Musings on Fritos® Pie Meat-Muffins

The hardest part of this recipe is preparing the meat.  One could simply use two pounds of hamburger, if one desired.  However, I wanted this meat-muffin to have a different texture.  That is why I chose to use chunks of meat rather than ground meat.  For the initial experiment, I chose stew beef because it was about the same price as ground beef.  One could theoretically use any beef, provided is was cut properly.  The idea is to get the beef down to the kibble size in cat food, about 1/4" x 1/4". The best way to do this with stew beef or a steak is to partially freeze it.  The frozen beef can then be cut any way you want.  Now, this isn't a complete solid freezing.  The meat should be frozen just enough to keep it stiff under a knife.

The remainder of the recipe is very straightforward.

I got a little worried while mixing.  Not only did my hand freeze because of the frozen meat, but it took a long time for the meat to come together in something that resembled a muffinable mass.  As you can see in the above picture, everything turned out fine.

Except for the cheese sauce. It made way too much and took way too long.  I'm going to have to figure out a different way to add the cheese.

I wish I could adequately describe the smell coming from the oven.  It is cheesy Frito-y chili-y goodness.  I can't wait to taste.

Well, the first problem is the thing crumbles; it is not a muffin.  I'm going to have to figure that out.  I think it might be an overabundance of beans.  There were many of them left in the bottom of the mixing bowl.  Perhaps if I mash some of them next time.  Licking my fingers caused my tongue to burn, so I may need to decrease the spices.  The meat is a little touch, but what should one expect from Wal-Mart.  The Fritos® became soggy, of course, but their flavor is still there.  Next batch gets an increase in the Fritos®.  The tomatoes look like little red dustballs instead of tomatoes.  However, the chilies are definitely present in the taste and the heat.  That heat is blocking any of the other spices from showing up.

All in all, I think a good first test of the concept.

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