Hamburger Hash

marcar72

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Ingredients:

Hamburger (ground chuck, ground round, ground sirloin, hamburger)
Russet Potatoes
Fresh diced Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Ghee or Coconut Oil (usage depends on how much fat is in the meat)

Measurements aren't exact, I shoot for about 1/2 hamburger and 1/2 potatoes in the final dish. One could make it more meaty or go for more potatoes if desired. I usually go with around 1 pound of hamburger and 3 to 4 medium sized potatoes for 2 hearty meals!

Alright so I first get my potatoes prepped by washing them then dicing them up into an empty pot with the skin left on. Once they're all in the pot I fill the pot with water that just barely covers them.

Then I get my fresh garlic ready. I usually use about 3 or 4 garlic cloves and I peel off the dry outer layers then dice them up pretty fine on the plate I used to hold my washed potatoes which are now in the pot. After dicing I leave them on the plate while prepping the hamburger.

Once I'm ready to lightly brown the hamburger I turn on the heat to the skillet and set it for medium high and usually put a heaping tablespoon of Ghee or Coconut Oil in it and let it melt. At the same time I set the burner under the pot of potatoes in water to medium high. I usually put the fresh diced garlic in with the hamburger while it browns but last night I put it in at the end to the pot of potatoes.

Once I have my hamburger lightly browned I add it to the pot of potatoes in water which should just be starting to boil a bit. I don't personally drain off any of the fat. I mix it together gently then add some salt and pepper. I mix it gently again and add some more salt and pepper and mix it together once more. Garlic can also go in at this time if you didn't add it in to the hamburger as it was browning.

So after it's all mixed up in the pot and it's somewhat boiling I turn the heat down on the burner to medium low and put a lid on it for the first 10-15 minutes. After that I take the lid off for the final 10-15 minutes to let most of the water boil off for a total of 30 minutes.

That's all there is to it! Total time from prep to eat is roughly an hour. It's one of the most awesome meals I've ever had and it'll stick to your ribs for awhile! I used to eat it all in one setting, lol... it's that good but after eating it all I could harldly move. So now I make two meals out of it and exercise some self restraint, hehehe! :lol:

Bon Appetit!! :D

EDIT: Ohhh, and be sure to stir it up two or three times during the 30 minute cook time so as none sticks to the bottem of the pot.
 

Blossom

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Thanks marcar72! I'm making this tonight.
 

Blossom

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Blossom said:
Thanks marcar72! I'm making this tonight.
I made it last night and the only things I did different was peel the potatoes and drain the ground beef. I actually used 6 potatoes with one pound of beef. I might of used too much water because mine turned out more like stew. I fed three adults and had some leftover for lunch today! You're right marcar it is a very hardy meal and I've been extra warm today. :D
 

Mittir

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It looks like a tasty meal. But, the calcium to phosphorus ratio is quite low.
Drinking a cup of milk coffee can help with improving this ratio and calcium
in milk can block some of the heme iron absorption. Some pure calcium can
improve this ratio to a better level. I am wondering if the warmth comes
from all the nutrients in milk and meat ( B vitamins, Zinc, magnesium, potassium
salt ect) or is it a cortisol effect. Meat and starch both increases insulin powerfully.
Keto acids in potato can be a cause of increased warmth. Some gelatine
can improve the amino acids ratio. But RP has mentioned that in pure meat
diet phosphorus is a bigger problem.
 

Blossom

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Mittir said:
It looks like a tasty meal. But, the calcium to phosphorus ratio is quite low.
Drinking a cup of milk coffee can help with improving this ratio and calcium
in milk can block some of the heme iron absorption. Some pure calcium can
improve this ratio to a better level. I am wondering if the warmth comes
from all the nutrients in milk and meat ( B vitamins, Zinc, magnesium, potassium
salt ect) or is it a cortisol effect. Meat and starch both increases insulin powerfully.
Keto acids in potato can be a cause of increased warmth. Some gelatine
can improve the amino acids ratio. But RP has mentioned that in pure meat
diet phosphorus is a bigger problem.
I did take eggshell powder with mine and had coffee with gelatin as I always try to do when I eat red meat. I'm thinking of adding this to the menu on a regular basis. Thanks for explaining the details of why it was so warming Mittir. :D
 

Mittir

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@blossom

I feel warm immediately after taking calcium ( i take in Calcium acetate form by
dissolving calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) in vinegar, and this not recommended or
approved by RP). I take this 500-1000 mg dose with lunch and occasionally before bed.
I am wondering if you get this warmth feeling when you take extra calcium
with other meals. RP has mentioned that calcium increases metabolism and lowers cortisol.
I used to take egg shell powder with each meal when i was doing non-dairy version of peating.
I remember my PTH was quite low and i do not remember if i felt warm immediately after
taking it. Egg shell powder is possibly digested slower than calcium in vinegar.
 

Blossom

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Mittir said:
@blossom

I feel warm immediately after taking calcium ( i take in Calcium acetate form by
dissolving calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) in vinegar, and this not recommended or
approved by RP). I take this 500-1000 mg dose with lunch and occasionally before bed.
I am wondering if you get this warmth feeling when you take extra calcium
with other meals. RP has mentioned that calcium increases metabolism and lowers cortisol.
I used to take egg shell powder with each meal when i was doing non-dairy version of peating.
I remember my PTH was quite low and i do not remember if i felt warm immediately after
taking it. Egg shell powder is possibly digested slower than calcium in vinegar.
I do feel warmer if I take 1/4 tsp of eggshell calcium but I never really made the connection with the warmth and the calcium. I always take it with food so attributed the warmth to the food. Taking only 1/8 tsp eggshell doesn't warm me the same though. I'll pay attention to this going forward and see if I notice a trend based on my calcium dose. This is verry interesting Mittir. I had one ounce of cheese with my left over hamburger hash at lunch today since I don't bring my eggshell calcium to work. It seems like @500mg calcium works better with that particular meal (in my case anyway). I wonder if one could estimate a good calcium:phosphorus ratio of a particular meal based on warmth?
 
