There’s nothing worse than waiting hours for a roast to wrap up cooking, only for it to come out simultaneously overcooked and slightly raw. This is common with roasts that aren’t evenly shaped, so it’s important to examine what you buy before it comes home with you. If it does happen to make its way into your kitchen, however, an oddly shaped roast can be easily repurposed into minced meat.
Just because a cut of meat has no future as a roast doesn’t mean it’s totally useless. What makes these meats such a catch is the level of fattiness they possess. Ingredients like chuck roast or lamb shoulder become incredibly tender when slow-cooked in either their whole form or ground, making them cuts of meat to consider for mincing. The fattiness of these traditional roast choices translates to minced meat that stays juicy when cooked and maintains a rich, tender flavor that’s perfect for a variety of dishes.
Mincing meat is easier with a grinder, but you can also do it with a food processor or by hand. Using a cleaver or another large, sharp knife, cut the meat into one inch cubes. If you’re going to be using the food processor, partially freeze the meat before pulsing it in the machine. To do it by hand, arrange the cubes together and chop them up vertically from left to right. Flip the meat over and chop horizontally, repeating the steps until the meat is finely ground.
Minced meat adds richness to all kinds of recipes
Once the meat is ground, it can bulk up plenty of foods or be turned into something totally new. Beef chuck is a common roast pick, but its meaty flavor can be used for far more than the traditional dish. The savory cut is a great choice for making rich no bean chili. Its fattiness lends the stew a silky mouthfeel that elevates the store-bought broth, as well as the rest of the ingredients.
Beef chuck has a flavor that’s perfect for pasta dishes, but you can give them a gamey twist with minced lamb shoulder, instead. The meat’s rich, grassy flavor brings a fresh taste to recipes like classic baked ziti. While the tangy tomato sauce helps to lift some of the gaminess, creamy ricotta and mozzarella and savory parmesan elevate the lamb’s taste.
If you have more than one kind of roast that’s oddly shaped, mince them together to make juicy meatballs. Both beef chuck and pork shoulder have a rich, fatty flavor that makes for a delicious batch of the appetizers. Once the meat is minced, mix them together with breadcrumbs, egg yolks, and milk, as well as salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil, and a sprinkle of parmesan before forming the meatballs and slow-cooking them.
