Undoubtedly minced meat ranks in one of the first places in the category of favorite meat specialties. Still, who doesn't love moussaka or fried meatballs? Minced meat is the most commonly used meat mixture, as it can be added to almost any dish.
Ready-made minced meat is available in every meat shop. Unfortunately, it is often not prepared properly and fails to live up to our expectations. Therefore, to be sure that we will eat real and delicious ground beef, we can either ask them to grind it for us in the store from a piece of meat, or we can make it ourselves at home.
The majority of people choose the first way, as it is easier and not everyone has meat grinders in their houses. For tasty and tender minced meat, the most suitable meat is beef neck meat or part of the leg with the neck part preserved. For a better consistency, you can also add pork and the proportions should be 70% to 30%.
Once you've chosen the meat, ask the seller to grind it for you and all that's left for you to do is season it.
If you have decided to make minced meat at home, after you get home, you should wash the meat and clean it from the veins and skins. Then you cut it into small pieces and grind it in your meat grinder or food processor. Stir the grinded mixture well and leave it for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Once your minced meat is ready, all you have to do is season it with the right spices depending on what you're cooking. The seasoning of the ground beef depends on how tasty the dish will be with it.
Salt must be added to the minced meat. You can also flavor it with cumin - the traditional seasoning for meat. If you are going to make meatballs, add finely chopped onion, black pepper, savory herb and parsley. If desired, you can also add soaked white bread and egg yolk.
If you are going to prepare moussaka or stuffed peppers, in addition to salt and cumin, you can add black pepper, paprika and savory herb.
To make spaghetti Bolognese or any other pasta dish, it is best to add salt, cumin, oregano and basil to the minced meat.
After adding the spices, you need to mix the minced meat well, so that they can be distributed throughout the mixture.
To flavor the ground beef, it is necessary to leave the minced meat with the spices for at least 30 minutes.
