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Susan Jung

Minced beef can be made into simple, inexpensive dishes or absolutely decadent preparations. (Has anyone tasted a Kobe beefburger?) The following dishes aren't too arduous; only the tartare takes a bit of effort if you're hand-mincing the beef. The first dish is good for a rib-sticking meal, the second recipe makes a nice alternative to hamburgers on the grill and the third is an indulgence.

Meatloaf with porcini and pancetta (pictured)

Serve with mashed potatoes (made with plenty of cream, butter and black pepper) and gravy. The leftovers make delicious sandwiches, either hot (with toasted bread and gravy) or cold (with iceberg lettuce, a sliced ripe tomato and a smear of mustard and mayonnaise).

30 grams dried, sliced porcini mushrooms

750 grams minced beef

250 grams minced pork

30 grams unsalted butter

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed

200ml whole milk

Tabasco sauce (optional)

Fine salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

8-10 slices pancetta (buy the unsmoked 'rolled' pancetta, not the kind that looks like slab bacon)

Soak the porcini in 60ml of warm water until soft. Squeeze excess water from the mushrooms then mince them finely. Strain the mushroom-soaking liquid through a fine sieve then mix it with the milk. Tear the sliced bread into tiny pieces and soak them in the milk. Melt the butter in a skillet, add the onion and garlic, and cook over a medium-low flame until soft. Cool completely. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

In a large bowl, combine the porcini, beef, pork, sauteed onion and garlic, egg and bread-and-milk

mixture then season with Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until well combined. Spray a loaf pan (22cm x 12cm) with pan coating and pack the meat mixture into the pan. Lay the pancetta over the top, overlapping the slices and tucking them in slightly between the meat mixture and the pan. Put the  pan on a shallow tray (to catch any drips) and place in the oven. Bake until the meatloaf reaches an internal temperature of 68 degrees - about 45 minutes to one hour (test the  temperature with a instant-read thermometer inserted into the centre of the meatloaf). Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Serves two to four.

Grilled minced-meat skewers

The meat mixture has to be mixed well so it has enough strength to 'bind' into tight meatballs. If it's under-mixed, the texture will be crumbly and the meatballs might fall off the skewers. The meat can also be shaped into small, flat patties and pan-fried in a skillet. After cooking, remove the meatballs from the skewers and stuff them into pita bread with lettuce, tomatoes and yogurt mixed with fresh mint and diced cucumbers.

500 grams slightly fatty minced beef (or use half beef and half lamb)

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced

3 large shallots, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

Dried chilli powder, to taste (optional)

40 grams panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

A small handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Finely grated zest of one lemon

20ml fresh lemon juice

40ml extra virgin olive oil

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Soak some wooden skewers in a pan of water  (to stop them from burning on the grill). Toast the cumin seeds in an un-oiled skillet, leave to cool then crush in a mortar.

Thoroughly combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Use your hands to stir the mixture in one direction until it forms a thick paste (it's ready when you see the mixture forming protein 'threads').

Shape the meat into slightly flattened logs about 6cm long and 2.5cm at the widest point. Thread them lengthwise on to the skewers (two pieces on each skewer). Cook over hot coals, or under the grill, for about five minutes, so they're slightly charred on the outside but moist and juicy on the inside. Serves two.

Steak tartare

This, to me, is the ultimate in 'minced beef', although many people can't bear the thought of eating raw meat.

Of course, it's not just any old beef - it must be top-quality filet mignon. Unless you have a meat mincer at home, you'll have to mince the meat by hand, or else you can try to convince the person at the meat counter to grind the meat after dismantling the mincer, washing and sterilising all the parts and reassembling it (many butchers do this only at the end of the working day). Because the meat is eaten raw, it must be handled with great care: buy it in a whole piece from a supermarket, prevent it from being cross-contaminated by contact with other meats, keep it chilled until it's time to prepare the dish and scrub your hands and all tools that touch it. The egg should also be fresh, with no dirt or cracks on the shell. It's hard to give precise amounts because everything should be done to your taste.

200 grams top-quality filet mignon

? tsp Dijon mustard

About ? tsp anchovy paste

A few drops of Worcestershire sauce

1-3 shakes of Tabasco sauce

A few drops of fresh lemon juice

1-2 small shallots, minced, rinsed under cold water

then patted dry

1 cornichon pickle, finely chopped

About ? tsp chopped capers

Chopped fresh parsley

Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 egg yolk

Finely mince the beef using a sharp knife (it's a little easier if the meat is frozen for about 20 minutes).

In a bowl, combine the mustard, anchovy paste, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco. Stir in the minced beef, lemon juice, cornichon, capers, parsley and salt and pepper. Combine well and season to taste. Shape the mixture into a ball in the mixing bowl then tilt the meat so it rolls around the bowl several times. When the meat starts making a sticky sound as it rolls in the bowl, remove it to a plate and flatten it slightly so there's an indentation.  Put the egg yolk in the indentation and serve with thin slices of crustless toast. Serves one.

styling Rachael Macchiesi



Chop and change