How to make mincemeat without a meat grinder: 2 ways

If you have to cook for a large family, then minced meat, prepared by your own hand, is rather a necessity. In addition, it allows you to be confident in the consistency of future cutlets and not be afraid to run into low-quality store-made semi-finished products.

How to do without a meat grinder

Unfortunately, not every kitchen can find this machine. And it makes no sense to use it for a small amount of meat. Difficulties in operation are also associated with the need to wash and dry numerous parts of the mechanism.

If there is a blender with a bowl at hand, it can easily replace the meat grinder. However, this method will be suitable only for soft meat, preferably without veins, which will only score the blender blades. Before chopping meat in this way, you need to cut it into pieces. And if you add more carrots and onions to the bowl, you will get a puffy batter for cutlets.

But even if your kitchen does not have any auxiliary equipment, you should not despair. There are at least two ways to make mincemeat without using a meat grinder:

• grate;
• chop.

And the latter method can grind both tough meat and tender chicken. In this case, the technology of the process will be different.

How to choose minced meat

Whatever the method of preparation of minced meat, the taste of the dishes is affected by the quality of the meat that was originally taken.

There are several criteria by which you can choose the most suitable product:

1. The freshness of the meat is a condition that must necessarily be respected. A product that has been stored in the freezer for a long time will not do. Making purchases in the meat department, it is necessary to specify the time of meat on the shelves, because the fresher it is, the more delicious the minced meat will be.
2. The degree of fat content - the appropriate indicator may vary for different types of meat. So, chicken has the lowest fat content, so it is often chosen for children's dishes. It can be used in combination with meat of other birds, in which case the fat content will be higher. The ideal combination for minced meat is pork and beef. These two types of meat organically complement each other, compensating for the excessive fat content of pork and dryness of beef. To these types of meat in the mince can be added lamb, which itself is high in fat and heavy.
3. The dish for which the meat is chosen. Naturally, the type of meat for minced meat is chosen on the basis of the dish that is supposed to be cooked from it. So, for tender meatballs, minced pork and beef of medium fat content will be suitable, and for dietary dishes, these types of meat are excluded.

Note. Stuffing from dry meat is not suitable for cooking, as dishes from it will not hold their shape well.

Grated minced meat

Almost every kitchen has a grater, so this method will suit almost everyone. Meat for mince should be medium or low-fat. Even pork can be grated.

How to cook

First, the initial piece of meat should be sent to the freezer, where it should freeze. The piece of meat should not harden completely. Then take it out and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.

If there is a lot of meat, it should be divided into pieces, which will be convenient to hold in your hand. The side of the grater, which will be used, should be lubricated with any vegetable oil, which will facilitate the process.

Grate the bar should be smooth movements, periodically turning it around. As a result, you get an airy minced meat of a fairly homogeneous consistency, which is perfect for cooking cutlets or meatballs.

In this way you can prepare meat for long-term storage. After grating a large volume of the product, from the resulting minced meat you need to form lumps of volume suitable for one portion of cooking, wrap in clingfilm and send it to the freezer.

How to chop minced meat

This method requires two of the sharpest knives. It is better if one of them has a wide blade. But if you don't have one, you can also use ordinary knives.

What is important to consider when using this method of chopping meat:

1. The cutting board must be designed for meat. It is not allowed to use plastic boards or with film coatings, because in the process of cutting such material can come off the board and get into the minced meat. The most suitable are wooden boards without chemical treatment.
2. Before chopping, the meat should be washed, then squeezed from excess water and remove veins.
3. To prepare minced meat, red meat (veal, beef or pork), taken from the area above the kidneys or shoulder blade, is most suitable. In this area it has optimum fat content.

How to cook

1. If you need to shred a large piece, first divide it into bars.
2. Take a knife in both hands. With a large tool, cut the meat into pieces so that the blade remains on the board, and only the handle moves. The smaller knife is suitable for chopping.
3. Initially you should get small slices, and the movement of the knives should also touch the already sliced minced meat in order to shred it even more.
4. After shredding, gather the minced meat in the center of the cutting board and go over it with a knife a few more times.

The whole process of obtaining minced meat takes quite a long time, but the dishes obtained from it justify such expenses. Meat rolls, cutlets, stuffed cabbage rolls and meatballs from minced meat, chopped in this way, turn out airy and very juicy.

Making minced chicken without a mincer

For this method, chicken meat from the thigh part of the chicken is excellent. The fillet is not as juicy, so it is better left for other dishes.

Cooking minced chicken by slicing, you can achieve a state of souffle, so that dishes made with such meat will have a fantastic taste.

So, before you start slicing, you need to do the following steps:

• Separate a piece of chicken meat from the skin, membranes and take out all the bones;
• Wash under running water;
• Leave it on a paper towel for a while to get out the excess moisture.

When the preparation is finished, the chicken should be cut in slices and proceed to chopping.

For the best shredding, you will need:

• A quality, uncoated cutting board.
• Knife.
• A meat mallet.

Preparation:

1. Placing the meat on the board, break it with a special hammer, alternating its sides. After that, you should get small soft pieces.
2. They should be finely chopped with a knife according to the technology described above.
3. Then you should repeat the cycle of beating and slicing a few more times to obtain a homogeneous and puffy mass.

The final result depends on patience and effort. But making minced chicken mince is quite a quick task, because such meat is initially very soft.

Choosing minced meat in the store

It often happens that there is little time left for cooking, so there is a need to buy the most prepared products at once. To choose the highest quality minced meat, you should pay attention to the following recommendations:

1. If the product exudes a pungent or unpleasant smell, then it is definitely not worth buying. The same applies to the color. The pink or red color of the product mostly corresponds to freshly cooked minced meat. If there are traces of unusual colors, such as green or blue, you should better avoid this product.
2. The smell of garlic or onions in stores often masks stale meat. This should be considered when choosing products for your family.
3. A large amount of gristle and fat in the stuffing indicates the low quality of the meat substrate used for its preparation.
4. If the minced meat is packaged, you should pay attention to the specified shelf life and observance of storage conditions of the product.
5. Vacuum packaging extends the freshness of the meat, but you should pay attention to the absence of traces of mold or foreign inclusions.
6. If the packaged minced meat lacks at least a minimal amount of light pink liquid, it means that the product has been treated with chemical reagents to increase the shelf life.

Now you know how to choose meat or minced meat for cooking in your kitchen. If there is a great desire to make mincemeat yourself, and there is no access to a meat grinder, you can grate frozen meat or chop it. It is noteworthy that minced meat, chopped in such ways, turns out more tender and juicy dishes.