# Hamburger Rocks



## Morakai (Mar 1, 2011)

I saw that someone was interested in making hamburger rocks. A friend of mine from PA found this & sent it to me. Thought I would post it here for everyone. I am not sure if it is the safest method, but it is a method. Enjoy!

HAMBURGER ROCKS"



Jars of canned butter & hamburger rocks. 

"Hamburger Rocks" are small chunks of cooked, dehydrated, fresh beef. They will store effectively for two or more years. Once rehydrated by soaking one cup of rocks in two cups of boiled water, the pre-cooked meat can be used in any recipe. It is delicious for tacos, spaghetti sauce, hamburger helper, tamale pie, lasagna, or your favorite recipe. It is very difficult to distinguish from fresh hamburger in a meal!

Regular ground hamburger turns into small "rocks," some "gravel," and a little "sand" when dried. Miles grinds rump roast and pot roast in a #2 Universal meat chopper using the 3-bladed cutter, and now we get almost all "rocks," very little gravel, and virtually no "sand." And the yield is higher too, as there is not as much fat to melt away. Still, be prepared to cry when you make the first batch, as 6 pounds of perfectly good roast will dehydrate into only one (1) quart of hamburger rocks!

RECIPE FOR HAMBURGER ROCKS

1.Using a large skillet (cast iron is great), brown and fry 5 pounds of ground beef. When thoroughly cooked, transfer the meat to a colander. Rinse under hot running water to remove the fat. Then clean the skillet with paper towels to remove excess fat from the first cooking.

2.Place the washed meat back into the wiped skillet and fry it again over medium/low heat, stirring often until you see no more steam. Keep the heat/flame low once the rocks are browning up nicely.

3.Place the "twice cooked" rocks into an oven roasting pan. Turn the oven to 200 degrees F, stirring and turning occasionally as the meat continues to dry. One to two hours should finish the job. Remove from the oven and check for dryness. When cool, pack into zip lock bags or mason jars. Pack tightly, expelling as much air as possible. Store in pantry drawers or shelves.

Tip: Don't forget to buy and use mouse traps in your larder. Mice will make mince meat out of packaged foods before the uninvited house pests are even noticed by the family cat! Glass jars are the safest method of mouse-proof storage. Storing zip lock bags in heavy food grade 5 gallon buckets is the next safest alternative.


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

As long as you understand that they are not considered safe to make because of the risk of botulism they present, the choice is yours. This is discussed in more detail in several of the other threads here about them.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

I don't understand how you could get botulism from this. It's about the same as beef jerky and is not in an oxygen deprived environment.

I wouldn't rinse the grease out in my sink, unless you like grease plugs in your drain.


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## Kmac15 (May 19, 2007)

I try to follow the USDA in most things, but I confess to making hamburger rocks. I have 3 quarts in the pantry right now. 

I found that using a steamer makes it so much easier. It has less grease and I rinse it in the same pan, that way ALL the grease stays out of my sink. And no need to fry dry, it goes from steam pan to dehydrator (I use 90/10 for this).


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## Lucy (May 15, 2006)

The reason it is not safe is that jerky has salt to bind up the water and not allow botulism to grow. 
Salt is needed and a lot of it for drying meat safely.
The hamburger sits in the temp. danger zone too long, too, before it is dried, letting plenty of bacteria grow. 
Then, you have the whole issue with ground meats. Ground meats have billions of surface areas that also are contaminated with bacteria.
Just too risky to make in my opinion. Then, the fat can get rancid in ground meats.


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