On those mornings when I don’t have a ready idea for what to blog about, I turn to my topics list to see what jumps out. Sometimes I have to scroll a long ways down. Anyway, I came across a request by Michael to share how I substituted wheat for hamburger in some dishes.
Keep in mind that this is a refined process that must be followed precisely to avoid detection by the masses. You are only adding in a little wheat at a time. Add too much and you’ll blow your cover and never be trusted with hamburger again.
The easy way to go about this is to boil a little wheat until it is completely cooked and softened, about ¼ cup per pound of ground beef. If your family is the unsuspecting type, you’ll probably pull this off.
However, if they are on the wary side, it’s better to crack the wheat before cooking it. I use a coffee grinder to crack mine, and you want it just barely cracked. (If it is too finely cracked, the cooked result is more like paste or glue, and that is definitely not going to pass as ground beef.) Then boil it until it is completely soft.
When it’s time to brown the hamburger, add the cooked wheat at the same time and stir it in quickly before anyone has time to snoop and notice that something is different. Start small, and increase very gradually to avoid setting off any alarms. I’ve got my family up to about 25% wheat. I can’t always do this because some days there are too many eyes. I use it primarily in sloppy joes, spaghetti sauce, meatballs, and taco meat—anything that has a dark sauce to disguise the wheat.
For convenience, cook a large batch, spread it on a cookie sheet to freeze, and then scoop it into a resealable container and store it in the freezer. That way you won’t have a solid chunk of frozen wheat and can scoop out just what you need for that meal.
Sloppy Joes
2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 ¼ cups ketchup
½ cup water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
8 hamburger buns, split
In a large skillet, brown beef and onions over medium heat. Drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients, except for the buns. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes. Serves 8.
Family reviews: The unadulterated sloppy joes have been a family favorite forever. QOTPE noticed something different in the appearance this time, because I used whole wheat berries instead of cracked. She couldn’t taste a difference. Aaron didn’t have his glasses on, so he didn’t notice anything. They tasted great and we scarfed them down.
Links to related posts:
I add ground oatmeal and ground dried mushrooms to make up about 25 % of volume, it soaks up liquid and drippings and keeps it moist and flavorful.. I think it improves the taste and texture of most ground beef recipes, like tacos or sloppy joes or chili. I will have to try the wheat berries. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI never thought of grinding up the oatmeal, but that would be easy to do and hard for the picky eaters to identify. I would think that ground dried mushrooms would be a little expensive. If my picky eaters found me putting mushrooms in the hamburger, I'd be in a world of trouble. But Aaron would probably like it.
Delete