Ground beef is a staple in countless kitchens, but just because we use something all the
time, that doesn't mean we're not making any mistakes with it. Let's talk about common
mistakes we make with ground beef, and how to fix them for tastier burgers, meatloaf,
and meatballs.
Some bad meat can ruin your evening, so how can you tell if your ground beef has gone
bad? Surprisingly, it might not be in the way you think.
Do you check the color as an indicator of spoilage? That can sort of work, as we found.
But... sort of not.
If you break apart your hunk of ground beef and the inside looks a little grayish-brown,
that's completely normal. That bright red color we associate with fresh meat happens
when pigments come into contact with oxygen, and if the center's a little odd-colored,
that's just because it hasn't been exposed to oxygen. But if most of the meat is that
same grayish-brown, that's a little more questionable.
If that's the case, there are two things you can do. First, sniff it. Fresh ground beef
should have no smell, or a slight iron scent. That's fine! If it's a little funky or weird-smelling,
though, it's starting to spoil. Pay attention to how it feels, too. If it's starting to
feel slimy, sticky, or tacky — in other words, anything but smooth and damp — get
rid of it.
Picture yourself standing in the meat section of your favorite grocery store. How do you
pick a package or few of ground beef? Do you reach for the brightest one? Go for the most
vibrant color? That's actually not the only thing you should be looking for.
According to the American Meat Institute, many meat packers use a system that injects
carbon monoxide into the packaging. That actually acts as a color stabilizer, and it keeps meat
looking bright red way longer than it would hold its color without the gas. It's perfectly
safe, but it does mean that if you're not looking at the expiration dates, you might
just grab some ground beef that's way closer to spoiling than you might think, based on
the color. Bottom line? Always check dates!
Here's another little trick, straight from us to you. Pay attention to how cold the package
is. If it's a little warm, it may have been sitting out of refrigeration for a while,
and you should absolutely give this one a miss. You don't want a package that's been
sitting on a counter somewhere before being restocked, right? That's how food poisoning
happens!
Sure, packaged ground beef is convenient, and there's really nothing super wrong with
it. But, if you really want to replicate your favorite gourmet burger at home, you definitely
shouldn't be reaching for this stuff.
Instead, go to the butcher's counter. Talk to the person on the other side. Pick out
cuts of meat, and have it ground right there.
Why? The cuts of meat that typically end up in ground beef made and packaged at some mysterious,
out-of-sight, out-of-mind factory are less-than-stellar. They're not bad, just... not the best. They're
sort of like mystery meat hot dogs. But when you pick out a solid cut of meat and have
your butcher grind it, you know exactly what you're getting — and, you can ask for a
rougher grind that's going to give your burger more texture.
Any good butcher will be able to give you some guidance, but don't worry — it's easy.
Look for chuck steak: that's about 20 percent fat, and once that all gets ground, that's
a great, basic sort of ground beef. And you'll want the fat in there — that's what makes
your burger juicy. Want more fat? You can definitely ask them to make adjustments, and
that's the brilliant part of picking the cuts and having them grind it right there. They
know their stuff!
"Glenn Beef? A butcher called Glenn Beef? Are you serious?"
"Deadly serious, Keiran."
We've all been there: You're super excited about mixing up some ground beef, adding seasonings,
and grilling up some burgers with a funky flavor profile... only to have the burgers
that make it to the bun look very, very tiny. What the heck?
According to the USDA, all meat shrinks. It shrinks more when you're cooking at higher
temperatures and for a longer time — since one of the cardinal rules of ground beef is
that you need to cook it to at least 160 degrees in order to get rid of any potentially harmful
bacteria, that's pretty much the definition of what you're doing with it. It gets smaller
because you're cooking out all the fat and juices, and that's why you get the common
mistake of small, dry burgers.
Fortunately, there's an easy fix: buy more. According to Weight Watchers, you should assume
you're going to get about 25 percent shrinkage in your meat. So, just buy 25 percent more
than you think you're going to need, make bigger burgers than you think you'll eat,
and everyone at the dinner table will be happy with their portion size.
Not all ground beef is created equal, and those percentages on the packages are actually
pretty important. Ignore them, and you're more likely to have a final, cooked product
that isn't quite what you intended.
Common percentages are 80/20, 70/30, and 90/10 — the first number is a reference to the
amount of lean meat in the grind, and the second is fat content. Less fat might seem
like a healthier choice, but when it comes to burgers, it's not one you want to make.
If you know what you're planning on making with your ground beef, you can buy accordingly.
