed in when the meat morphed into futher greyscale and then appeared to be boiling in what now was a full pan of water.
I was boiling a kilo of frozen mince. Trying my best to view this experience as a crazy cooking experiment rather than a 'Jesus, I'm hungry, when is this going to be over' way. I decided to let in boil for a bit longer - then I had a change of heart (or stomach perhaps) and took the pan of the heat and poured the foamy, meaty liquid down the sink. With the pan back on the stove top, I attempted to mash the crap out the meat - but the best I could get it down to after all my wooden spoon efforts were mangaled thumb size chunks. It was then I attempted the taste test - which proved that it tasted as good as it looked; grey, rubbery and souless.
A rescue mission to salvage my revolting mince began with a hefty dollop of tomato paste,, allsorted pinches of mystery herbs, a cup of wine (going on the theory that wine makes everything better) and a generous dose of other freezer goodies in the form of peas and corn.
To be honest. It was still revolting.
Next time, I'll definatlely take the time to defrost the mince.
Of course, I could of defrosted it. But that would have taken time. So I just cranked up the burner, and bunged the whole rectangle slab right into the frying pan. I was somewhat enthusiastic in my cranking of said burner - and the icy chunk began to let of some carbony wafts rather than gently defrosting and turning into crushed meat of the more pliable variety.
The mince chunk was too large for the pan, and the bit over the end was bothering me. I had envisaged the solid rectangle breaking up into smaller bits, and then smaller and smaller again. To facilitate this plan, I thought i'd soften the meat brick with some boiling water. This just made the top layer turn a nasty shade of grey and the pan franitcally emit hisses of steam. Not wanting to be deterred, I thought adding more water would do the trick. Not learning from my prior mistake was clearly rubbed in when the meat morphed into futher greyscale and then appeared to be boiling in what now was a full pan of water.
I was boiling a kilo of frozen mince. Trying my best to view this experience as a crazy cooking experiment rather than a 'Jesus, I'm hungry, when is this going to be over' way. I decided to let in boil for a bit longer - then I had a change of heart (or stomach perhaps) and took the pan of the heat and poured the foamy, meaty liquid down the sink. With the pan back on the stove top, I attempted to mash the crap out the meat - but the best I could get it down to after all my wooden spoon efforts were mangaled thumb size chunks. It was then I attempted the taste test - which proved that it tasted as good as it looked; grey, rubbery and souless.
A rescue mission to salvage my revolting mince began with a hefty dollop of tomato paste,, allsorted pinches of mystery herbs, a cup of wine (going on the theory that wine makes everything better) and a generous dose of other freezer goodies in the form of peas and corn.
To be honest. It was still revolting.
Next time, I'll definatlely take the time to defrost the mince.
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Comment by Nomad
Awesome Food
anyway i cooked it like a hamburger, but each time i turned it over i scraped the top bit of cooked meat off then flipped it over again... eventually it cooked and then it turned into awesome lasagna...
nomad