Beef - Double-Post Monday

Besides being Meatless Monday, it's also Double-Post Monday. Today's post deals with beef, and includes Almost White Castle Burgers and Goulash. Enjoy!

OKLAHOMA ONION BURGERS

This is from J. Kenji López-Alt in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. This recipe begins, "Homer Davis and his son Ross invented what he called the Depression burger at the Hamburger Inn in El Reno, Okla., as a means to add inexpensive bulk to their burgers. Rather than toasting, the buns are steamed in onion-scented vapor. That the technique — cooking the patties smashed-style with a huge amount of thinly shaved onions and steaming the buns — and restaurant remain popular to this day is a testament to the burgers’ deliciousness. If you prefer, you can take the cooking (and the accompanying lingering onion aroma) completely out of the house by heating the skillet or griddle directly over a very hot grill and cooking outdoors (see Tip)."

Time: 15 to 30 minutes; Yield: 4 servings

This was featured in "The Burger J. Kenji López-Alt Can’t Improve (Only Tweak)", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023331-oklahoma-onion-burgers.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef, preferably 20 to 30 percent fat

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 medium or 1 large yellow or white onion, sliced as thinly as possible, and on a mandoline for best results (8 to 10 ounces of sliced onion)

4 slices American cheese

4 soft, sturdy hamburger buns, such as King’s Hawaiian rolls

Dill pickle chips and condiments, as desired

Preparation

Step 1:

Divide the beef: Line a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the ground beef into 4 even balls. Working one ball at a time and using your hands, massage the meat until it is cohesive and tacky, about 15 seconds. Next, using clean hands, roll each into a smooth ball. Place the balls on the baking sheet, with 1 ball in the center of each quadrant. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

Step 2:

Shape the patties: Gently press each ball into a disk-shaped patty about 3 inches wide. Place the patties on a sheet pan or large plate, and season the tops with salt and pepper. Flip the patties, and top each with a large pile of sliced onions — as many as you can balance on top; they should resemble a large haystack. (It is important to not add salt to the onions at this point, as it will draw out excess moisture, which will inhibit searing.)

Step 3:

Heat the skillet or griddle: Heat a large (12-inch) cast-iron or carbon-steel skillet or griddle (see Tips) over an indoor burner set to high heat or on the grates of a hot outdoor grill for a few minutes until very hot; a drop of water should skitter around the surface. (If you don’t have a pan skillet or griddle big enough, you can cook the burgers in batches.) Place 1 patty of beef in the center of one quadrant of the pan, with the onions on top (do not add any oil).

Step 4:

Smash the burgers: Using a very stiff spatula, press on the onions and beef to form a patty 4-1/2- to 5-inches wide. As you smash, focus on the patty’s edges so that the finished patty is slightly thicker in the center and smashed out as thinly as possible along the edges. Repeat with the remaining patties. Use the spatula to place any stray onions back on top of the burgers. Season the onions lightly with salt and pepper.

Step 5:

Cook the burgers: Allow patties to cook without moving until the edges are dark brown and crusty, 1 to 2 minutes. Holding the spatula upside down (so that the head of the spatula is angled down to increase leverage), scrape the edges of each patty off the pan, working around each patty to ensure that you don’t leave any crispy edges behind. When the edges have all been loosened, turn the spatula back over (so you are holding it the standard way) and flip the patties onion side down. Use the spatula and tongs or a fork to tuck any stray onion slices mostly under the patties.

Step 6:

Steam the cheese and buns: Add a slice of cheese to each patty. Place the top half of each burger bun on top of the cheese, and place the bottom half of each bun on top of the top bun, split-side down. Cover the pan or griddle with a large domed lid, a large overturned saucepan or a clean folded dish towel. (To avoid a fire, make sure the edges of the dish towel do not hang over the skillet or griddle. If cooking on an outdoor grill, just close the lid.) Continue cooking until the onions are browned along the edges and the buns are steamed through, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Step 7:

To serve, open the cover or lid. Remove the bottom burger bun halves to a serving platter. Add pickles and condiments as desired. (These burgers don’t typically need condiments.) Lift each burger from the skillet with the spatula and transfer to the bottom bun. Serve immediately.

