Cauliflower Rice help

farmers_daughter

Question 1: Is it better/easier to buy frozen bags of cauliflower and grate them? Or buy a fresh whole head and freeze what you don't use? I guess I've never frozen a cauliflower head before. But I want to make it last.
(I'm feeding 3 people per meal)
Question 2: Anybody ever put grated cauliflower in their meatloaf? for kind of a "filler" - is that dumb? I like my meatloaf kind of loose - not so that you can sandwich slice it. More of scoop it with a spatula type consistency.

Sabine_Stroehm

I replied to you on your main forum post as well:
Better is what you'll actually do. I buy the BIG bag at costco which has 4 smaller bags in it. It is our go to for stir fries these days. If we were buying fresh heads and grating them, we'd be doing it a LOT less often.
No help on the second question. Sorry.

kpk54

Many stores stock cauliflower that is already riced.

I'm fairly handy in the kitchen but I had a mess when I riced a raw head of cauliflower in the food processor. The food processor worked well for ricing but it was still a mess. Perhaps I need a little more practice.

Since you like your meatloaf "loose" it may work well was a filler. Never tried it. Like many vegetables, it has a high percent of water so it may make the meatloaf too loose. Here's a recipe found on line.

http://holdthetoast.com/content/meat_loaf_low_carb

tcunbeliever

I've never riced my own, but the frozen bags are amazing for skillet cooking.

I am usually feeding 3 people per meal (sometimes 4) and I usually use 2 of the smaller bags if the "rice" is a main part of the meal...one if it's not the main part of the meal.

For example, for stir fry I usually have lots of meat and other veggies, so I'll only use one bag of the rice.

If I'm using it as a pasta substitute like in chicken alfredo, then I'll use 2 bags - but I don't normally add other veggies to chicken alfredo except maybe a bit of onion/garlic...I have contemplated making it with a ton of mushrooms (chicken and mushroom alfredo) and then only using one bag, but I haven't actually tried that yet.

I haven't tried it in meatloaf, but you might be best off to cook it and then drain it, definitely can get a bit watery...I like cooking it in the skillet because then much of the water evaporates.

DvlDwnInGA

Meatloaf, try pork rinds for a good alternate filler. It won't be loose, but it is really good.

I like the frozen bags myself. I have never tried grating it. Seems like to much trouble.

retirehappy

Pre riced and frozen is the way to go when subbing cauliflower for traditional rice in dishes.

If you want to add cauliflower to meatloaf, use a potato ricer to get as much of the moisture out as possible. I do that with fathead pizza dough from cauliflower, much more dough after going through the ricer.

Oddly, the ricer does not "rice" the cauliflower so it can be used a sub for white/brown rice.

tammyfranks2

DvlDwnInGA wrote: »

Meatloaf, try pork rinds for a good alternate filler. It won't be loose, but it is really good.

I like the frozen bags myself. I have never tried grating it. Seems like to much trouble.

yep i do the pork rind meatloafs , so good .
I do not like the taste of the riced cauliflower (frozen ) but love the steamer bags of broc, cauli mixes
or just broc or just cauli . so good mixed with real butter and sprinkle cheeses .

if i ever eat cauliflower rice , I think I would make it myself from raw . but honestly i am ok with just the steam kind.

rnjenny8599

I love the frozen. Stuff is like crack. Aldi has it cheap. I do not like the taste of cooked cauliflower, but if I pan fry the frozen till moisture gone and just starting to brown, I cant get enough. I think it would be great in meatloaf.

tammyfranks2

rnjenny8599 wrote: »

I love the frozen. Stuff is like crack. Aldi has it cheap. I do not like the taste of cooked cauliflower, but if I pan fry the frozen till moisture gone and just starting to brown, I cant get enough. I think it would be great in meatloaf.

well i will try that!!!

tammyfranks2

I want you to know @rnjenny8599 I made a fried cauliflower rice and ground pork , rice dish tonight and yes very good like that , i even added a little chicken bone broth and let it simmer for like 10 mins , and so very very good!!! ty cause I gave up on the cauliflower rice.

chinatowninchina

@kpk54 try just the old fashioned box hand grater, with raw cauliflower, works a treat and little mess and much easier to clean than a food processor!

tcunbeliever

I have the pampered chef ricer, which is basically a big plastic grater that fits over a bowl...I have never actually riced cauliflower with it, makes fantastic zoodles!

touchdry

I'm with you chinatowninc on the hand grated caulidog ... I love the exercise! And sometimes a little bit of meat might be added if my fingers get too close to the mandelin! (just kidding!) ... but an old wise man told me many years ago that hand worked food is different than the machine worked stuff ... I have no idea in what way ... but I love the idea.

kpk54

Hmmm...I have a potato ricer that would work great for precooked cauliflower for something like faux mashed potatoes.

I tried a box grater and the grater on my mandolin before the food processor...episode/s of little pellets of cauliflower flying across the counter and rolling onto the floor.

I guess in my mind cauliflower was made to eat in bite size chunks... at least until such time as I hone my skills.

Wachkel

I have added riced cauliflower to the meat mixture/filing when I made stuffed peppers recently. I used about 1/2 cup to 2.5 lbs of ground beef (and I added shredded cheese Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup) to help with binding). I thought it turned out great. It was my first experiment making the stuffed peppers with the rice cauliflower. It was so tasty, I'd make it exactly the same again. Good luck! P.S. I generally rice my own cauliflower with my Salad Shooter . . . and, yes, it's a bit messy but clean up is a breeze.

Cheesy567

If you have a good blender, you can put cauliflower in the pitcher and fill with water, pulse for a few times until it’s riced, then pour into a fine-mesh sieve to drain.

Much easier to buy it frozen pre-riced, though.

Jennifred2018

I like dong the fresh cauliflower (I think there is more nutrition if it is not frozen). And I am also very picky to get the best veggies I use the box grater over a large tupperware. There are a few little pieces which escape the container, but really I don't mind coping with that to know that my food is the best it can be. Good luck in your journey.

giftbouquets

I use fresh, cut the florets off the stem and rinse. Then let them drain well. A quick blitz in the food processor, being careful not to get carried away, I prefer it a bit chunky. Then a minute in the microwave. Much easier than cooking actual rice, which I always used to make a mess of. Never even thought of freezing tbh. Just keep unused portion of cauliflower in the fridge until needed again.

Taliko

I was just wondering - since this is a cauliflower rice thread....
Mine always ends up sort of soggy. What am I doing wrong? I was using fresh riced from a bag. Do I need to do something to remove more moisture?

rnjenny8599

I cook it until it starts to brown. In a mpstly dry pan-justs a splash of olive oil. It seems you are cooking it long enough. Takes a solid 10 minutes or so. You can squeeze it in a towel to get rid of moisture first

rgg71

rnjenny8599 wrote: »

I cook it until it starts to brown. In a mpstly dry pan-justs a splash of olive oil. It seems you are cooking it long enough. Takes a solid 10 minutes or so. You can squeeze it in a towel to get rid of moisture first

Hi, I do the same as above but using butter on a med/high heat for 10 mins