Louisville Restaurants Forum

i saw ground veal on sale at the store today.... always up for a good deal and new foods, i bought it.

i was grilling so i made some gr.beef/veal burgers and they were very good. i hope that was not a silly amateurish way of using it

what else can i do with it? i kind of want to make a mess of meatballs (50/50 again), grill them, then freeze them.

just wondering what else i can do with it.

there was also lamb on sale.... but i looked it up and read that it had a "gamey" flavor and that kind of turned me off. i dont like venison because of its strong flavor, dont know if that is a good comparison or not.

Meatballs w/lamb, veal and good ground beef - a nice combination, and I don't think the lamb dominates at all. Maybe also a bolognese for the veal?

Becky, here's a recipe for polpette, Italian veal meatballs, that worked out well for me:

http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvis ... 1020.phtml

As for lamb, this might be a silly question, but given your Latino heritage, have you ever had cabrito? Lamb is fairly similar to goat, to my taste buds, but not so much like venison.

thanks for the link Robin.... that sounds like a very rich dish. i am definitely going to try that. i am also looking at a couple of bolognese sauces. they all sound really good.

as for the cabrito.... yes i have had it. and am probably one of the few (in my culture) that does not like it. probably because as a young child i saw the whole preparation from start to finish. :::shudder::: does something to the mind when eating it.

Ground veal poached in cream (or half and half if you must) with a little leek or green garlic makes an awesome pasta sauce. Throw that on top of some pasta, add some fresh arugala and you're good.

It also makes an excellent stuffing for homemade pot stickers.

You could also make some ersatz sausage out of it, grill it, and make some killer Banh Mi.

It would make some awesome stuffing for stuffed peppers or tomatoes, but I'd be careful as the seasonings (and veggie shell, for that matter) could overwhelm the delicate, sweet flavor of the veal.

This looks pretty simple and darn good:

http://theredspoonblog.com/2011/02/naked-ravioli/

Hey Becky - I don't put lamb in the same category as venison at all. Lamb are babies, just like veal, so it's a high end meat that farmers are willing to slaughter at an early age because of it's tenderness and flavor. I know it's not a pretty way to think of it, but it is what it is. I've had goat many times and lamb meat resembles it in flavor, but lamb is usually a lot easily to chew up and swallow with less fat (at least in my experience - I'm VERY far from an expert on ANY meat, just reporting on my experiences). Have you ever had goat cheese? My mother detests the flavor of goat/lamb and goat's milk (pretty sure she inadvertently summons visions of Bambi), but I love it. It's got a distinct flavor, for sure. Venison meat is very different. I've had it in chunks, jerky, and ground into a burger, and I liked it mainly for it's novelty. I would only order venison from a menu as an experimental thing, and not because I think it's quality meat. I like lamb enough to actually buy it at the grocery store and cook it at home with an epicurean disposition, if that tells you anything. Valu Mkt often has great meat sales and that's always where I pick it up.

Jackie R. wrote:a high end meat that farmers are willing to slaughter at an early age because of it's tenderness and flavor.

You're right Jackie, but just wanted to add that for farmers, especially dairy farmers, veal is a way to cull bull calves that would be unnecessary to milk production. Also culling is a way to control breeding stock. Veal just happens to have these fantastic attributes like taste and tenderness that make it highly sought after.