How Much Does Ground Beef Cook Down?
How to Cook and Dark-brown Ground Beefiness the Best Way
Get perfectly browned meat for tacos, chili, and more.
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Browning ground beef is a skill every domicile cook needs in their tool kit. And while it might seem fairly intuitive, in that location's a lot that can get incorrect without proper technique.
E'er wonder why your ground beef turned out more than gray than dark-brown? Keep reading to learn how to get perfectly browned ground beef using a skillet. Plus, refer to our troubleshooting guide for all your ground beefiness questions.
How to Buy Ground Beef
Cooking the best ground beef starts with choosing the right meat at your supermarket. Ground beef only lasts about 2 days in the fridge, which means you'll desire to choose the freshest meat possible, and utilize it as presently every bit you tin. That is, unless you plan to freeze it (more on that to come).
Fresh ground beef should exist bright ruby-red in color. You should also refer to the sell-by date on each package. Choosing the meat that has a sell-past date furthest from today's appointment will ensure your footing beef won't go bad on you also before long.
Y'all'll besides want to consider fatty content. The college the fatty content, the more flavorful and juicy the meat. Most ground beef you detect at the supermarket has a beef to fat ratio of 85/15. This is a good pick for well-nigh culinary purposes. However, if you're wanting the juiciest burgers possible, yous can opt for a higher fatty content like lxx/xxx or fourscore/20.
Lean or extra-lean footing beef on the other mitt is best for taco meat, since it won't shrink upwards when cooked quite as much equally beef that is college in fat. Really, it comes downward to personal preference and how yous intend to use it.
How to Cook and Brown Footing Beefiness
The skillet method is the tried and true way to brown ground beef. Here we'll suspension down the best way to melt ground beef using a skillet.
Credit: Marty Baldwin/Meredith
Here's What You'll Demand:
- A large, stainless steel or cast atomic number 26 skillet
- A spatula, sauté paddle, or wooden spoon
- ane ½ lb fresh or thawed footing beef
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Other spices (optional)
Instructions:
- Allow your meat to sit at room temperature for about fifteen minutes.
- Estrus the oil in a large stainless steel or cast atomic number 26 skillet over medium-loftier heat. If y'all're using a nonstick pan y'all don't have to employ oil (unless you're using extra-lean ground beefiness). Cast iron and stainless steel are the best choice for getting that beautiful, brown sear.
- One time the pan is hot, add the meat, and apply a spatula to pause information technology upwards into pieces.
- Allow the meat brown without touching for about five minutes. This gives the meat more contact with the pan, and thus, a better sear.
- Sprinkle salt and whatsoever other spices (like taco seasoning). Keep to allow the meat dark-brown, stirring once later every minute, until all the moisture has evaporated.
- Make sure there are no signs of pink, and break upward any larger pieces. You've done it! Now information technology's fourth dimension to drain the fatty. (More on that below.)
How to Drain Fat from Cooked Ground Beef
Fat is an inevitable past-product of cooking ground beefiness. In one case your ground beef is completely browned, your next step is to carefully separate the fat from the meat. Here'due south how:
- Tilt the pan to i side and then that the liquid is on 1 side and the meat is on the other. Watch out for any splatters of hot fatty.
- Employ a slotted spoon to remove the ground beef and place it on a newspaper towel-lined plate.
- Allow the remaining fat to sit in the skillet until completely cooled. Discard it in the garbage. Never dump it down the bleed! Whether solid or liquid, fat will clog up your drain and lead to a future plumbing headache.
Ground Beef Troubleshooting Guide: 3 Mutual Mistakes To Avoid
ane. You put cold meat in a hot pan.
Pulling ground beef straight from the refrigerator and placing information technology in a hot pan is going to cause the meat to release those juices immediately. For best results, allow your meat to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before cooking. But never leave footing beef out at room temperature for more than ii hours.
two. You overcrowded the pan.
If you want to attain that crisp, dark-brown crust, overcrowding the pan is only going to work against you. Because the meat doesn't have plenty contact with the pan, it's non going to sear — it'southward going to steam. The result? Moisture and grayness ground beef. No thanks.
If y'all're cooking a large corporeality of ground beef, either cook it in batches or brand sure you have a skillet that's large plenty to accommodate it.
iii. Yous use a nonstick pan.
Okay, you can use a nonstick pan to brown basis beefiness if that's what y'all adopt. It'southward certainly convenient. But for truly the best sear, you lot'll want to become with cast atomic number 26 or stainless steel. The reason is nonstick pans just don't retain heat too. And not all nonstick pans can handle the high heat that's required for browning meat. To prevent the meat from sticking in stainless steel or cast fe pans, simply use a little oil and make certain your cast iron is well seasoned.
How to Store Footing Beef
Raw ground beef can be stored in the fridge for upwards to ii days or in the freezer for upward to iii months. To freeze, wrap the package tightly in freezer wrap or transfer to a freezer-safe pocketbook and label with the date.
Cooked ground beefiness, similar many other leftovers, will terminal three to iv days in the refrigerator, or three to four months in the freezer. Go on it stored in an closed container or freezer bag.
5 Delicious Ground Beef Recipes That Aren't Burgers, Tacos, or Meatballs
- Piece of cake Korean Ground Beef Bowl: Ground beef is flavored with garlic, fresh ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, red pepper, and green onions to make a quick and piece of cake dish that'due south ready to serve over rice in about 25 minutes.
- Beef and Bean Chimichangas: Shake up Taco Tuesday with chimichangas! Ground beef, onion, bell pepper, and corn get spiced up with taco sauce, chili pulverization, garlic table salt, and cumin, then rolled into tortillas spread with a layer of refried beans. To well-baked them up, brush with butter and bake in the oven.
- Instant Pot Lasagna Soup: Everything you lot love about lasagna, but in soup form. Cooking this comforting soup in your Instant Pot slashes the time downward to nigh 45 minutes from start to finish.
- Kibbee Lebanese Style: This Middle Eastern recipe calls for ground lamb, but you tin substitute ground beef if yous similar. Ground meat is combined with bulgur, onion, and fragrant spices, and layered with pine basics in a baking dish. Scoring the ground meat mixture into a diamond pattern before baking gives it eye entreatment and makes information technology easier to cut and serve.
- Stuffed Peppers: Whole bell peppers are hollowed out and blimp with a mixture of basis beef, rice, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic pulverisation, table salt, and pepper before baking nether a blanket of more sauce.
Related:
- 20 Ground Beefiness Dinners for Beginner Cooks
- 15 Upkeep-Friendly Ground Beef Recipes
- Browse our unabridged drove of Ground Beef Recipes.
Source: https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-cook-ground-beef/