All Ingredients

Ground Beef (fresh or frozen)

Pantries often give out ground beef frozen, in 1 or 2 pound packs. It's one of the easiest meats to cook. You just break it up in a pan until there's no pink left.

How to thaw it

  1. Best way: move it from the freezer to the fridge the night before. A 1 pound pack takes about a day.
  2. Faster: keep it in its sealed package. Put it in a bowl of cold water and change the water every 30 minutes. A 1 pound pack takes about an hour.
  3. Fastest: use the defrost button on a microwave (some say "thaw"). Then cook it right away.
  4. Never thaw meat on the counter. The outside gets warm enough for germs to grow while the middle is still frozen.

How to brown ground beef

  1. Put a skillet (frying pan) on medium-high heat. On most stoves, that's about three quarters of the way to high. If the label says 90% lean or more, add a spoon of oil, since there's not much fat to cook in.
  2. Add the beef. Use a spoon or spatula to break it into small pieces.
  3. Let it sit for a minute or two without stirring, so the bottom turns brown and a little crispy. That's where the flavor comes from. Then stir and break it up more.
  4. Keep cooking and stirring for 7 to 10 minutes, until you don't see any pink.
  5. Tilt the pan so the melted fat (grease) runs to one side, and spoon it out.

How to use it

  • It's done when there's no pink anywhere and the juices look clear. If you have a meat thermometer (a metal probe you stick into the thickest part), it should read 160°F.
  • Forgot to thaw it? You can cook it frozen. Put the frozen block in the skillet on medium-low heat. Scrape off the cooked outside as it browns, flip, and repeat. A 1 pound pack takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Getting rid of grease: spoon it into an empty can or jar, let it harden, and throw it in the trash. Don't pour it down the sink, because it clogs pipes.
  • Make it go further: stir in a can of drained beans or some cooked lentils. One pound then feeds a lot more people. See Beef and Lentil Chili.
  • Raw beef that's gray in the middle of the package is normal. It's from not touching the air. Beef that smells sour or feels slimy should be thrown out.

Storage

  • Thawed raw beef keeps 1 to 2 days in the fridge. Cook it soon.
  • Frozen, it stays safe for a long time. It tastes best within 3 to 4 months.
  • Beef thawed in the fridge can go back in the freezer. Beef thawed in water or the microwave should be cooked first.
  • Cooked ground beef keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge or 2 to 3 months in the freezer. Browning a whole pack at once and freezing half saves time later.

10 recipes using Ground Beef (fresh or frozen)