Korean Job Discussion Forums

[JongnoGuru]

It's been ages since I made spaghetti with meat sauce, or any dish with ground beef. Now I've got to make some for guests... like, really soon. I had a feeling this was going to be a problem, and it is, but not in the way I expected.

I did a few test-runs already, cooking up very small batches, and they all sucked. And the problem is always the meat. The meat tastes extremely bland, it's a bit hard, tough and chewy, and I don't seem to be able to get the moist, crumbly, finely & evenly ground consistency that I want. I want a large-curd cottage cheese consistency, but I'm getting pebbles on the beach.

The end product is like eating a tomato-based pasta sauce with unevenly sized chunks of dense, dry, and incredibly bland beef floating around in it. My mother had a fantastic recipe that included, along with a bunch of things I can't remember, a half cup of coffee. Weird but delicious. Yeah, "call mom". I don't think it's worth conducting a seance just to get her spaghetti recipe, though.

So anyway, what the fark am I doing wrong with the beef? One thing I'm noticing is that it's quite lean, and it takes me forever to break it up in the skillet with a fork & spatula. My arm usually falls off before it's all broken down to the size I want.

Could someone guide me through the meat-cooking stage? Everything else is fine (I think), so I don't need long lists of ingredients. Okay, what you add to the skillet before/during/right after cooking the beef might be helpful.

Thanks so much.

[babtangee]

Make meat balls.

[Mashimaro]

[anae]

Is your meat completely thawed before you start cooking? My beef does that if I try to cook it partially frozen.

[JongnoGuru]

[djsmnc]

Cook it fresh. Also, don't cook it really fast. Take your time and let it slowly cook through. I usually cook it until it's riiiight about there, then let it boil in the sauce a bit to really cook all the way through.

[kimchikowboy]

Was the meat expensive? I'm not bashing here, but it sounds like Korean beef. The Korean beef I've had from the market is tougher and chewier than what we might be used to. Though it is probably too late, try the Australian stuff, like from HomePlus. It is cheaper than the local product, and, for me, tastier.

[JongnoGuru]

[rothkowitz]

Thaw it ought naturally.If you nuke it,you're half cooking it already.

When cooking try combining with some pork mince for extra fat,cook it up with the onions and garlic,puti n some herbs,a lot of tomatoes,some white wine and let it simmer gently all afternoon.

Lente,lente..

[grainger]

[peony]

i dunno if i should be sharing this recipe as its an italian-american friend's family one but since its the guru, i'll be nice

to make a nice sauce, you need to get some pork neck from the butcher's. brown it on both sides and cook through most of the way.
take it out of the pan and in the pork grease, saute minced garlic and onions. add pureed canned tomatoes and tomato paste (or jarred sauce if thats all you got) add the pork back in and let simmer for at the very least, 1 hour on very low heat

for the beef, wet some white bread in milk, squeeze out excess, add egg and seasoning (salt, pepper, etc) and make meatballs. cook and brown in a pan and when its fully cooked, add to your sauce

you can add dried or fresh herbs to the sauce to taste as well

[huffdaddy]

[JongnoGuru]

Thanks all for the great tips and tricks and recipes, and I'll keep a file of everything. With zero time remaining, my only practical option at this point is prayer. And slow cooking. I'm definitely going with Aussie beef next time, this Korean stuff is blood-red lean.

I will try the meatball approach next time. I'm just worried that if this time is another flop like the others, those meatballs will go down like big chunks of edible woodpulp. Either this is the most tasteless beef I've ever had, or I've just forgotten what ground beef tastes like.

[rothkowitz]

I find Ozzie beef really dry.Korea Times states US beef imports to resume after Chuseok.Have to wait and see if its any different.....I can't remember what good,fresh beef tastes like either.

Ah!I remember an Italian cookery show.He threw a whole heap of garlic cloves into the sauce.Called them "white pearls"

Can anybody remember the guys name?Burly,curly haired guy with glasses.A veritable eating machine.Would drink olive oil and eat pork fat sandwiches.... his Italian recipes were really simple,rustic and provincial.Think it was a BBC series.

[kimchi_pizza]

peony is right on. Brown the ground beef/pork to the point of just about burning it. That's where you get the meaty taste. Use the oil/grease for your saute or dump it straight into the spaghetti sauce. Italian sausage is best, but we are in Korea...dam it.