March Mashed Meat Marathon

Last month we did this for the first time… mixing together 12 pounds of different types of burgers and freezing them.  I had a couple people ask me on Twitter for more detail, so this month I’m writing up the burgers we’re making like I do the rest of our recipes.  All of these burger recipes will now be tagged with MMM (Mashed Meat Marathon) both here and on plantoeat.com.

We use the quart size BPA-free Ziploc SousVide/Vacuum bags which perfectly fit a pound of meat plus additional ingredients, shaped into 4 patties. You do have to get the starter set with the pump, but we’ve found this cheap vacuum system invaluable. There are other types too, We just buy this one because our grocery store carries the bags.

Our meat from US Wellness isn’t always sealed that great, so we reseal those. We freeze soups and sauces in bags which store more compactly than if we used plastic containers.

Specifically with the burgers we put them in the freezer on a plate until they get slightly firm. Then we stack them up separated by a piece of parchment paper or foil, put them in the bag, pump out the air, and let them freeze all the way.  Once they are solid, we arrange the freezer to make more space.

It is important to note that in the nutritional calculations, I did not include the meat.  Since we’ll sometimes use buffalo, sometimes use chicken, etc, I found it easier to total up all the other ingredients and add the ground meat manually later.

I only included two of the three recipes from this month.  The third was
a cauliflower curry burger that just did not come out very well. It’s
certainly edible, but not worth posting. I’m going to tweak it and try again.

MMM: Green Chili Burgers

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 4½ oz cans green chilies
• 2 tablespoons cumin ground
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ½ cup cilantro fresh, chopped
• garlic salt & pepper to taste
• 3 pounds ground meat your choice: beef, buffalo, chicken, lamb, turkey

Directions

1. In a small pan, melt butter over medium heat and sauté garlic cloves until slightly softened. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. In a bowl large enough for all ingredients, lightly beat egg yolks. Add contents of the pan (garlic and residual butter).
3. Add green chilies, cumin, chili powder, cilantro, garlic salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
4. Mix everything together with the ground meat
5. Separate, creating 12 equal sized burger patties and either cook, refrigerate or freeze.

The meat is NOT included in the following break-down. We use different types of meat, so we manually add the ½ pound per serving. Net Carbs: 2g Fat: 4g Protein: 3g

MMM: Spicy Chipotle Burgers

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 ½ cup onion finely chopped
• ½ cup cilantro fresh, chopped
• 3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon sauce from chilies
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• garlic salt and pepper to taste
• 3 pounds ground meat your choice: beef, buffalo, chicken, lamb, turkey

Directions

1. In a bowl big enough for 3 pounds of ground meat, add egg yolks and beat lightly.
2. Add remaining ingredients except meat and mix thoroughly.
3. Mix everything together with the ground meat.
4. Separate, creating 12 equal sized burger patties and either cook, refrigerate or freeze.

The meat is NOT included in the following break-down. We use different types of meat, so we manually add the ½ pound per serving. Net Carbs:3 g Fat: 2g Protein: 2g