Tips

To add some chargrilled flavor, heat your entire gas or charcoal grill to high heat. (A full chimney of coals spread out under the cooking surface for a standard kettle grill, or all the burners on high for a gas grill.) Next, smash the onion-topped patties on top of a parchment-lined sheet tray in Step 2.

When ready to cook, heat a skillet or griddle directly over one side of the grill until very hot (5 minutes with the lid off, if cooking with coal, or 15 minutes with the lid on, if cooking with gas). When the skillet is hot, brush both the grates over the empty half of the grill and the skillet or griddle with a little neutral cooking oil. Add the onion-topped patties to the grates with a spatula, season with salt and pepper, and let them cook without moving until well charred on the bottom, 1 to 2 minutes. When ready to flip, flip them straight into the skillet, onion-side down, and continue cooking exactly as directed in Step 6.

ALMOST WHITE CASTLE HAMBURGERS

This comes from Chef Doozer on the Genius Kitchen site. Time: 20 minutes; Serves: 12

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1-1/2 lbs ground chuck

1 (4 tablespoon) envelope onion soup mix

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons water

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

24 small square dinner rolls

American cheese (optional)

pickle (optional)

Sauce

1/2 cup mustard

1/2 cup ketchup

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Hamburgers: Mix first 6 ingredients and press into an ungreased 10 by 15 inch jelly roll pan.

Prick with a fork.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Drain off juices (if there's a lot of excess).

Cool.

Cut into 24 squares.

Place squares on dinner rolls.

Combine mustard and ketchup and spread on rolls.

Top with pickles and cheese, if desired.

This makes 12 servings of 2 hamburgers each.

REAL LASAGNA SOUP

This is from John Mitzewich, aka Chef John, on AllRecipes. This yumminess begins, " If you love lasagna, but don’t love the time and effort it takes to do all that layering, then this amazing lasagna soup is for you. Unlike many of the other lasagna soup recipes online, this is way more than just some pasta, meat, and cheese sitting in a bowl of thinned out tomato sauce. This is real lasagna in soup form.

"Anyway, I loved how this came out, and I think one of the secrets is baking the pasta to give it more of the taste and texture of an actual baked lasagna noodle. They may not have looked much different in the final product, but I found the texture to be far superior to the standard technique, which is just to heat up some cooked pasta in the finished soup. So I do recommend the extra few minutes of prep, but either way, if you’re in the mood for lasagna, but aren’t into the whole production, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!"

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes; Makes 6 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.allrecipes.com/real-lasagna-soup-recipe-7967799.

Ingredients

Noodles:

8 ounces dry lasagna noodles

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

Soup Base:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound lean ground beef

6 ounces bulk Italian sausage, or 1 Italian sausage links, casing removed

1 cup diced yellow onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

1 (24 ounce) jar prepared marinara sauce, or 3 cups homemade marinara sauce

4 cups chicken broth

2-1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Cheese Mixture:

12 ounces ricotta cheese

3 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Garnish:

1/2 cup torn fresh basil and Italian parsley leaves (optional)

Directions

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in lasagna noodles and return to a boil. Cook pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just flexible, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer noodles into cold water until cooled; drain very well.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and grease parchment with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Cut noodles in half lengthwise. Arrange noodles in evenly overlapping rows on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with melted butter, and use fingers to rub some butter between the noodles.

Bake noodles in the preheated oven until they are golden, blistered, and are beginning to brown with crispy outside edges. Let cool; cut into bite-sized pieces.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a soup pot, and place over high heat. Add beef and sausage. Use a spatula to break up the meat into small pieces; cook without stirring until liquid evaporates and meat begins to sizzle in its own fat, then continue to cook and stir until meat begins to brown, about 7 minutes.

Add onions, garlic, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, dried oregano, black pepper, and kosher salt. Cook and stir until onions begin to turn translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.

Stir in chicken broth, tomato sauce, and water. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 45 minutes.

In a bowl, stir ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese together; set aside.

Increase the heat under soup to medium high; stir in noodle pieces. Cook, stirring, until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and stir in the 2 tablespoons Italian parsley.

Serve in bowls with a scoop of cheese mixture, and sprinkle with freshly torn basil and Italian parsley if desired.

