PORTIONS In Usa verses Portions in Spain

We had cheese fondue with sautéed chicken tender chunks, bread cubes, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, baby tomatoes, Honeycrisp apple, and roasted zucchini coins. Kiddo had his own cheese sauce blend based on Velveeta.

4 Likes

Haha, I was going to say the same. My only other experience with Salisbury steak was school lunches from elementary and middle school. :joy: It was usually paired with tater tots.

The first time I had a Japanese style hamburg steak, it actually made me think of the school Salisbury steaks (much tastier of course).

4 Likes

It IS easy to forget that when it’s made well it’s really good. I think you just gave me an idea. :slight_smile:

Greek biftekia (usually not covered in gravy) are also tasty, as well as German frikadelle

1 Like

I saw Hungry Man tv dinners on sale today, and of course now I had to buy one. I blame this thread. I did go fancy and buy one of the “Select” ones. Sadly no Salisbury steak, but I didn’t look too hard. I went with the Spicy Fried Chicken.

5 Likes

That’s perfect! Two cool names in one night from the people of Hungry Onion! In the novel that I will never write, two major characters will now have to be named Etrog and Frikadelle.

1 Like

You’re welcome !!!

1 Like

I live in Texas and don’t consider myself Southern but Texan.

2 Likes

Are you guys going to secede?
It’d be cool to have a new foreign country to visit.

2 Likes

The howls and wails coming from Austin would probably prevent it.

There is always Louisiana. I’m not sure they were ever admitted to the Union.

2 Likes

The majority of companies in Spain also have an “Employee Benefit Scheme” where they receive montly “lunch tickets” and the restaurants indicate also.

Yes, the lunch ticket scheme is a benefit for both the employees and the restaurants.

1 Like

“Luncheon Vouchers” used to be quite a common employee benefit in the UK. In the aftermath of WW2, whilst we still had food rationing, it was taken up by many companies which did not have an employees canteen. My companion used to work for Shell which, at its major sites, had a canteen but provided Vouchers at its smaller locations. A variety of outlets would accept them including small convenience stores, which is where she spent hers doing part of our regular grocery shopping. The scheme still exists, although in much lower numbers than decades ago. I suppose the loss of this employee benefit is just part of the casualisation of working life in the UK, along with the decline in trades union influence.

3 Likes

(presumably without a corresponding casualisation in the cost of living)

1 Like

Absolutely , David.

1 Like

I’m obsessing about Salisbury steak , down the rabbit hole, and reading everything I can find. What is this “seizing up” of cooked patties of ground beef that is remedied by poking indentations in burgers and such?

1 Like

Like White Castles ?

1 Like

I don’t know that term, but when you cook any ordinary meat patty (fresh ones at least), they want to change shape while they cook, squishing inwards from the edges to be more like a dense ball. I bet that’s what they’re trying to prevent.

2 Likes

When cooking ground meat, the heat will cause the meat to shrink and hence “seize” – swelling and curling into a ball because muscle fibers start seizing up around 125°F to 140°F if heated quickly.

To ensure that the meat cooks evenly, a thumbprint indentation is made into each patty before it goes on the grill. The indentation helps the patty hold its “patty” shape – rather than seizing or swelling – as it shrinks during cooking.

This is good for cooking ground meat that one wants to maintain a flat shape. For spherical or cylindrical applications like meatballs, not necessary.

https://www.thekitchn.com/do-you-need-to-dimple-burger-patties-so-they-stay-flat-putting-tips-to-the-test-in-the-kitchn-207124

3 Likes

Thank you! I sort of know when to do it ( I don’t do it with meatballs, meatloaf, or my huge and rare hamburgers, but might for husband’s three thin, well done burgers, that I make in a ring mold). I wanted to know more about why. Serious Eats usually helps me understand, so it surprised me that they used the term “seizing up”.

I think the Kitchn link about dimpling patties quotes Kenji, and Serious Eats about dimpling Salisbury steaks doesn’t.

“Kenji over at Serious Eats says that this is because grilling or broiling burgers, where heat hits the edges of the burger, cooks and therefore contracts the meat on the outside more quickly than the middle, resulting in the center puffing. The indent counteracts this effect from those cooking methods.”

Thanks for responding all!

ETA I wonder if that is why reverse seared steaks don’t curl at the edges; because they come to temp more gradually.

3 Likes

I guess when there’s a known temperature at which the meat is going to go KNK! and suddenly contract, it’s not a bad term.

1 Like