Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Hamburger Rocks ( How To)

How would you like to be able to store hamburger without having to freeze it?  How about being able to take advantage of a good sale without having to worry about how much freezer space it is going to take up?    What if you could  keep it for a couple of years or more just sitting on your shelf?  What if you could have it already cooked and ready to use in no time at all and with no thawing involved?  If this sounds like something you would be interested in,  then boy do I have some good news for you!  They are called Hamburger Rocks and they do! (Rock, that is!) And the best part?  Simple, easy to use and you can do it right in your own kitchen.
  There are countless recipes you can use with hamburger rocks.  Now with that being said, there are a few things that this stuff won't work for. You can't really "form" it so you won't be able to make things like meatballs or hamburger patties.  Other than that your imagination is your only limitation. Use it for things like taco meat,  spaghetti sauce, soups, chipped beef, meat pies, and  pizza toppings. Even Hamburger Helper just got even easier!!   Anything you usually use "crumbled" hamburger for, you can use hamburger rocks for.
Here's how you do it.

1. Brown your hamburger a skillet.  While you are cooking it be sure to break it up well. You don't want large chunks in your pan.
2. Once your hamburger is browned, drain all the grease from it.  An easy way to do that is to use a colander.
3. After you drain as much grease out as you can, rinse the meat with boiling hot water until the grease is gone and let it drain again. You want as little as possible in your meat.  Grease will make your meat go rancid pretty quickly.  You want to avoid this at all costs.
4. After you have the grease out and the meat is well drained, put it in a clean skillet. Season your meat with whatever you choose to use. I use salt, pepper onion powder and garlic powder.  Season it to your own taste. (You could make up different batches like "taco meat" or any other flavor)   Continue cooking until all the moisture is gone.  You want to get it as dry as you can without burning the meat.
5.If you are using a dehydrator, place your meat on the trays.  I would use screens or fruit roll up trays so the meat doesn't fall through.  If you are going to be using your oven, put the meat in a baking pan about 1/2 inch or so deep.  A cookie sheet or something similar works well.
6. Dry at 165 degrees for approximately 15 hours in your dehydrator.  For your oven (if you can't set it at 165 degrees) you may need to it at its lowest temperature. Put a spoon or something like it in the door to prop it open slightly.  This will allow the moisture to escape as well a lower the temperature slightly. 
Stir every few hours to make sure it is evenly drying. When it is done, the meat will be dark brown and hard (like little rocks) with no moisture in it.
7. Store in air tight jars. You can use your vacuum sealer or o2 absorbers to draw out the air.  
 

To re-hydrate, place the meat in a bowl and cover with boiling water.  As with most dehydrated foods the rule of thumb is 2 parts water to 1 part meat.
And there you have it.  A really simple way to store hamburger meat with minimal effort.

                     ~~~ Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ... ~~~

7 comments:

  1. This is all very good info, but I thought you were going in a different, more traditional direction with this.

    When you said ... "How would you like to be able to store hamburger without having to freeze it? How about being able to take advantage of a good sale without having to worry about how much freezer space it is going to take up? What if you could keep it for a couple of years or more just sitting on your shelf? What if you could have it already cooked and ready to use in no time at all and with no thawing involved?" ...

    ...I thought you were just going to tell us to can the meat. Pressure canned hamburger has all the advantages you listed. No freezer necessary, 2 year shelf life, ready to use without thawing, etc.

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  2. Thanks for the info. That could come in handy on a camping trip. No weight and no worry about spoiling. Thanks again.

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  3. Jimmy, Canning meat is an excellent way to store meats for the long haul. It does have lots of things going for it as well. The thing I like about dehydrating hamburger is that it has all of the qualities of canning wihtout all the space taken up by canning it. I put up 6 lbs of Hamburger Rocks this weekend. It all fit in 1 quart and one pint jar. What a space saver!

    Dizzy, You are right. Dried hamburger is a great addition to use on a camping trip. I love that it is so lightweight. It takes hardly any space at all to carry a pound or two. Just put some in a ziplock bag and you are good to go for a couple of days.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. I did hamburger rocks last year and the family never knew they were eating them when I used them this year. To them, it was just another hamburger dish. Rocks are great for all the recipes you mentioned. They work just fine.

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  5. Good Morning from a wintry UK! I don't quite know how I found your blog but I pressed something and here I am. It's such a great blog that I have added myself as your latest follower on GFC and Networked Blogs (as my real name).I am generally useless in the kitchen so any advice is welcome and hamburger rocks are definitely a new one on me.I'm really looking forward to browsing around.
    Please feel free to drop by my blog and maybe follow if you want.
    Warmest wishes
    Carol from www.facing50withhumour.blogspot.com
    Last post 'Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...'

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  6. Could this be done with turkey burger instead, so I make turkey rocks? Could I make turkey sausage and then dehydrate it to make turkey sausage rocks?

    Karen

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  7. Karen,
    Absolutely! Turkey is super lean so it would be even easier than doing the hamburger and messing with all the rinsing, etc. Great idea!
    Sci

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