Healthy Meal to Stretch Ground Beef

June 04, 2022 Post a Comment

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With the ascension costs of beef and wellness concerns over eating too much ruby-red meat, there are enough of reasons to attempt to do more with less basis beef. Stretching ground beefiness in your favorite recipes can non simply help y'all save money, but can make the dishes a fiddling leaner and healthier besides. While you can cut down on the corporeality of basis beef that you utilise in nearly recipes, it's usually best to mix extenders, such as breadcrumbs, rice, or grated veggies, into the beef so it goes farther. Most extenders won't alter the taste or texture of the beef as well much, just you do need to handle it a footling differently than regular footing beef if y'all want the tastiest burgers, meatloaf, and meatballs possible.

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Use eggs as a folder with dry extenders. In that location are a variety of foods that you can mix in with ground beef to aid stretch it. Withal, dry extenders, such as breadcrumbs and oats, crave some type of binder to aid hold the mixture together for burgers, loafs, or assurance. Eggs are an platonic choice because their proteins can easily concord the meat mixture together when heated.^[1]
- As a full general guideline, employ 1 egg for every ½ pound (227 m) of basis beef that you're mixing an condiment into in order to stretch it.
- You can use egg substitute in place of the egg if you prefer.
- You tin can also supervene upon every whole egg with two egg whites if yous prefer.
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Mix in breadcrumbs. 1 of the nigh common extender for stretching ground beef is breadcrumbs. They work especially well in meatballs and meatloaf, only you may savor them in burgers as well.^[2]
- Some recipes call for mixing equal amounts of breadcrumbs and ground beef when trying to stretch the meat. However, that may alter the texture more than you lot'd like. Start with a smaller amount and but add more than if you need to stretch the beef further.
- White breadcrumbs work fine for stretching ground beef, but wholewheat breadcrumbs are usually a improve choice.
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Work some oats into the beef. Just like breadcrumbs, whole or rolled oats can help stretch basis beef a niggling further in your favorite recipe. They mix easily in with the beef and won't be noticed in one case yous melt the meat. Best of all, the oats are high in fiber and so they tin assistance make your meal more than filling.^[3]
- In full general, employ ¼ to ½ cup (23 to 46 g) whole or rolled oats for every pound (454 g) of footing beefiness.
- To stretch ground beef in dishes such as tacos, chili, casseroles, and pasta sauces, yous can likewise substitute bulgur wheat, which is a type of whole wheat. A cup (250 yard) of cooked bulgar wheat can supercede a pound (454 g) of ground beef, so if a recipe calls for ii pounds (908 g) of browned ground beef, you can use ane pound (454 g) of the beef and i cup (250 k) of the cooked bulgar wheat.^[4]
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Include some beans. For tacos, chili, and casseroles, adding precooked beans to your basis beef can help stretch it. In particular, black and pinto beans mix well with the beefiness. Brown the beefiness kickoff, though, and blot the excess grease before adding the beans.^[5]
- In most recipes, you tin mix an equal corporeality of beans and basis beef.
- If you aren't a fan of beans, y'all can mix precooked lentils in with raw ground beefiness. When they are mixed, you lot can cook the mixture just as if it was regular ground beef. In general, use i cup (75 thou) of cooked lentils for every pound (454 g) of meat.
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Stir in grated vegetables. Whether you're making burgers, meatloaf, or meatballs, mixing some grated vegetables in with the ground beef tin make information technology go further. Grate carrots, zucchini, and onions and mix them in with the raw beefiness before shaping it.^[6]
- Equally a full general rule, add ¾ to one cup (40 to 50 grand) of grated vegetables for every pound (454 g) of footing beef.
- Mushrooms likewise make a expert mix in with footing beefiness, but yous should saute them first then they release their liquid and don't add together likewise much moisture to the meat.
- Caramelizing onions before yous add them to the basis beef tin help add rich flavor to burgers, meatloaf, or meatballs.
- Other firm root vegetables, such as beets and parsnips, also work well as an extender for basis beef.
- It may seem strange, but fruit tin can be a tasty contender for ground beef. Mix crushed pineapple into meatballs, finely chopped blueberries into burgers, or peeled and shredded Granny Smith apples into meatloaf.
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Combine the beefiness with rice. If you're making tacos, chili, or sloppy Joes, you can mix some cooked rice into the beef to aid extend information technology. Chocolate-brown the meat equally yous ordinarily would and drain the backlog grease before mixing in the rice.^[7]
- As a rule of thumb, add 1 loving cup (250 1000) of cooked rice for every pound (454g ) of ground beef.
- Both white and brown rice piece of work well as an extender for ground beef.