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marcar72

marcar72

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Yes, I've used a bit too much water a time or two as well. Usually I'll just let it simmer an extra 5 minutes or I'll allow more time with the lid off to boil the excess off. It usually thickens up pretty good and any excess water is more or less a "gravy" by the time I'm wolfing it down.

It warms me up real good too. Sometimes I have to take some clothes off and turn the AC up after eating it, hehehe. I'd guess it's the potato starch that is firing the furnace up. The salt helps too.

And yes, the calcium/phosphorus ratio isn't Peatish. Neither is the black pepper. I think it's good though to throw your body a curve ball every now and then. I might have this meal 3 to 4 times a week max. I feel my body is very efficient in maintaining homeostasis though so YMMV.
 

Blossom

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Thanks again marcar72! I think I liked it even better left over. The calcium:phosphorus ratio issue seems easy enough to correct with some calcium anyway. Nothing's perfect but it's important to enjoy our food and this recipe was delicious.
 

charlie

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Made this tonight, yum! :partydance

marcar72, :hattip
 

Blossom

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I might try adding gelatin to it next time. I hate to mess with perfection but since mine was on the soupy side that might thicken it up a bit and balance the protein at the same time.
 

charlie

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I thought about adding gelatin.

The soupy thing is easy to deal with. Less water and can always leave the top off longer at the end if need be. :P
 

Mittir

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I used this recipe before but with little less potato and ate it with bread.
Today i made it again with a lot of potato and ate it without bread.
It is really very very filling and super tasty.

Another thing i have realized that when i make French Fries, i boil the whole
potato for 40-60 min and then cut into pieces and fry in coconut oil.
I could not eat a lot without having digestive issues. I boil the whole potato with skin
to retain the nutrients. But when i add diced potato to meat stew there is very
little digestive discomfort.

It seems like starches in potatoes are properly cooked when they are diced
and whole potato is not as well cooked as i needed. IIRC One study that
found 40 minutes of boiling was required for proper digestion used potato
starch not the whole potato. If anyone is having problem with potato they may try
boiling it diced for 40 plus minutes. I also drank 1 cup of apple juice with the
Hamburger Hash and did not feel any blood sugar crash. I took some calcium
after the meal to balance the calcium phosphorus ratio. I am thinking about
adding gelatine next time.
 

Blossom

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:D I made this recipe again this week and used less water. It turned out perfect.
 

Mittir

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I have been eating this everyday for last week or so.
It tastes so good, i think it is going to turn into a permanent item.
I wish iron level was much lower in beef.
 

tara

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Inspired by this thread I've added a diced potato to my stews a couple of times recently, which I think makes it Irish stew. Saves wasting the goodies that are washed out by boiling the spuds and draining the water.
Mutton (or beef) + onion + potato + optional garlic + tomato.
Made with meaty bones (eg mutton shanks, or neck chops or oxtail) there's a bit more gelatin in it, too. Leftovers in my fridge tonight have jellied.
 

Blossom

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Mittir said:
I have been eating this everyday for last week or so.
It tastes so good, i think it is going to turn into a permanent item.
I wish iron level was much lower in beef.
I wonder how it would taste with ground chicken in place of ground beef? The poultry lady at my local farmers market sells ground chicken so I might ask her which parts of the chicken are included in her ground product. If it is mostly white meat it could be a low pufa and low iron option.
 

Mittir

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Blossom said:
Mittir said:
I have been eating this everyday for last week or so.
It tastes so good, i think it is going to turn into a permanent item.
I wish iron level was much lower in beef.
I wonder how it would taste with ground chicken in place of ground beef? The poultry lady at my local farmers market sells ground chicken so I might ask her which parts of the chicken are included in her ground product. If it is mostly white meat it could be a low pufa and low iron option.

I made with ground chicken before it is not that tasty. Ground beef tends to get
tastier with time. If i make one batch i eat it for 3 days and taste gets better.
Chicken loses its taste very quickly in refrigerator. Next time i will try a batch
to see if it taste close to beef . I avoid red meat and eat chicken or low fat
fish regularly. I have never donated blood and when i tried to donate blood
they wont accept blood from people who takes thyroid hormone. They also told
me that hypothyroid people should not donate more than half a pint, they can
get severe hypothermia.
 

Blossom

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Thanks for the tip about it not being tasty with ground chicken. It's good to know so I don't waste the time or money on something that doesn't taste good.
I'm sorry to hear you can't donate blood. I've been able to donate in my area while taking thyroid. Maybe the regulations vary from place to place. Here there is a list of medicines that will exclude a person from donating but thyroid isn't on that list. Maybe skipping thyroid for a day or two would be enough to allow donation. They always screen the blood before using it and might reject yours if they choose but even if they waste it you would have already donated.
 
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marcar72

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I've recently been adding Gelatin to this recipe and probably will do so from here on out. It helps thicken up any extra water remaining at the end of the cook time and seems to make it taste even better!

Ground hamburger should have a favorable amino acid profile to begin with so I don't think it's absolutely needed though.

This meal often has me giggly after consuming it, I think it's that good I guess. :2cents
 
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