Salisbury Steak

Ree Drummond's Recipe:

Salisbury Steak.  Leave out bread crumbs.

Burgers For a Crowd

In college, one of my favorite places to eat was Dirty Martin's Kum-Bak Hamburgers. (If you are in Austin, Texas, GO THERE).  There was an old diner-style counter with a man (Dirty Martin?) standing behind it flipping burgers on a hot griddle.  To this day, my favorite burger is a simple griddle-fried patty, bun or no bun. 

I've been trying to replicate Kum-Bak Burgers at home for 20 years, without success.  My burgers were always too dry, too done, too raw, or too plain.   In a pan they would never get done.  On the griddle they would be swimming in grease and steam before they browned.  Under the broiler they would ooze too much fat and flame up.

Then one day I was at a cooking demonstration where we learned a technique for making fish for a crowd.    Two steps: (1) brown the fish in a pan on both sides; (2) transfer the fish to a 200 degree oven to finish gently cooking until ready to serve.  Wait ... could I do this with burgers?   Yep.

Makes about 25 patties, 2 inches in diameter
Make a whole batch and freeze for lunches

3 lb ground beef (2 lb chuck, 1 lb leaner, like sirloin)

3 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

Preheat oven to 200.

Mix meat gently with hands until seasoning is mixed through.  Use an ice cream scoop (disher) to scoop out balls of meat onto wax paper.  Place another piece of wax paper on top and press until patties are about 1/4 inch thick.

Preheat pan over medium (to medium-high; depends on stove).  Lightly grease pan with coconut oil.   Flop 4-5 patties into pan (don't crowd the pan).  Let cook 2-3 minutes, or until lightly seared.  Flip and cook on other side for 2-3 minutes.

Transfer burgers to a foil-lined baking sheet in oven (the lipped kind - no grease rollover).   Repeat with next batch of 4-5 patties.  Continue to transfer browned patties to oven.  (If you are cooking all the patties at once, pour excess fat out of the pan every batch or two.) Let bake in oven until ready to serve.  I usually let mine hang out in the oven at least 30 minutes (last night I actually grabbed a shower while they cooked).  

If you want cheese on top, pop some cheese slices on there about 5 minutes before removing from the oven.

Serve as a Burger Bar (a la Fuddruckers).  Some of our favorite toppings:
-shredded lettuce
-sliced tomatoes
-sliced onions
-ketchup
-mustard
-mayonnaise
-sriracha hot sauce
-pickles (Bubbies)
-sauerkraut (Bubbies)
-pickled jalapenos

My favorite combo: lettuce + kraut + mayo + sriracha + burger on top!

Meatza

Google "meatza" and you will discover an abundance of different recipes.  It's yummy.  It really satisfies the pizza craving, especially if you are going to have "real" pizza in the house and need something else to eat!   Also a great way to use up leftover veggies.

Meat "Crust"
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp sage
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp salt
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder

(alternate: 1 lb beef, 1 egg, 1/7 of 4" link of chorizo)

Pizza Sauce
you can use jarred sauce, as long as it has no sugar
8 oz tomato sauce
6 oz tomato paste
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp basil
3/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Toppings
should be pre-cooked
steamed broccoli
sauteed mushrooms
squash
sliced tomato (raw)
olives
pepperoni
etc

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix meat with spices; press into a small square baking pan.  (I line my pan with parchment paper to make lifting it out easier.)  Bake 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes.  Lift meat from pan, being careful to pour grease back into pan.  Place meat on a baking sheet (again, lined with parchment or foil - I hate washing dishes!).

Top meat base with pizza sauce and veggies.  Put back in oven for a few minutes, until warmed*.

*I usually put mozzarella on half the meatza for my kids, so I pop it in the oven until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.

Homemade Spaghetti-O's

Okay, obviously this isn't PALEO!  But it's cheap and fast, and kids love it. This falls into my "at least it's not fast food" category...

1 lb ground beef

garlic powder

salt

3 cans tomato soup (please use one without HFCS)

8 oz cheddar cheese, grated

1 lb macaroni

Brown ground beef and season with garlic powder and salt. Boil macaroni. Heat tomato soup with cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Mix all together.

Beef Roast or Stew

1 roast, whole or cut into cubes

1 cup beef broth (or other liquid)

salt

pepper

garlic powder
onion powder

1 T coconut oil

Season meat liberally with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Brown in coconut oil in dutch oven on stove top.  Add broth and any veggies. Cover with tight-fitting lid. Bake at 250 for 8 hours.

Add onions, carrots, or potatoes if you wish.

My new favorite stew recipe, from Emeril:
Substitute arrowroot for white flour.
Emeril's Beef Stew

Taco Salad

2 lb ground beef

2 T Southwest Seasoning

lettuce

tortilla chips

cheddar cheese, grated

salsa

sour cream

guacamole

Saute ground beef until done. Add Southwest Seasoning and 1 cup water; simmer on low until absorbed. Serve with lettuce, chips, etc.

PALEO: omit chips. use cheese and sour cream sparingly.

Meatloaf

2 lb ground beef

1/4 cup mirepoix

1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

4 T potato starch
2 eggs
4 slices bacon*

Cook bacon.  My favorite method is to place it in a glass pie plate, cover with parchment paper, and microwave on high 4 minutes (1 min per slice).  Save bacon grease.

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix mirepoix, salt, Worcestershire, potato starch, and eggs in a bowl.  Whisk until thoroughly combined (no lumps of potato starch).  Add ground beef, crumbling it in with your fingers.  Chop bacon and add.  Pour in reserved bacon grease.  Stir with a fork to combine, but don't over-mix.

Shape into a long loaf in the middle of a casserole dish.  Pour a little water in each side to prevent grease from being baked on.

Bake for 1.5 hours.

If you like meatloaf topped with sauce, here is a sauce;  not paleo unless you use natural ketchup!
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp maple syrup

*Bacon is optional.  Even if you don't use it, if you have some bacon grease pour a little in.