Cookin' Under Pressure: Ground Meats as Staples

It was the perfect storm of details that need no rehashing -- psychotic weather, ailments, grieving, March Madness, and hyperactivity leading to the holiday... 

We found ourselves running out of food and awaiting a springtime snow shower that may leave in its wake anything between a few inches to quite a few. Neither one of us was feeling our best, so the question became what we’d do about dinner. 

Image from https://www.livestrong.com

Mom had bought some ground turkey and ground pork to make a different kind of meatloaf—but for any number of reasons we didn’t get around to it.

On Sunday, I divided the turkey in half and the pork in thirds. I broke up the meats, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper and garlic powder, and mixed in a bowl. I julienned a small onion and sautéed first the onions and then the meats as I boiled water for pasta. The noodles and my bastardized and tomato-less Bolognese were ready at the same time and I let it bind with prepared pesto sauce.

The turkey is pretty neutral and takes on other more dominant flavors. The sauce is relatively light but it takes well to the pesto (the pork does not dominate the basil sauce). You can add the pesto to the meat before mixing with the noodles, and the turkey will absorb some of it. It’s a comfort taste for a meal that can be prepped in less than 10 minutes and cooked in less than 15!

After a week of insane Easter Bunny duty making cookies and candies, Mom's bum knee declared war and my own body was fighting demonic germs. I thought we should have a soup. Of course, chicken soup is the standard health aid but the only chicken we have is frozen solid.

I still had half the turkey and 2/3 of the pork.

I julienned my remaining small onion, minced the remnant pieces of garlic. I put aside a couple of tablespoons of capers in some brine and about a teaspoon of lemon juice. I used about a third of the pork (somewhere between 6-8 ounces or the amount you’d use for a decent sized burger). I seasoned the meat generously with pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

As I prepped, I started boiling water. Once it started bubbling, I added chicken bouillon. You can use meat or even vegetable stock, but I like the chicken to start. To it, I added a ¼ cup of rice. This is going to seem redundant in a minute, but do it anyway. The rice adds a velvety touch to the soup, and it will make for great leftovers.

Simmer the soup and rice on medium low flame for at least 20 minutes.

Sweat the onions in extra virgin olive oil, over a medium low flame. Once translucent, add the garlic and when it cooks through add the capers (3-5 minutes). Mix well and add the meat. Sauté meat until fully cooked, breaking up further with spatula, for approximately 5-8 minutes. 

At this point the rice is about halfway cooked. Add meat to soup pot and also add pork dumplings. They’ll rise in about 5 fives and finish cooking in another 5 minutes. Taste the liquid and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Needless to say, it is better to under season and rectify at the end than to over season and be left with something inedible.

The salt, pepper, Worcestershire, lemon, capers and brine will give the meat a little smokiness that will lend the dish several layers of flavors. I recommend 4 dumplings and perhaps a serving spoon of the meat/rice mixture per bowl (which will helpfully settle in the bottom of the pot). This leaves you plenty of soupy rice with picadillo as leftovers.

In less than half an hour you’ll have something that has depth, and a little heft, that is far more sophisticated to the palate than it has the right to be! And the best part (for us) is that I left enough for a couple of bowls for the cold day we expect in two days.

And yes, you can have depth and complexity with ground beef, but I find the combination of meats--as with meatloafs--more interesting and satisfying. Pork brings taste and a little fat, turkey and chicken are neutral fillers, veal is lean and beef is more robust.

Staples should always go beyond what's in the spice rack or cupboard. I try to have dumplings in the freezer for quick meals or appetizers. It’d also be cool to have already divided ground meats for fast weekday meals. Most ground meats may be refrigerated for a few days plus a couple more days after cooked. It’s probably best to divide the meats, label, and freeze—it’ll keep between 3 to 4 months, and you can thaw overnight in the fridge.

I have enough turkey and pork for two burgers, which will be grilled and embraced in the gooey goodness of Muenster cheese. And I realize that is a lot of the same thing in the space of 7-10 days, but each dish is sufficiently different to keep the palate happy.

Click for a pretty good recipe for Mexicali Turkey Burger with Jalapeno Muenster

I can make picadillo and combine with black beans for a Cuban rice bowl (with a couple of lime wedges on the side and a couple slices of avocado). Or we could drain it and make savory turnovers (pasties). Or tiny meatballs! I work well under pressure, I don't need a menu—just send me to the kitchen, coach!

Click for a recipe for Cuban black bean yellow rice bowl