Ground Beef

This lasagne was designed for a deep-dish baking pan. You can use a standard 9 × 13-inch baking pan, but you will have excess sauce; the sauce can be frozen and used over pasta another time. The lasagne can be assembled up to 1 day ahead and left to cool completely. Cover, unbaked, and refrigerate up to 1 day in advance, or freeze, unbaked, up to 3 weeks in advance. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator; bake as directed below.

If your grill is large enough, you can cook everything at once. Give the hamburgers about a 2-minute head start so everything is ready to come off the grill at the same time.

You can control the heat of this chili by increasing or decreasing the number of chiles; be sure to have good ventilation over the stove when pan-roasting them. If you have two large cast-iron skillets, save time by using both at once. If you like, serve the chili with other traditional garnishes, such as shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, and chopped cilantro.

Yogurt in meat loaf? Plain yogurt not only provides potassium but also is a great way to keep meat loaf moist.

Portobello mushrooms have a meaty texture that’s perfect for this classic meat-lovers’ dish.

Before or after the football game, a “bowl of red” is a sure winner.

When you want to serve a crowd but don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen, this great recipe is the answer.

With cayenne for a bit of kick and imitation bacon bits for smoky flavor, this hearty combination of ground beef, red beans, brown rice, and vegetables is sure to be a family-pleaser.

Whether you roast it freeform in the oven or bake it in a loaf pan, meat loaf is certainly an all-time favorite, as, in France, is its cousin the pâté. Since they are so closely related, I consider the one a variation of the other and here are two of my favorites.

We’ve always had a thing for the charred lamb kebabs on flat skewers that the kebab/gyro joints do so well. One place even gave R. B. a couple of swordlike skewers after he bombarded them with questions. We make lamb/beef combo meatballs flavored with cumin to roast in the oven, and sometimes even finish on the grill. The meatballs cook on a baking sheet just like a pan of cookies. We’ve come to appreciate the many lives of a good batch of meatballs. A bag of Q’Balls in the freezer is as prized as a bag of brisket. Toss them with pasta, stuff them into pita pockets and sub sandwiches, serve them as a heavy appetizer or a quick heat-up for kid suppers. Customize the Q’Balls by substituting a couple teaspoons of any of the cheater dry rubs for the salt and seasonings.

Cinco de Mayo actually marks the 1862 Mexican victory over the French, not Mexican Independence Day, as some believe. Thanks to Madison Avenue, it’s a holiday more enthusiastically embraced north of the border than south. To celebrate this semicorporate affair, grilled Burgos de Mayo combine all our favorite Mexican flavors (including the tequila) on one bun. Top them off with Mayo de Mayo, our Cinco “special sauce.”

This indoor burger recipe make six burgers (too many for one pan), so use the broiler or finish the pan-seared burgers all at once in the oven. Ground beef is available in plenty of designer styles and fat-to-lean ratios. Use what you like. Remember that the higher fat content varieties like chuck have a rich, juicy taste and a smoother texture than the leaner ones, which tend to be dry and grainy. Chuck will also spatter up your stovetop and broiler a bit more. Either way, good ventilation is important. Burger doneness is an individual right that the government recommends you exercise at 160°F for proper food safety. Whatever temperature you pick, remove the burgers from heat when they are about 5 degrees below that target as the temperature will continue to rise while the meat rests. R. B. himself goes into fits above 130°F. He’s still with us, knock on wood, despite rare burgers and the raw oysters he downs with abandon.

Even a cook-while-you-sleep cheater pork butt may require too much time, skill, and kitchen equipment for some. Here’s instant gratification for those taking the scenic route to adulthood, busily mastering skill sets beyond the kitchen. College Boy Helper takes the most direct route to a hot, satisfying barbecued pork sandwich. Dude, it’s awesome.

In 2002 I went to Australia and fell in love with their traditional beef pies. In fact, to this day, I would have one for every meal if I had my way. Once I returned to the States, I was determined to come up with my own rendition of this classic dish. Although I created this recipe based on nothing more than my warm memories of this meal, I have nonetheless had many Australians flock to my store to purchase this little taste of home. A true testament.

C’mon, how could we not include this seventies’ entertaining classic? But fear not, these aren’t tired chafing-dish buffet standards; they are a delicious duo of beef and pork, along with a well-spiced mixture of allspice and mustard powder and a touch of heavy cream. While people may argue over authenticity, we’re not Swedish, but we know these are darn good. Serve them with our Mushroom Gravy (page 63), Mashed Potatoes (page 79), and a bit of lingonberry jam.