How to Grind Meat in Just a Few Minutes Without a Grinder? This sounds like something that our readers will want to know more about. Like:
Q: Wait, why would you want do that in the first place?A: Let us count the reasons.
First, it is possible to grind meat without any kind of meat grinder, and I will show you how to do it.
But more importantly, there are many reasons to hand-grind meat yourself. In fact, I’ve stopped buying many pre-ground meats from the store, opting instead to do it at home.
Adding bacon to dishes like salads, pasta and soups provides a smoky savory flavor that can take them to the next level. But getting perfectly diced bacon pieces can be tricky without the right techniques. Follow this comprehensive guide to mincing bacon and unlock the secrets to getting ideal crispy bits every time.
Why Mince Bacon?
Mincing bacon into small pieces provides some advantages over cooking bacon in slices or strips
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More even cooking Small pieces cook faster and more evenly than large slices. No more half-raw half-burnt bacon.
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Versatility: Minced bacon can be sprinkled over anything from eggs to baked potatoes as a topping. It also works well in recipes that call for bits of bacon.
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More flavor distribution: When bacon is minced, the smoky taste infuses throughout a dish instead of being concentrated in strips.
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Crispier texture: The greater surface area of minced bacon means more opportunity for crispness.
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Easy prep: Pre-minced bacon can be grabbed straight from the fridge whenever you need it instead of cooking full slices.
Choosing the Right Bacon
Thinner, fatty bacon is ideal for mincing since it dices neatly and renders fat efficiently. Look for streaky bacon rather than thick-cut slices.
Middle bacon provides a good balance of fat to lean meat. Short-cut bacon from the pork belly works too but may have a more robust flavor.
Avoid pre-diced bacon, which is often mushy. For best results, select high-quality, artisanal bacon and dice it yourself.
Prep the Bacon for Mincing
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Place bacon in freezer for 15-20 minutes until slightly firm but not frozen solid. This makes slicing easier.
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Remove bacon from freezer and let sit at room temperature briefly until just firm to the touch.
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Slice bacon lengthwise into long 1/4 inch wide strips. Stack 2-3 strips before cutting crosswise.
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For small bits, make perpendicular cuts at 1/4 inch intervals. For larger pieces, cut bacon to the desired size.
Select the Right Knife and Cutting Board
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Use a large chef’s knife that is razor sharp. Dull knives make cutting more difficult and dangerous.
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Choose a cutting board that is large enough to hold the bacon flat. Sanitize board before use.
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Wood or plastic cutting boards are better than glass or marble, which can dull knife blades faster.
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Place a damp paper towel beneath the board to prevent slipping.
Master Proper Cutting Technique
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Hold knife firmly using a pinch grip with your thumb and forefinger. Keep other fingers curled under.
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Use your other hand to hold ingredients steady and guide the knife. Keep fingertips tucked in.
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Use smooth, even strokes, keeping the tip of the knife down but lifting the back slightly.
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Slice using the front half of the blade for more control. Let the knife do the work.
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Work deliberately but efficiently, stacking strips for multiple cuts at once.
Cook the Minced Bacon to Perfection
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In a skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until evenly browned and crispy. Stir frequently.
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Pour off excess grease as bacon cooks but leave just enough to keep it sizzling.
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For salads and pasta, cook until bacon is fully crisped. For soups and stews, leave slightly underdone.
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Let cool briefly before adding to other ingredients so residual heat finishes cooking.
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For longer storage, spread in a single layer on paper towels to soak up grease.
Alternative Ways to Mince Bacon
While knives may be best for control, you can also use:
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Food processor: Pulse bacon in small batches for 1-2 seconds at a time. Don’t overfill processor.
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Meat grinder: Grind partially frozen bacon through large die into skillet. Cook immediately.
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Mortar and pestle: Mash cooked bacon into the mortar in small batches. Stir and mash until minced.
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Blender: Add bacon and pulse carefully in short bursts. Do not overfill or bacon will ball up.
Mincing Bacon Safely
Take care when handling raw bacon to avoid illness:
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Wash hands, utensils, and surfaces before and after contact with raw bacon.
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Use a separate cutting board and knife just for meats to prevent cross-contamination.
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Store minced bacon sealed in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days max.
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Cook minced bacon thoroughly until piping hot and browned through.
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Refrigerate cooked bacon within 2 hours and reheat fully before serving.
Incorporating Minced Bacon into Recipes
With perfectly prepped minced bacon ready to go, try adding it to:
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Salads: Sprinkle crispy bits over spinach, wedge, taco, and potato salads.
