To add a couple more things... Bacteria (which can cause microbial contamination) is basically located on the skin of the animal (not the muscle meat), and E. coli is located in the digestive system of the animal. Cross contamination from the digestive system through any number of ways during slaughter is how the muscle meat can get contaminated with E. coli. Poor slaughtering methods. The meats that we eat skin and all - poultry, for the most part - are especially prone to spoilage because of the microbial contamination from the skin. For example, (source: On Food and Cooking - by Harold McGee) "a typical piece of pork in the supermarket will have a few hundred bacteria per square centimeter (a cut from muscle meat without any skin), while a piece of chicken (which contains the skin) may have 10,000 in the same area. This simple statistic is the reason for cleaning hands, knives, and cutting boards thoroughly with hot, soapy water after handling chicken and before handling other foods, and for cooking poultry well, especially its surfaces." "Bacteria and molds break down the surface layer of meat..." A way to lower the potential of E. coli contamination is to use grassfed beef. Studies have found that animals fed corn silage and animal by-products are more likely to carry E. coli 0157:H7 than animals that are grass-fed. It has to do with the acidity in the digestive system of the animal due to the type of feed. The grassfed animals have more acidity in the digestive juices which destroys E. coli to begin with. Our own gastric juices can destroy 99.99 percent of the NORMAL type of E. coli found in grassfed animals. By contrast, a high percentage of the ACID-RESISTANT E. coli from grainfed animals can survive the acid bath in our stomachs which could cause major health problems. Yet one more reason why I use grassfed beef.... Luckily, it's raised "naturally" and still processed in a small plant one animal at a time. -Grainlady

This is really good. Meat is tender and tears apart. The gravy is very tasty too. Sirloin Roast (Slow Cooker) 2-3 lb sirloin tip roast 2-3 garlic cloves, quartered 2-3 tsp dried oregano 1½ tsp powdered thyme Black pepper, to taste 2-3 Tbsp dry onion soup mix ½ cup medium-bodied dry red wine 1½ cups beef broth, divided With a knife, make holes in roast and insert garlic clove quarters in each hole. Rub oregano, thyme, and a little pepper all over the roast. Let sit in refrigerator overnight. Let roast come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes. In a skillet, brown roast on all sides; transfer to slow cooker. Pour ½ cup beef broth into skillet and scrape up all the browned bits; pour into crockpot. To crockpot, add remaining beef broth, red wine, and dry onion soup mix. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours. Turn roast over halfway through cooking. When done, let roast rest on platter (covered with foil) for 20-30 minutes to let juices redistribute. Put the roast broth into a small saucepan and thicken with a cornstarch/water mixture.

We eat a lot of ground beef and I buy it here at Smith's(Kroger).I always get the 85/15 and pay $1.98 a lb. for the family pack most of the time.They always have really good specials and sometime if I get there at the right time the meat ground that day is marked down even more.I stock up then.They also have great specials sometime on steak.usually Sirloin and London broil and I stock up on those too. What I can't stand is getting those tiny little pieces of bone in a bite of meat.Ruins the whole burger for me.Don't have much of a problem with that with Smith's. Someone had organic,grass fed beef on the local Craigs list a while back.You could get a half,1/4 or whole beef.I called about it and it would have cost about $9.00 a pound! Would have been nice but who can afford that! Wish I had a way to grind my own.With the london broil and sirloin specials I can get,it would save a lot of money.

Tried this the other night--sort of "cabbage rolls/Polish Pigs" without the rice-- nice change of pace. Diane's Home Cookin Chapter: 2014/15/16--to try--main dishes & sides Unstuffed Sweet-and-Sour Cabbage ================================ source: Gourmet 11/2008 1 (2-pound) head green cabbage, quartered or cut into sixths-- lengthwise and cored 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, divided 1 large onion, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 pound ground beef chuck 1/2 pound ground pork 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice 1/3 cup dried cranberries 3 tablespoon red-wine vinegar 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar 2 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley Accompaniment: steamed rice . Cook onion and remaining garlic in oil in a heavy medium pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and stir in ground meats along with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring and breaking up lumps with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with their juice, cranberries, vinegar, and brown sugar and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally and breaking up tomatoes with spoon, until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt. Sear cabbage pieces lightly in bacon grease then place in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet with broth, 1 garlic clove (sliced), and a rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then cook, covered, turning cabbage occasionally, until very tender, about 45 minutes. (Add more broth or water if necessary.) Pour sauce into skillet with cabbage and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/unstuffed-sweet-and-sour-cabbage-350572 Unstuffed cabbage