Stuffed Tomato

[chestertime]

I've got the itch to make stuffed tomatoes tonight. I was planning to stuff them with some mixed up ground beef. Some of the (few) recipes I've found stuffing tomatoes with meat say to cook the beef first and then to bake for about 25 mins. One doesn't address cooking the beef but says to bake for 45 mins. Does anyone have thoughts about cooking beef in the tomato versus precooking it? TYIA!

[Michael in FtW]

Really lean beef I wouldn't worry about precooking (and 45 mins sounds about right for starting with raw beef), if the beef isn't lean then you will probably want to at least partially precook it to render out some of the fat ...

[mexican mama]

I havent had stuffed tomatoes for so long..but I remember my nana stuffed it with finely chopped chilies, cilantro and pimentos...it has no ground beef in it so it can be a vegan dish too..i found this recipe by rachel ray and it is similar to what my nana made.
Mexican Stuffed Tomatoes Recipe : Rachael Ray : Food Network

[CharlieD]

The reason they may sugest to precook meat is becasue tomatoe are pretty tender and if you are going to bake them for a long time thy may just not come out right in the end.

[chefkathleen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CharlieD The reason they may suggest to precook meat is because tomato are pretty tender and if you are going to bake them for a long time thy may just not come out right in the end.

That's exactly what I was thinking Charlie. They're a very tender little fruit and I can't see them holding up and looking/tasting good after lots of cooking. You might end up with spaghetti sauce.