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Pizza: Top pizzas with bacon before or after baking for extra crunch.
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Pasta: Toss bacon into pasta salads or stir into mac and cheese.
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Baked potatoes: Mix minced bacon into twice-baked potatoes or use as loaded potato topper.
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Eggs: Add bacon crumbles to omelets, frittatas, and scrambled eggs.
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Burgers: Mix bacon into burger patties or scatter over the top of cheeseburgers.
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Soups: Add just before serving for delicious bits of smoky bacon flavor.
Now that you know the secrets to perfectly minced bacon, you can add its iconic flavor to all your favorite dishes with ease.
Recipes Using Ground MEat
Garlic Chive Stir Fry with Pork or Cang Ying Tou (苍蝇头) literally translates to “Flies’ Heads” in Chinese. It’s an excellent stir fry dish to have over rice!.
In China, Sichuan Dry Fried String Beans, also known as Gan Bian Si Ji Dou, are made with Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili peppers, and ground pork to add a little heat.
Laos’s Pork Larb is a quick and easy meat salad from Southeast Asia that tastes great.
San Xian Wontons are not your average wontons. Shrimp, pork, and chicken make up the filling, which is very tasty and easy to make at home.
These spicy Asian meatballs are not your run-of-the-mill variety. They are delicious, unique, and will redefine your meatball expectations!.
Pickled Long Beans with Pork is a popular stir-fried dish that has just the right amount of spicy chili flavor, crispy bits of ground pork, and vinegary pickled long beans whose flavor changes when cooked in a hot wok.
For easy recipes like the ones above, this post on how to grind meat without a grinder will save you the trouble of getting out your meat grinder and washing it.
Why Hand-Chopped Meat is Better Than Store-bought Ground Meat
Hand-chopped ground meats taste so much better than machine-ground meats.
Although ground meat in a package is easy to find and has a texture that most of us are used to, some dishes, especially Asian ones, taste better with meat that has been chopped by hand.
People my parents’ age will tell you that they chop ground meat by hand when they make fillings for dumplings, wontons, or baozi. Ultimately, the texture will be meaty and flavorful instead of mealy and indistinguishable.
When we buy ground meat at the store, it’s often mixed with scraps and then neatly packed, so we don’t really know what’s in them.
You also have little control over the cleanliness of the process or the fat content. Ground chicken, for instance, is often made from chicken breast, making it very lean. Likewise, ground pork found in the supermarket is also quite lean.
I can get different amounts of lean meat to fat in ground beef at the store, but not in pork, chicken, lamb, or turkey.
When you cook a lot like we do, how often do you wish you had ground meat for the dish you want to make right now? That’s how often I feel that way.
It is very helpful to be able to turn any pork shoulder or a pack of chicken thighs into ground meat. This saves you time and a trip to the store.
You can also change the texture and coarseness of the meat by cutting it more or less finely. This can give you greater control over the final results in your dishes.
Trust me, you will be as thrilled as we are with this newfound skill. In fact, Sarah is going to share a great recipe for homemade breakfast sausage that uses this method, and we can’t wait!
OK, here’s how to grind meat without a grinder—in just minutes. In this case, I used a pork shoulder, but you can use boneless beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, etc. with the same method.
Fine rolls made of bacon with minced meat – super juicy!
FAQ
What does mince mean in cooking terms?
Is it better to dice bacon before or after cooking?
How do you mince meat in a food processor?
Place the meat into the food processor in small batches. To make sure the food processor runs well and chops the meat evenly, don’t fill it excessively full. Throw a couple of handfuls of meat into the processor at a time. The size of your food processor will ultimately determine how much you can mince at one time.
Can you beat homemade bacon?
When it comes to bacon you just can’t beat homemade. You have full control over every element: The quality of the pork, the seasonings used, the curing method, the type of wood chips/smoke, the thickness of the slices. There’s no mystery when it comes to making bacon. It is simple and easy and even those minor efforts pay off BIG time!
Do you need a meat slicer to eat bacon?
Once the bacon reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees F, transfer the bacon to a plate and immediately place it in the fridge to cool down. All you really need is a good sharp knife. But if you want those perfectly uniform, professional slices of bacon, you’ll need a meat slicer. Whichever you use, always slice across the grain.
How do you cut a rock-hard bacon?
Chopping rock-hard bacon will dull your knife. Left: Bacon that did not meet a freezer. Right: Bacon firmed from the freezer. Then, chop the bacon with a sharp knife into whatever shape you need. (If you need slices, you can also use scissors.) The result is a uniform dice or slice, which means pretty bacon in salad or pasta or on pizza.