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Author: adcoinctodd

How To Cook Hagberg’s Phil’s Bombs

Inspired by the legendary bass player Phil Lesh, these bombs will strike a massive chord and get your taste buds thumping. Hagberg’s Phil’s Bombs are jumbo mushrooms stuffed with Hagberg’s own Chorizo Verde blend, smoked cheddar, and finished with a dusting of paprika.

To cook, lightly grease up a baking sheet to keep them from sticking, and pop the Hagberg’s Phil’s Bombs into your oven preheated to 375° F. After 18 minutes, they’re ready for serving.

Know when done is done. Find a chart for USDA-recommended internal meat temps here.

Internal Meat Temperature Chart

Avoid overcooking and undercooking disasters! Admit it. You’ve been there. Overcook it, and it’s dry. Undercook it, and it’s potentially not safe to eat. And simply hacking into a good piece of meat to see if you think it’s done doesn’t cut it. Knowing the temperatures the meat should be cooked is critical to preparing a safe and delicious meal. Use the chart below and get a good meat thermometer. It’s the only way to be safe and sure.

See the chart below for more detail.

Product Minimum Internal Temperature & Rest Time
Beef, Pork, Veal & Lamb Steaks, chops, roasts 145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
Ground Meats 160 °F
Ground Poultry 165 °F
Ham, fresh or smoked (uncooked) 145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
Fully Cooked Ham (to reheat) Reheat cooked hams packaged in USDA-inspected plants to 140 °F (60 °C) and all others to 165 °F .
All Poultry (breasts, whole bird, legs, thighs, wings, ground poultry, giblets, and stuffing) 165 °F
Eggs 160 °F
Fish & Shellfish 145 °F
Leftovers 165 °F
Casseroles 165 °F

 

The Most Essential Tool In Your Kitchen Is A Meat Thermometer.

Take the guesswork out of cooking. You just spent a few (or several) dollars on a nice cut of meat from Hagberg’s amazing meat case. You really want to impress your guests or, at the very least, prepare it to its most succulent best. Why risk a less-than-ideal outcome by guessing how long to cook it? Knowing the exact internal temperature of the meat not only helps you avoid an over-rare steak or dried-out chicken breast, but it also lets you know whether or not it’s safe to eat, which is sort of important.

Along with some good pans and sharp knives, a meat thermometer is the most important tool in your kitchen arsenal. A meat thermometer measures cooked meat’s internal temperature to ensure it’s safe to eat and matches your personal preference and tastes.

Safe temperatures vary by cut of meat or food item. Generally, for roasts and chops, the minimal internal cooking temperature should be 145°F. You should also add a resting period of a few minutes before serving. During this brief resting period, the temperature continues to increase slightly, and the juices get absorbed back into the cut resulting in a juicier outcome. Cook poultry until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. 

See the chart below for more detail.

Product Minimum Internal Temperature & Rest Time
Beef, Pork, Veal & Lamb Steaks, chops, roasts 145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
Ground Meats 160 °F
Ground Poultry 165 °F
Ham, fresh or smoked (uncooked) 145 °F and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
Fully Cooked Ham (to reheat) Reheat cooked hams packaged in USDA-inspected plants to 140 °F and all others to 165 °F.
All Poultry (breasts, whole bird, legs, thighs, wings, ground poultry, giblets, and stuffing) 165 °F
Eggs 160 °F
Fish & Shellfish 145 °F
Leftovers 165 °F
Casseroles 165 °F

There are several types of meat thermometers. One that we like to use is the digital “instant-read” style. These aren’t meant to be left in the food while it cooks. Simply use these to check your meat when you think it’s done by placing the probe in the deepest part of the food and getting a reading in a few seconds. These thermometers are easy to use, easy to store, and easy to clean. And you’ll find some of our favorites at the end of the meat counter.

How To Cook Hagberg’s Brats

To boil or not to boil? Or bake? The answer is yes.

No-boil method: Remove from wrap (thaw if frozen) and place it on a hot grill. The key to the no-boil process is to go low and slow. Keep the heat controlled and turn often so you don’t break the skin while the brat cooks. This keeps the juices in the brat and allows the char from the grill to flavor the skin. The brats are done when the inside temp reaches 150°-155° F.

