What to Do With 4.5 Pounds of Lousy Beef?

Cafe Society
1

I let my cheapness get the better of me tonight at Wal-Mart and bought five pounds of preformed hamburgers for like $5. I knew that it would have filler and the like (mostly soy), which I was fine with. Heck, I eat soy burgers several times a week. But this stuff tastes awful. However, I’m also too cheap to toss it out. I’m thinking there are a couple options:

  1. Eat it as it is, but slather it up with mustard and maybe sauerkraut.

  2. Find recipes that call for ground beef but with other ingredients that will mask the taste. Anything from maybe a lasagna to Hamburger Helper.

  3. Feed it to the cat.

Degree of difficulty: It should also be low-carbohydrate. So the previous examples weren’t really what I am looking for.

2

First of all, make sure it’s not on the recall list.

If not then make a big pot of spicy chili.

3

Have you considered building yourself a cow?

4

If it’s not good enough for you, no self-respecting cat would touch it.

5

Cincinnati Chili. (Note: This is, with very minor modifications, the same recipe you can find in the last couple editions of The Joy of Cooking.)

6

Yeah, chili is definitely called for in this situation.

7

Wow, that is enough beef to keep a McDonald’s franchise open for almost five years!

If you have already tasted it and determined is isn’t good, I would suggest wrapping it tightly and tossing it into the garbage.

8

Life is too short to eat poor quality meat - get rid

9

Pour brown gravy over 'em and bake 'em - POOF! Salisbury steaks!

10

You could try a stew, too, and just boil it for a long time. Beef stew is yummy.

11

There’s your answer…gravy. In fact, gravy should be added to everything else you make, too. Meatloaf might work, too. A place nearby makes epic meatloaf subs. Yeah, they got gravy. :cool:

12

Crumble 'em up and make a large batch of highly spiced taco meat.

13

Would they taste better with some Bacon Salt?

14

That is plain nasty. Chocolate? Cinnamon?

What, exactly, qualifies that as a chili? Cumin? Peppercorns? There seems to be a distinct lack of, you know, chilis.

As to the OP, my advice would be to chalk it up as one of those mistakes we all make time to time. Just dump it and move on. If you can’t bring yourself to do that, maybe mix it with some better quality ground beef/turkey and make some real chili or meatloaf.

15

I gather that the OP has only tried the meat plain, I’d say to at least try making something else out of it, if it’s still inedible then dump the rest. But a lot of spices and crumbling up the beef would cover up a lot of blecch. A meatloaf or salsbury steak would still keep most of the meat intact and with the same flavor.

Damn, I’m pushing chili so much now I want to make some.

16

Fine, then I’ll feed it to the roadrunners instead. And then feed the roadrunners to the cat.
Dag, I’m coming over to your place with a large box of meat.

17

That’s what she said.
Yes, I’m 5. Why do you ask?

18

Donate the meat to your local animal shelter.

19

Fine. Bring the receipt, because I’m going to do what you should do. Take that crap back to wal-mart and get your $5 back.

20

I agree with most of your criticisms, in particular the egregious lack of chillis, but unsweetened chocolate is a standard ingredient in a lot of Mexican sauces. (I say this as I’m just about to add four squares of 70%-cocoa Montezuma’s organic chocolate to my 5 lb chilli con carne that’s on the stove right now.) It gives a chilli an amazing roundness of flavor. Don’t knock it 'till you’ve tried it!