Grinding Pork & Shumai

Mmm...pork! Yummy, yummy pig!!! Although I haven't ground a lot of meat, I find it enjoyable every time, and don't think it will ever lose it's appeal. There's just something so fun about shoving cold pieces of raw pig into a little hopper and watching it come out so beautifully ground. And it feels good when you squeeze it between your fingers.

Below you will see new loading tray I received from Aaron's parents a while ago. It just snaps onto the original tray, providing you with 4x's as much room. Which, at first I wasn't sure how necessary it was, until I was loading 5lbs of meat into that baby. And believe me, it was super handy. The Kitchen Aid is a beast, and it really sucks that meat down and chews it up quite fast, and it's great to be able to place a huge mound of meat on top and just help guide it in.

I've read a lot about making sure your meat is super duper cold when you grind it, and I believe that is very true. I've done it with refrigerated meat, and it works okay. But I've found that if I slice up the meat and then throw it in the freezer for 15 - 20 minutes or so, everything stays nice and cold the whole time I'm playing with it.
So what do you do with tons of freshly ground pork? The answer: anything you could ever want. Since I have been trying to fill my freezer with quick-cook foodie goodness, I thought dumplings would be perfect. You really can't go wrong with meat filled things. These shumai are so easy to prepare, they make a ton, and they cook quickly without thawing.

If you plan on freezing some of these, place them on a cookie sheet without touching and put in the freezer for at least 25 minutes. Once they are partially frozen, you can thrown them all into a Ziploc bag or Tupperware container, and they won't stick together! Oh, and use this trick for everything.

Great on their own, you could always add a dipping sauce to these. Something store bought, or do what I do, and just whip up a random concoction of soy cause, sesame seed oil, sesame seeds, and honey. I make something different every time, but one of these days I'll plunk down an actual recipe for you.

Pork, Ginger & Mushroom Shumai

Printable Recipe

by Joelen's Culinary Adventures, adapted from AllRecipes.com

• 1 3/4 lbs ground pork
• 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger root
• 1 cup mushrooms, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp thinly sliced green onion
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 100 round wonton wrappers
• Sliced green onions for garnish

1. In a large bowl, combine the pork, ginger, garlic, ginger, green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, and egg. Stir until well mixed.
2. Lay a wonton wrapper in front of you. Wet the edges. Put 2 to 3 teaspoons of filling in the middle, taking care not to get too close to the edges. Gather up the edges of the wrapper and gently pleat so that it forms a basket shape, with the top of the filling exposed.
3. Steam over boiling water until the filling is cooked through (5 to 10 minutes). Garnish with green onions.