"Hamburger Rocks" are small chunks of cooked, dehydrated,
fresh beef. They will store effectively for two or more years. Once
rehydrated by soaking one cup of rocks in two cups of boiled water,
the pre-cooked meat can be used in any recipe. It is delicious for
tacos, spaghetti sauce, hamburger helper, tamale pie, lasagna, or
your favorite recipe. It is very difficult to distinguish from fresh
hamburger in a meal!
Regular ground hamburger turns into small
"rocks," some "gravel," and a little "sand" when dried. We
grind rump roast and pot roast in a #2 Universal meat chopper using
the 3-bladed cutter (on right in illustration below), and now we get almost all "rocks,"
very little gravel, and virtually no "sand." And the yield
is higher too, as there is not as much fat to melt away. Still,
be prepared to cry when you make the first batch, as 6 pounds of
perfectly good roast will dehydrate into only one (1) quart of hamburger
rocks!
RECIPE FOR HAMBURGER ROCKS
1. Using a large skillet (cast iron is great), brown and fry 5 pounds
of ground beef. When thoroughly cooked, transfer the meat to a colander.
Rinse under hot running water to remove the fat. Then clean the
skillet with paper towels to remove excess fat from the first cooking.
2. Place the washed meat back into the wiped skillet and fry it
again over medium/low heat, stirring often until you see no more
steam. Keep the heat/flame low once the rocks are browning up nicely.
3. Place the "twice cooked" rocks into an oven roasting
pan. Turn the oven to 200 degrees F, stirring and turning occasionally
as the meat continues to dry. One to two hours should finish the
job. Remove from the oven and check for dryness. When cool, pack
into zip lock bags or mason jars. Pack tightly, expelling as much
air as possible. Store in pantry drawers or shelves.
4. To "can" the hamburger rocks for
long term storage, preheat canning jars in the over at 250 F, simmer
the lids as usual, put the "rocks" into the jars while still hot,
then seal the jars. After 15 minutes or so the jars will cool
and you will hear the jar lids "pop" as they seal in place.
Tip: Don't forget to buy and use mouse traps in your larder. Mice
will make mince meat out of packaged foods before the uninvited
house pests are even noticed by the family cat! Glass jars are the
safest method of mouse-proof storage. Storing zip lock bags in heavy
food grade 5 gallon buckets is the next safest alternative.
Meat grinders are very useful. There are many
varieties available, and one of the best is sold by
www.NorthernTool.com ,
their item #168631, priced at $48.95. This particular meat grinder
has a v-belt pulley wheel, so it can be powered from an electric
motor or even an exercise bicycle.
A hand powered grinder is $10.00 less
(item #168630), but does not have the thrust bearings as on the
pulley wheel model, and is therefore not as good a choice for
longevity.
