Old Fashion Meat Paste Recipes

POTTED BEEF

Steps:

• In a heavy medium saucepan, simmer the beef in 1/4 inch of water. Stew until very tender, about 2 to 3 hours, replacing water as necessary. Drain, reserving the liquid.
• Pass the cooked stew meat through a meat grinder twice, until it is the consistency of a thick, stringy paste.
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Filter the melted butter through clean muslin (cheese cloth), to remove the milk solids.
• In a medium bowl, mix the cooked meat with 3/4 of the strained, melted butter. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and nutmeg to taste. Stir in desired amount of reserved cooking liquid to moisten.
• Transfer the mixture to sterile containers and top with remaining butter. Seal and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

HOMEMADE POTTED BEEF

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/Gas 3
• Put the beef in an ovenproof dish which has a lid. Season sparingly with salt but be generous with the pepper.Stir in 50ml of the stock.
• Lay the butter slices over the beef to cover. Put the lid on the dish - if the lid isn't tight-fitting, put a piece of foil over the dish before putting on the lid.
• Put the dish in the oven and cook until the beef is very soft (3-5 hours).After 30-40 minutes remove the lid, stir to separate any pieces of meat that have stuck together, then replace the lid and return to the oven until done.
• When the beef is very tender, remove the dish from the oven, take off the lid and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
• Tip the contents of the dish into a blender or food processor and whizz until smooth, adding as much extra stock as needed to loosen it. IMPORTANT: the potted meat will firm up a lot when cold so should be a rather loose mixture at this stage.Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.
• Transfer the potted beef to individual ramekins, jars or one larger container, cover and leave to chill in the fridge.
• Serve spread on crusty bread or toast, with pickles such as cornichons, onions etc. on the side.Should keep for 4 days in the fridge or can be frozen.Tip: if the cooled potted beef is firmer than you'd like, beat in a little cold beef stock. It's also delicious pinged in the microwave for 12- 20 seconds which will soften and warm it.

MULTIPURPOSE MEAT PASTE

Steps:

• Slice each breast and thigh across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick strips. When cutting the breast tenders, remove and discard the silvery strip of tendon. Keep any visible fat for richness, but trim away any cartilage or sinewy bits, as they won't grind well.
• To make the marinade, in a bowl large enough to fit the chicken, whisk together the baking powder, tapioca starch, sugar, fish sauce, and oil. Add the chicken and use a rubber spatula to mix well. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to overnight. The chicken will stiffen as it sits.
• Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and use a spoon to break it apart. Working in batches, grind the chicken in a food processor until a smooth, stiff, light pink paste forms. (This step takes several minutes and the machine will get a good workout.) Stop the machine occasionally to scrape down the sides. When you are finished, there should be no visible bits of chicken and the paste should have a slight sheen. Using the rubber spatula, transfer each batch to another bowl, taking care to clean well under the blade.
• The paste is ready to use, or it can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days. For long-term keeping, divide it into 1/2- and 1-pound portions (a scant 1 cup paste weighs 1/2 pound), wrap in a double layer of plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 2 months.
• To make giò the old-fashioned way, you must first hand pound the meat and then add the marinade ingredients. Use a large Thai stone mortar and pestle, which can be found reasonably priced at Asian restaurant-supply and housewares shops. My 9-inch-wide mortar has a 5-cup capacity bowl that is 6 1/2 inches wide and 4 inches deep. The 8-inch-long pestle is about 2 inches wide at the base. Select a pestle that fits your hand comfortably. (Stone pestles, heavier than the wooden one mentioned in the chapter introduction, make pounding easier.)
• To minimize physical strain, I sit on a low kitchen stool and put the mortar on a solid table or box, with the rim of the mortar slightly below my knee. You may also sit on the floor with the mortar between your legs. Place a thick towel under the mortar to protect the work surface. Regardless of your setup, you want to sit astride the mortar and efficiently use your upper body strength to work the pestle. It takes about 35 minutes to produce a full batch of paste, so you may want to halve the recipe. To yield giò that is close to the traditional version, pound pork (see Note, above), which works better than chicken. The beef mixture used for making Beef, Dill, and Peppercorn Sausage (page 161) is also a good candidate for hand pounding.
• Cut the meat into 1/4-inch-thick strips as instructed in the recipe. Blot the meat dry with paper towels to prevent it from sliding around the mortar.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients. Set aside near the pounding station. (Hand-pounded giò doesn't traditionally call for leavener and starch, but I find that they guarantee a silkier result that is neither too dense nor too firm.)
• Put about 1/2 pound of the meat (or a quantity you find manageable) in the mortar and start pounding with a steady rhythm, pausing only to remove any gristly bits that come loose. After about 4 minutes, the meat should have gathered into a mass and, perhaps, even stuck to the pestle, allowing you to use the pestle to lift the meat from the mortar and pound it down again. Keep pounding for another 2 minutes to make the meat cohere into a smooth mass that resembles a ball of dough. Use a rubber spatula or plastic dough scraper to transfer the meat to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining meat.
• Add all the marinade ingredients to the meat, stirring with a fork until the marinade is no longer visible. In batches, pound the meat for about 3 minutes longer to combine all the ingredients well. You should hear a suction noise as air is mixed in. The finished paste will feel firm and look ragged, and small nuggets of meat will be suspended in the paste. Transfer the paste to a clean bowl and repeat with the remaining meat.

STEAK PASTE

Steps:

• Remove any fat from the steak.
• Place meat into a double-boiler and cook for 4 hours.
• Place meat (and juices) into blender with butter and blend to a paste. Add other ingredients and blend to mix.
• Place into sterilized jars. Store in refrigerator.

OLD FASHION MEAT PASTE

Steps:

• Remove any fat or sinew from the meat and roughly chop. Combine with the other ingredients in a saucepan.
• Cover and simmer for 2-3 hours or until the meat is tender. Allow to cool and then transfer mix to a food processor and puree.
• Transfer pureed mix to a serving bowl and refrigerate before serving.

OLD-FASHIONED BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Combine the flour and pepper in a bowl, add the beef and toss to coat well. Heat 3 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot. Add the beef a few pieces at a time; do not overcrowd. Cook, turning the pieces until beef is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch; add more oil as needed between batches.
• Remove the beef from the pot and add the vinegar and wine. Cook over medium-high heat, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the beef, beef broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.
• Cover and cook, skimming broth from time to time, until the beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add the onions and carrots and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. Add broth or water if the stew is dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle among 4 bowls and serve.