Broth from Ground Meat?

[shel]

One of my butchers is providing me with ground meat at a VERY good price. however, I cannot use all that he can provide - not enough freezer space. What about making broth from the stuff? Has anyone tried using ground meat as a basis for broth?

Shel

[RAS1187]

Is this beef were talking about?

Theoritically I would say it can be done, I've just never seen it happen. I would venture a guess that fat/grease from the ground meat will release into the broth, so hopefully this is lean meat.

I would rather use ground beef for consumme, though.

[shel]

I get beef, pork, lamb, and turkey, and rarely chicken.

Wouldn't the fat just rise to the top and be able to be skimmed off later?

Fat content, unfortunately, is variable ... I get what's offered and am not too picky as I use the stuff for pet food. I often don't know what's in the package until I open it, but that may change as I get the butcher to do some better labeling.

Shel

[bubbamom]

Shel, it was always my understanding that browning the meat (on bones) was a critical part of making broth. So with ground meat, you'd be missing the "bone-additives", wouldn't you? I agree with RAZ that in theory you could make the broth but am not sure that it would have the tastes you're used to getting (and I know from your past posts that you make your own broth frequently). Is this the same butcher who sells you the mix grindings between grinding different types of meat?

[shel]

Originally Posted by bubbamom

Shel, it was always my understanding that browning the meat (on bones) was a critical part of making broth. So with ground meat, you'd be missing the "bone-additives", wouldn't you? I agree with RAZ that in theory you could make the broth but am not sure that it would have the tastes you're used to getting (and I know from your past posts that you make your own broth frequently). Is this the same butcher who sells you the mix grindings between grinding different types of meat?

Well, that's what i was concerned with - flavor. Maybe I'll make a small batch and see how it turns out, or if i can use it for something, like adding to meat loaf.

Yes, this is the same butcher I mentioned earlier. However, the meat is not mixed, it's just the tailings from one batch before another is run through. Like I said, I mainly use it for pet food, but I've played around with it some and have made burgers with it that turned out quite well.

All the meat comes from good sources - grass fed beef, organic turkey, Niman ranch pork, and so on. The butcher saves the meat for me and one other fellow.

Shel

[RAS1187]

Not all stocks require the bones to be browned prior to use. It all depends on whether or not you want that flavor and color of caramalization.

Theres only one way to truly find out about this, make a small batch of broth and see if you like it. It would be uneconomical in a restaurant environment to use precious meat for broth, but at home, especially at such a great price, why not give it a try?

[AprilB]

Not that you ate it when depressed, she grew up when her brothers would eat lard and onion sandwiches and loaves of bread were 5 cents.

Basically it was coarsly fried hamburger, onion, chopped potatoes, salt, pepper and butter. (Sounds kind of weird but is actually pretty good)

Simmered ground beef definitely has a different flavor. I don't know why but ...

Since it's still meat and fat, I'm guessing the lack of the roasted bones. Maybe you could find some that are destined for doggies and roast them then chuck them in the pot with the ground beef. They're typically pretty cheap.

Would also vitamin-ize the broth... .

April

[shel]

Originally Posted by AprilB

Basically it was coarsly fried hamburger, onion, chopped potatoes, salt, pepper and butter. (Sounds kind of weird but is actually pretty good)
[...] Since it's still meat and fat, I'm guessing the lack of the roasted bones. Maybe you could find some that are destined for doggies and roast them then chuck them in the pot with the ground beef.

The "depression sandwich" recipe doesn't sound at all strange to me. If you were to look at a typical recipe for pasties, you'll see it's not far off from that. Perogies are also similar. We're used to fancier and more complex recipes for what were once a very simple and humble ingredient list.

Bones are a non-issue here. Sometimes chicken and turkey bones are crowding the freezer, beef bones are something different, but I can get good quality bones for "almost free" should I decide to make a beef stock.

Shel

[Grumio]

The stuff's cheap - what've you got to lose? Give it a whirl. Though, from the Cooks Illustrated gang we have this:

"To intensify flavor, we tried adding a pound of ground beef to the 3 lbs of meat, thinking we would throw away the spent meat during straining. But ground beef only fattened up the broth, and its distinctive hamburger flavor muddied the waters. Also, fried ground beef does not brown well, and this burger-enhanced broth confirmed that browining not only deepened the color but beefed up the flavor as well."

FWIW.

I still say give it a go.

The Depression beef stew sounds just like something once served me by a Brit friend (Liverpool Irish, strictly speaking) which she called mince & tatties.

[siduri]

If browning is a problem, I see no reason why you couldn;t brown the ground beef before making broth, you could also add bones if that will make it tastier.

I've seen recipes for quicker stock, using ground meat and chopped vegetables

As for fat, when it melts it floats, no problem. To completely degrease it, just refrigerate, then the fat will be congealed into a clump.

As for depression beef, well, I remember when i was young and a student here in italy, i WISHED i could afford hamburger. Or chicken. Or pork. It cost four times what it was in the states. Learned a lot of bean and pasta recipes! Vegetables, in compensation, were cheap and amazing.

[HotChef]

looks like this side of the ocean we have some technical understanding problems.
what is broth? the way i understand it it is just another name for boullion or consomme?
what is the difference between 'ground' and 'minced' beef?
the classical way to make good clear soup is as follows:
beefbones, carrots,leek, onions ( browned on one side) and cellery roots.a few black peppercorns and bayleaves.fill up with cold water (bones are cleaned and blanched of course..),
mince soup meat, not to fat of course, with a rather big blade ( 5-8 mm)
mix with quantity of cold water, and any eggwhites you have.
slowly add to the cold water and bring to a boil, let than simmer for 3-4 h. the soup/ boullion/consomme/ broth(?) will be clear and strong.
for 10 ltr water 2 kgr bones and 2 kgr meat...salt at the more or less last moment...the process will give you 6-7 ltrs bouillon.
if THIS is what you understand about the workd 'broth', this is how to do it.
if it is a different process /procedure and result, please enlighten me....

[Grumio]

Originally Posted by HotChef

what is broth? the way i understand it it is just another name for boullion or consomme?
what is the difference between 'ground' and 'minced' beef?

"Ground beef" is American English; "mince" is British English.

As for "stock" & "broth," there isn't any hard & fast difference - it depends on the speaker. I have heard that "broth" refers to a by-product of cooking something else, such as the liquid used to poach a chicken, whereas "stock" is made for its own sake (ie, you're not making stock in order to get boiled bones & trimmings). Not everyone knows, makes, or even agrees with this distinction, so IMO it's not very important. It's not like "saute" vs "deep-fry," two similar but very clearly distinct things.

Consomme is stock (or broth, I guess) clarified with a "raft" - ground meat, egg whites & (I think) tomato.

I'm not sure what bouillon is exactly.

A French word, that's what it is.

Anyone know the diff btw bouillon & consomme? Is there one?

[Ninja_59]

Hi

Consommé is a french word


Heres the definitions on all here:

Bouillon Etc.

[siduri]

Isn't bouillon a stock (broth?) that has been reduced to a concentrate that can be preserved?