Cheap and Lean

Extra lean ground beef sure is expensive.  Around here, it is at least $7.99 per pound.  I much  prefer my inexpensive solution.  This haul of reduced priced meat set me back about eight bucks.  There was close to four pounds in this cache of USDA Choice beef.  Not the best grade, but I'll take it.  There were two trays of boneless eye round steak, and one pound of chuck.

They eye round had almost no fat at all.  The chuck had fat, marbling and connective tissue.  My plan was to mix it all together and cook it low and slow.  That would help break down the connective tissue.

I put this lot through my meat grinder three times.  After round one, I added eggs and bread crumbs, plus seasonings.  Each successive pass through the grinder mixed in the connective tissue and fat from the chuck and made for a much more unified blend.

One half of the batch was shaped into a loaf.  The rest was rolled into meat balls.  They baked at 175f for three hours and then at 250 for another twenty minutes.   This is what they looked like cooked.  Notice there is hardly any fat drippings?  My low fat ground beef was a fraction of the cost of the packaged ground chuck that most folks buy.  The lower grade of meat (not Grade A) made no difference.

After these tasty little bits of beef cooled, they were separated into two zippy bags and tossed in the freezer.  They are ready for the next time I make sauce.

One of the best investments a frugal cook can make, is a meat grinder.  Mine is an attachment for my stand mixer, but I've worked with the hand cranked kind too.  Those can be found at thrifts for a couple of bucks.  Definitely worth the price!