This meat is not really the same thing as you buy in the store. I had to butcher my cow, and we turned it all into burger. So it's really more like...Ground round, ground chuck, etc. I would say that the fat content in it is pretty low (If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably 97% lean). When I brown a pound of it, I end up with maybe 1 tsp or so of fat. There's not enough to pool in the bottom of the pan if I tilt it. Thanks for the input, Dave!

Teresa, I'm glad that you are looking out for me. I think I left ample fat. My first sausage will be with your patty recipe. Earl, Thanks for chiming in with that link. Actually I have read some of your sage advice somewhere?? Kathy, I'll have to practice some more first. I'm still working on mastering my new Weber. That's going well thanks in part to Lakeguy's Grill book and other grill accessories. Annie, Thanks for the recommendation. Jim, I'll check out that link as I'm sure bare bones basics is what I need...ESPECIALLY SINCE I RUINED MY GRINDER THE FIRST DAY OUT!! Yup, I put the workings in the dishwasher. I am diligent about reading directions but in my haste to clean before grand babies came over, I didn't inform myself about cleaning the grinder.

There is no such thing as medium-well with no pink. No pink means well done. And well done does not mean dried out nor does it mean cooked to leather texture or black throughout as some people I know insist on cooking it. Coincidently they like to rant that well done is dried out... (sigh) Personally I like a touch of char and crispness on some of the outside but not so it's completely burned. I like it best at medium well, slight pink, but still hot enough that it will actually continue cooking a bit, even if it procedes to well done. I like it cooked in bacon fat and or butter but few places will do that. Sometimes I like a thick burger and other times I like a thin burger. The bun (preferably wheat or better yet, multigrain) should be toasted and I like a couple very thin slices of red onion a dab of mayo/salad dressing or Ranch dressing along with a touch of BBQ sauce or maybe Heinz 57. A lot depends on the mood and the accompanying dishes. Sometimes cheese, sometimes not. Sometimes topped with pepperoni or ham, and sometimes I just want burger and bun! And you can keep your preformed frozen meatloaf patties they pass off as hamburger patties. Especially the ones they make an odd wavy shape to simulate hand formed. Getting a burger, well, any meat cooked past medium without being overcooked isn't easy, much like getting eggs cooked hard without being rubbery. There's a very fine line between right and overdone. A cook with talent can do it but unfortunately there's not a lot of people who really have talent cooking at these places. There's also a fear of food poisoning so they want to cook it to cover for poor food handling methods. Sad, really. Here is a link that might be useful: How would you like that?

Thanks, Islay! I think I will try the Cake Provençal, but I have to buy some canned tuna, as I do not keep that on hand. Since you use a silicon pan, I think Pyrex would be fine. I was considering an 8x8" pan because I thought it might make more cubes, but I will make that determination when I see how much batter I end up with. I found another recipe for it here, but it uses ham, and I would rather use tuna. I think ham would make it crumbly. Here is another similar recipe that looks interesting. I made the Roquefort mini-popovers yesterday, and I determined that they will not be that good cold. They were fine when hot or warm but are a bit too eggy to eat cold - the texture would be off. I also learned that you absolutely must use a non-stick mini-muffin pan. I have an old one that I used, and I had bought a new one (which is non-stick) because the recipe calls for two pans of 12. I almost bought two new pans, which is what I should have done, as I will now be recycling my old pan, since the popovers got completely stuck in the old pan, even though it was properly oiled. I had to scoop the popovers out with a spoon from the old pan, but they fell right out of the new pan. I took pictures, but they are not pretty. It is very easy to eat six of these popovers, and we had twelve each last night, more or less as a main course. They are a bit like cheesy eggy waffles - more like a breakfast food, but still good as an appetizer. I would make them for a party at home but not to take out. I might also still make hush puppies, as they are like cornbread and will be okay cold.