Cook’s Note

The pasta does not have to be baked first, and can simply be broken up raw, stirred into the soup, and cooked until tender. Other pasta shapes can be used instead.

More or less chicken broth can be used for a thicker or thinner soup texture.

GOULASH

This is from Lidey Heuck in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this yummy recipe, Lidey wrote, "Hungarian goulash, a stew of paprika-spiced braised meat and vegetables, likely arrived in the United States with a wave of immigrants in the late 1800s. The dish began a game of telephone, slowly evolving into something new entirely. While American-style goulash may not bear much resemblance to its Hungarian namesake, the hearty one-pot dish has endured as an easy and comforting family weeknight dinner. Made with ground beef, bell peppers, diced tomatoes and macaroni, it falls somewhere between a beef chili and a meaty pasta. A sprinkle of Cheddar, stirred in just before serving, thickens the sauce and adds richness. Serve the goulash on its own or with a green vegetable and cornbread on the side."

Time: 50 minutes; Yield: 4 to 6 servings

To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024344-goulash.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 green or red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 5 cloves)

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

1-1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

Black pepper

1 pound ground beef (at least 85-percent lean)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 cups low-sodium beef broth, plus more as needed

1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1-1/4 cups uncooked macaroni

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar

Chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Preparation

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the bell pepper and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper and cook for 30 seconds, until the garlic is fragrant.

Add the ground beef and cook, stirring often and breaking up the meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.

Pour in the broth, crushed and diced tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce; bring to a boil. Stir in the macaroni, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pot, until the pasta is cooked and the liquid in the pan has thickened considerably, 18 to 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the Cheddar. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper, if needed. Serve in bowls, topped with fresh parsley. (The goulash will continue to thicken as it sits. If desired, add a splash of beef broth when reheating.)

BISTRO ONION BURGERS

According to the Family Time site, "Are you looking for a quick and easy dinner that everyone will love? Try these burgers that use dry onion soup mix to add a savory touch."

Prep. time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 10

Serves: 6

Source: Campbell's® Quick and Easy Cookbook

Ingredients

1-1/2 lb. ground beef

1 envelope (about 1 oz.) dry onion soup & recipe mix

3 tbsp. water

6 Pepperidge Farm® Farmhouse™ Premium White Rolls, with Sesame Seeds, split and toasted

lettuce leaves

tomato slices

Directions

Thoroughly mix the beef, soup mix and water. Shape the beef mixture into 6 (1/2-inch thick) burgers.

Cook the burgers in batches in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until well browned on both sides, 10 minutes for medium or to desired doneness.

Serve the burgers on the rolls. Top with the lettuce and tomato.

Author: Campbell's Kitchen Found here.

BEEF CHILI

This yummy chili recipe is from Tyler Florence on The Food Network. Prep Time: 30 minutes; Cooki Time: 2 hours 15 minutes; Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes; Yield: 6 to 8 servings; Level: Intermediate

To view this online, go to https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/beef-chili-recipe-1937323.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 pounds beef shoulder, cut into large cubes

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons ancho chili powder

1 tablespoons ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 onions, diced

10 garlic cloves, halved

3 canned chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, crushed by hand

1/2 cup masa harina

3 cups shredded white Cheddar, for garnish

2 bunches chopped chives, for garnish

1 1/2 cups sour cream, for garnish

Ingredients

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil. Season the beef shoulder all over with salt and pepper, add it to the pot and brown it. As it's browning stir in the chili powder, coriander, cumin, paprika, oregano and cinnamon. Lower the temperature under the meat to "toast" the spices. In a food processor puree the onions, garlic, chipotle peppers, jalapeno, tomato paste and sugar and add it to the pot. Increase the heat to medium to steam vegetables a little and sweeten the peppers. Add enough water to cover by 1 inch, about 1 quart, and add tomatoes with their liquid. Bring to a boil and skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat and simmer until the meat is fork-tender and comes apart with no resistance, about 2 hours. As it cooks down, add more water, if necessary. When done, stir in the masa harina. Take a potato masher and mash the chili so the meat comes apart in shreds. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish each serving with the shredded Cheddar, chives, and sour cream.