Breakfast Beef Steaks

My family eats a hearty breakfast or brunch, a hearty dinner and then a miniscule supper. Like the old saying goes–

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like prince, and supper like a pauper.

It’s what works best for our schedules and eating habits. One of our favorite breakfasts is steak and eggs. With steaks, even cheap round steak, at a premium price these days, we’ve been making do with chopped steak made from ground beef.

I’ve taken regular ground beef, 70/30 grind and turned it into a lean, juicy, tender chopped steak that is perfect for breakfast or brunch. I am really proud of this recipe because it’s so cheap and really wow’s the family at the table. Plus it tastes good, which can sometimes be hit and miss with thrifty cooking.

In this recipe, the first cooking method is the one that produces the leanest steaks by broiling them on a rack. A second cooking method is provided as a alternative. In the second method the steaks are simply baked in a baking pan, which requires less attention from the cook and allows for easier clean-up afterwards, although it doesn’t remove as much fat from the steaks. Choose the method that works best for you.

I have another good recipe for breakfast steaks that can be found HERE.

Chopped Breakfast Steaks

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 egg
• 2 slices leftover gluten-free bread, stale is fine, crumbled into tiny bits OR a gluten free muffin, crumbed OR 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

These are extra cheap and they’re perfect for pancake or biscuit breakfast sandwiches or a sturdy meal of steak and eggs.

Begin the night before. Take a pound of ground beef out of the freezer and place it in the fridge. It should be thawed by morning.

In the morning preheat your broiler or preheat the oven to 450°.

Next make the steaks. They are mixed together like meatloaf. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix very well. I use my hands to do this but if you are really phobic about the gooey meat you could use a fork or large spoon. In restaurants they use a large stand mixer. If you did that though,  you’d have to wash the mixer afterwards and quite frankly I feel it’s much easier to just wash my hands.

After you’ve made the meat mixture divide it into 6 equal portions. Shape each portion into a thin, flat patty. You can make them round or oval. If they are oval they look more like steaks and less like hamburgers, but round ones fit on a pancake or biscuit more easily.

For the Leanest Broiled Steaks

Arrange the patties on your broiler pan. Broil for 4 minutes on the first side then flip them and broil for 2 to 3 minutes on the second side. They will be well done, with no pink in the middle. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

For Easier to Cook, less Lean Steaks

Line a baking dish with aluminum foil. Coat it lightly with no-stick spray or rub it with solid shortening. Arrange the patties in the pan. Bake at 450° for 20 to 30 minutes, or until well browned and sizzling. Remove from the oven and drain on paper towels, newspaper or pages ripped from an old phonebook.

These steaks are lusciously tender and fragrant when done. By broiling them on a rack, the fat content is reduced significantly. But if you need an easier method, baking them in the oven requires very little watching. Simply check them at 20 minutes, and if they’re not brown enough, then cook them another 5 to 10 minutes, until they are.

If you’re often pressed for time in the morning then prepare your steaks a day ahead and reheat by pan-frying or microwaving.

They’re good instead of sausage for breakfast, or as already mentioned, in a meal of steak and eggs. Steak & Egg sandwiches, using pancakes for bread are delicious in the morning and a real family favorite. You can also serve steaks and eggs on a plate with hash browns or grits and a side of fresh fruit.

Makes 6 chopped steaks.

Assuming 1 steak, which has been broiled on a rack.

Per Steak: 178 Calories; 11g Fat (55.8% calories from fat); 14g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 45mg Cholesterol; 284mg Sodium.

Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 2 Lean Meat; 1-1/2 Fat.