Ground…round….we go….

Ever since we have been raising our own grass fed beef…. We have run into a problem… not a bad problem… but still a problem nonetheless. We eat our way through our side… and as we get closer and closer to the next…(eh hem)… batch… we race to the bottom…

The bottom of the freezer that is.

And then what is left are the forlorn, forgotten …but still fantastic…cuts that seemed a GREAT idea at the time.

I am never sure who the baron was… but I see him as a proper sir with a top hat…. Or perhaps his genealogy ‘trumps’ his standing…

Anyways… politics aside, I end up with a whole shelf of these lost packages…. And a mad rush to do something with them… all the while reminding myself for next time….less round… more ground!!!

Then a few years back a solution presented itself. It seems that no amount of round roasts were the right amount. We always ate other cuts first.

The round is underappreciated.

It’s lean, it can be tough…and there is tons of it. Literally. Ever seen the ass end of a steer? Well that’s round/rump.

But back to the solution….

A nifty accessory for the mixer. This one has a few strong attributes…not the least of… grinding meat.

Side note…. It is VERY important to not lose the little windmill shaped blade that comes in this box. Not just very…exceedingly very important. And a further note….when you do put this little windmill guy somewhere safe…other than in the box with the rest of the parts…. Amazon can sell you one. Or two. Or three.

1 frozen roast

1 microwave

1 kitchenaid with said accessory

1 bowl

1 ice bath

1 sharp knife (with strength of blade to cut through a semi frozen round roast)

Ice bath?

The kitcheaid is designed to mix floury things. And whip eggs into submission. Grinding meat? It heats up. And warm steel meeting meat? A recipe for a congealed mess.

I bathe the accessories in ice before attaching.

First I thawed the roast a bit in the microwave. Then I used the strong sharp knife to cut the roast into thing chunks ideal for shoving in the grinder…I used the larger grinder piece…. And here is the result…

4 lbs of ground round.

The plan was Mexican. The end result? Gluten free crispy burritos.

4 lbs gently cooked in the Dutch oven. Gently because this is round and it is lean and does not do well with overcooking. I cheated and added some leftover rendered bacon fat. And I seasoned the heck out of it to make up for the lack of fat. And salt. A good amount.

I also made the most divine refried black beans… yes also using some bacon fat…..mmmmm

And of course guacamole…

I froze the rest of the cooked meat. I will use it in hard tacos and perhaps nachos or quesedillas.

I steamed the GF tortillas to soften and only put the refrieds, the meat and some sheep cheese inside. Then rolled and crisped in a fry pan with some fat… not bacon this time, but some beef tallow from said grass fed steer. Then kept warm in the oven until we were ready to chow down… and that we did….

Ground…round… we go….