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Mix fresh herbs into the dish. Fresh herbs take a bright sense of taste that can help remainder whatever flavor that might exist lost by cutting back on the meat. Add finely chopped fresh herbs such equally basil or parsley to the ground beefiness before y'all cook it or form it into burgers, meatloaf, or meatballs.^[viii]
- Basil, parsley, and cilantro tin can work well for burgers.
- Basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and sage can work well for meatloaf.
- Basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, and oregano can work well for meatballs.
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Utilize bold dried herbs and spices to flavour the dish. The right spices and dried herbs can also help make up for any flavour that might be lost if you cutting back on the ground beef. Flavor the raw ground beef with spices and dried herbs, such as crushed crimson pepper or marjoram, before forming it into burgers, meatloaf, or meatballs.^[9]
- Crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and steak seasoning tin work well for burgers.
- Crushed cerise pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic pulverisation, onion powder, steak seasoning, dried oregano, and dried basil can work well for meatloaf.
- Crushed ruddy pepper, garlic pulverization, onion pulverization, dried oregano, and dried basil can work well for meatballs.
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Add together difficult cheeses to the dish. Mixing some grated difficult cheese into the ground beefiness earlier you class the burgers, meatballs, or meatloaf can help boost the flavor then you don't notice that there's less meat. Parmigiano-Reggiano and pecorino Romano are both platonic options.^[10]
- Parmigiano-Reggiano and pecorino Romano are obviously platonic for mixing into ground beefiness that you programme to make into meatballs, simply you can also employ them for burger or meatloaf mixes.
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Contain sauces and condiments in the dishes. Mixing a little sauce or your favorite condiment into raw ground beefiness before you make your burgers, meatballs, or meatloaf tin can assist make up for any missing flavour from the decrease in meat. For case, add some ketchup, thick pasta sauce, whole-grain mustard, barbecue sauce, or thai back-scratch paste to your ground beef mixture.^[11]
- Exist careful not to add too much of the sauce or additive. Excess moisture can pb to mushy burgers, meatloaf, and meatballs. Using one to two tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) for every pound (454 g) of meat is a good dominion of thumb.
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Opt for a bacteria grind. If y'all're trying to stretch basis beef to make your meals a little healthier, it'due south best to kickoff with a bacteria cut of basis beef. While fatty cuts tend to be juicier, leaner cuts are lower in saturated fatty and calories and so you don't accept to feel as bad near using them in your recipes.^[12]
- Ground sirloin and ground round are ordinarily the leanest cuts of ground beef that you can get. Ground sirloin has 10 to 14% fatty, while ground round has about 12% fat.
- Avert regular footing beef, which usually has 25 to 30% fat.
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Employ less ground beef. It may seem pretty obvious, merely the easiest way to stretch your ground beef is just use less of it. If a recipe calls for 2 pounds (908 g) of ground beef, cut it downwardly to i ½ pounds (680 g). In most cases, y'all won't even notice the difference.^[thirteen]
- If you're worried that your dish will be defective, trying mixing in more of other ingredients, such equally vegetables or starches, to make up for the ground beefiness that you've cut.
- If yous're making burgers, meatloaf, or meatballs, shape your patties, loaf, or balls slightly smaller than usual and so you don't need as much ground beefiness.
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Avert over mixing the beef. Whether you lot're calculation an extender, binder, or spices and seasonings into raw ground beef, be conscientious not to overmix it. Mixing information technology too much can atomic number 82 to tough burgers, meatloaf, or meatballs. Apply clean hands to gently mix the beef and other ingredients until they're just combined.^[14]
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Shape and plow the beefiness gently. When y'all've added extenders or other ingredients to the basis beef, the mixture is usually more fragile than directly ground beef. Lightly pat the meat mixture to form the burgers, loaf, or meatballs, and gently flip the burgers and meatballs with a spatula to avoid breaking them.^[15]
- When you lot're shaping the meat mixture, do not pack the burgers or meatballs together likewise tightly or they may crumble.
- Spoon a basis beef mixture for meatloaf into the pan without packing information technology too tightly against the sides.
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If you're trying to stretch footing beef in order to salve money, you can buy less plush cuts of meat and grind them at home yourself. You tin can buy a transmission meat grinder, or a meat grinding attachment for many stand mixers.
If you're trying to stretch ground beef to brand your meals healthier, you may want to consider switching to a leaner type of meat. Footing turkey and craven can be good options.

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