Hamburgers and Meatballs

Burgers – or try baking the mixture as a meatloaf, or even frying the minced meat to use as a topping for pasta.





Meatballs Ingredients

500g meat (250g beef and 250g pork. Pork may be replaced with chicken)
2 eggs
2 large potatoes or 3 small potatoes
1 large onion or 2 small onions
2 slices of bread, or 1 cup of breadcrumbs
Optional: ½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Optional: ½ tbsp ketchup
1/4 cup milk
Herbs to taste such as basil, rosemary, oregano, or thyme
Salt and pepper, to taste (1 tsp salt, minimum)
Oil for frying

To prepare the meat :

Step 1: Defrost the meat for several hours beforehand.

Step 2 : Breadcrumbs: Toast 2 slices of bread and blend them or just use store bought breadcrumbs.

Step 3 : Peel the potatoes, wash them thoroughly, and cut into quarters. If you are not peeling the potatoes, be sure to cut out all the eyes, mold, or fungus growing on the potato skin. Remove any parts of the potato that are green as the green parts are toxic! Place the potatoes in a microwaveable bowl, and pour in enough water to just cover them. Cover the bowl and microwave for four minutes. Pour the water into a pot to reserve it to make gravy. Microwave the potatoes for another minute, covered.

Step 5: Peel, cut, and blend onions. Reserve a teaspoon for gravy if you are making meatballs.

Tip : Mini cleavers are the best knives for kids to use. They are just like the big ones. However, they have a much smaller and safer blade, and a longer handle – perfect for the little ones!

Caution : This recipe involves working with raw meat, knives, microwave oven and stovetop. Adult supervision is recommended. Children must be extra careful not to hurt themselves. Be aware that cleanliness is of high priority when working with raw meat. Wash your hands thoroughly with plenty of soap before and after handling raw meat.

Method :

Step 1 : Using your hands, combine the meat in a large mixing bowl.

Step 2 : Add the eggs, potatoes, onions, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup and combine by hand. Note: It helps to have one person combining the ingredients while the other adds them into the bowl.

Step 3 : Pour in the milk gradually until the mixture is just moist but not too wet.

Note: you may not need all of the milk, or you may need more of it; use your judgment here.

Step 4 : Season the meat with the herbs, salt, and pepper, to taste.

Step 5 : Make a small test patty and fry it. This will allow you to taste the cooked meat to make sure it is properly seasoned.

Step 6: Add more seasoning if necessary, and test again.

Step 7 : Shape the rest of the meat into patties or meatballs.

Step 8 : Coat each patty or meatball in a little flour and lay them on a plate lined with paper towels.

Step 9: Spread a layer of oil in a nonstick pan and fry the meat until browned, at 160 F. Meat must be well done.

Putting the hamburger together

You can use any combination of the following items :
Burger buns
Mustard
Mayonnaise
Butter
Lettuce leaves
Carrots - shredded
Tomatoes - sliced
Coleslaw
Ketchup/Tomato Sauce
Chilli Sauce

From Kuali.com