Boil method: Yes. It’s okay to boil your brats first. Essentially, you’re cooking your brat before you grill it to minimize the time over the coals. Plus, using a water/beer bath mixture with some onions adds flavor. Again, you’ll want to minimize the skin splitting for juicier brats. Sometimes I’ll keep my brats in the water/beer bath warm on the grill, so if folks want seconds (or thirds), it just takes a couple of minutes to char on the grill. This definitely beats letting them sit on a plate or the grill to dry out.

Oven method: Okay, I know some hearty folks grill all year long, but if you’re craving a Hagberg’s brat and don’t want to brave the sub-zero temps to man the grill, turn on the oven. We prefer this method to stovetop grilling or pan-frying because slow and steady makes for a juicier, more flavorful brat. Preheat to about 350° F and cook for 30-40 minutes until the inside temp reaches 150°-155° F.

Want to up your brat game? Put them on a bed of sauerkraut before you slide them into the oven. 

Know when done is done. Find a chart for USDA-recommended internal meat temps here.

Hagberg’s Own Cousin Vinny

Our Cousin Vinny is a Hagberg’s original developed around the authentic Joe Tucci Italian sausage recipe from the old neighborhood in East St. Paul. It starts with an expertly trimmed beef tenderloin. Then we roll it around Joe’s Italian sausage, sundried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and fresh spinach.

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Preparing A Perfect Picanha

We received this excellent method for preparing picanha in a Big Green Egg and finishing on a flat top from one of our favorite customers (Thanks Todd!). And you can see by the picture it worked out pretty darn, deliciously well.

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Keep Them Sharp, Clean, And Treat Them With A Little TLC.

You may not be a professional meat cutter, but maintaining a good quality knife is essential for many reasons. Anyone who uses knives over an extended period knows the frustration of trying to use blunt, dull knives. First of all, be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook page because Rusty from Minnesota Knife Sharpening stops by Hagberg’s fairly regularly to give our customer’s knives an edge. In the meantime, here are a few “tips” of the trade to help you keep your knives cleanly cutting.

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Our Sourcing Search Always Bring Us Back To Our Own Backyard.

At Hagberg’s we never stop searching for the best sources of meats, produce, dairy, and groceries. Fortunately, we don’t have to look far. Our business takes pride in sourcing from local purveyors whenever possible. We’ve developed great relationships with many local producers who help us keep our commitment to providing our customers with quality and selection you just can’t find at the chain stores. But it goes beyond quality products. As a small business, we know how important it is to support our local economies where we live, shop, and work.

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Fair Foods At Home!

Newsflash! The Minnesota State Fair has been canceled due to you-know-what! Okay, we know, it’s not new news, but as the date of the annual food fest draws nearer, were here to remind you, you can still enjoy a lot of your favorite fair flavors at home. Here’s a couple of our favorites – deep-fried, of course.

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A Message From The Man Behind The Mask

Once in a while, you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right. – Grateful Dead

There is no doubt. These are strange times. As we are all working to navigate this ever-changing “new normal” at Hagberg’s, I wanted to express my gratitude to the people who make this long strange trip a little more tolerable.

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Sandwich Time Machine

Okay, stop me if you heard this one – a hungry leading lady walked into a restaurant…

The actress was Annette Seelos, the year on your time-machine dial is 1914, and the place was New York.

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Only Prime-Grade Local Beef And Certified Duroc Pork – Other Meats Don’t Cut It (Or Get Cut) At Hagberg’s.

We’ve always put a premium on providing only the highest quality meats to our customers. These days, you can’t open a newspaper or watch a newscast without hearing about large meat processors. At Hagberg’s, we source our meats from local providers for fresher, more distinctive, and higher quality selections. We believe that a closer relationship between the farmers and us results in a better shopping experience for our customers.

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Get Your Gas Grill Ready For Grilling Season

We know, some of you hearty die-hards don’t let winter keep you from getting your grill on, but for most, it’s finally time to uncover the grill and get cooking! Okay, we know it’s not brain surgery, but taking a few simple steps to prep your grill for the season is fast and easy. And it just might save you from blowing your deck off!

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Preparing A Perfect Picanha At Home

We received this excellent method for preparing picanha in a Big Green Egg and finishing on a flat top from one of our favorite customers (Thanks Todd!). And you can see by the picture it worked out pretty darn, deliciously well.

Continue reading

How To Reheat

We get this question a LOT. If it’s already been cooked once, it’s probably okay to eat it cold, but who wants a cold dinner, especially this time of year.

The truth is, reheating is not rocket science. If you want to heat it before you eat it, choose your favorite source of heat, and apply. Of course, we don’t recommend blow torches, but if you’re in a pinch…

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