Description of Garbage Plate
Nick Tahou Hots’s best known dish is the Garbage Plate, which consists of a selection of home fries, macaroni salad, baked beans and French fries topped with meats of the customer’s choice. The dish can be garnished with mustard, chopped onions, ketchup and the venue’s signature hot sauce, and is served with bread and butter. The Garbage Plate is typically mixed together by the diner before being eaten.
Tahou first created the dish as two hamburger patties with a selection of side dishes. The dish has spawned several imitators with similar names in the Greater Rochester area, including Fairport Hots’ “The Hot Plate”, Tom Wahl’s “55 Junker Plate” and Mark’s Texas Hots’ “Sloppy Plate.
In 2010 Health.com named the Garbage Plate the fattiest food in the state of New York.
General Region: North east
Associated Region: Rochester, New York
Garbage Plate Ingredients
- ½ pound ground beef
- 1 ¼ cups water, plus more as needed
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground thyme
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Garbage Plate Directions
-
Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease.
-
Transfer cooked beef to a blender and process until finely minced.
-
Return minced, cooked beef to the skillet. Add 1 1/4 cups water, vinegar, paprika, black pepper, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, allspice, cloves, cumin, thyme, and cinnamon. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then cook for at least 30 minutes, adding water as needed to keep the mixture moist and gravy-like.