80/20 is what you're going to want to keep on hand for burgers: that fat content is going
to help guarantee a nice, juicy burger. But if you're making something like meatloaf — something
you're going to be cooking for a longer time — you're going to want a 70/30 mix. That
higher fat content is going to help keep your meat moist throughout cooking.
So, when should you use the super-lean 90/10? That's great for things that are going to
get their moisture from elsewhere: think of meatballs you're cooking with sauce, or meatballs
you're going to serve in soup. Then, you can absolutely go leaner — and, if you want
to make your meatballs even better, go for a half-and-half mix of ground beef and ground
pork. The sweetness and texture will be an absolute win.
"Mama mia…..!"
Browning ground beef is easy, right? Just throw it in the pan and make it... brown.
Right? It's a little more complicated than that, and if you're browning your ground beef
the same no matter what you're cooking, you might not be getting the most out of it.
First, the state of your pan. You shouldn't just add your meat to the pan, then put it
on the stove to bring it up to temp — and, you shouldn't be putting cold meat on the
stove, either. Ideally, you want meat that's had the chance to warm up slightly, and a
pan that's already hot.
Now, how brown is brown enough? If you're browning your ground beef before making something
like chili, it's going to cook more along the way. Just searing the outside is fine:
you'll seal in the juices, and it'll finish cooking later. Brown it until it's well-done,
and it'll get way overcooked.
But, let's say you're browning meat for sprinkling on some quick nachos. You're probably not
browning it enough — in this case, putting it in the pan, flattening it, and letting
it cook until it has crispy brown edges then flipping it will give it a delicious texture
and seared flavor that's perfect if you're going to use it right out of the pan.
A skillet might be your go-to for browning ground beef, but did you know there's another
way that some say is even better?
That's your air fryer. Why's it so great? For starters, you're not going to have to
stand there and watch it... and we're all busy people. Secondly, the fat drains from
the meat as it cooks, and if you're trying to make small changes that lead to eating
healthier, this is a brilliant one. You're not cooking your ground beef in all that fat,
and that'll give you a leaner, healthier meal.
It will dry your meat out a bit, but if you're browning it for something that's going to
be covered in sauce or broth anyway, that's not a big deal. It's super easy to do, too:
just put your ground beef in the basket, break it up, and cook for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.
Open the fryer, break your beef up again and stir, then finish it off with another 3 to
5 minutes. Done! Easy, right?
We've all been there, and realized halfway through the day that we forgot to take something
out of the freezer for dinner. Ground beef might seem like a great option to pull out
when you get home and throw in the pan, but you're doing it a huge injustice.
Here's why. When you freeze ground beef, ice crystals form inside the meat. Throw that
frozen hunk of beef in the pan, and you're going to melt the ice crystals really quickly,
and they're going to drain off with the fat. They're also going to take a lot of the beef's
flavor with them, and what's left is some seriously bland beef.
If you thaw the meat in the fridge during the day before you cook it, those ice crystals
will melt slowly and the flavor ends up getting absorbed back into the tissue. Cook from frozen,
and you'll have some sadly flavorless meat. Thaw it, though, and you'll add a whole new
depth to your dishes.
Stop us if this sounds familiar: You need to thaw a pack of ground beef for dinner,
so you pull it out of the freezer and throw it on the kitchen counter for a few hours
to bring up the temperature. Yay or nay?
"No! No, God, please, no!"
While it might seem logical that the meat is still going to be sort of cold, it's not
going to be anywhere near cold enough to keep potentially harmful bacteria from growing
all over it... and no one wants their burger with a side of food poisoning.
Fortunately, there's a few ways you can safely thaw meat. If you're planning ahead, you can
just pop it in the fridge and let it thaw there — but you should definitely plan on
using it in a day, or two at the most. If you're in more of a hurry, you can use the
defrost setting on your microwave ,although it's far from ideal, for 3 to 4 minutes at
a time, checking the progress regularly.
Or, fill a large dish with cold water, and submerge your frozen ground beef completely.
Completely being key! It should take around 15 minutes for a package to thaw enough to
cook with, and you're much safer than had you just left it on the countertop.
If you're one that likes their burgers anything but well-done, you should probably know that
the USDA doesn't recommend eating burgers cooked to less than a 160 degree internal
temperature. If you're cooking your ground beef to anything lower than that, you're making
a mistake that could get someone very, very sick.
That's because ground beef is known to harbor bacteria — particularly E.coli — that
multiply like crazy in what's called the "Danger Zone": temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees.
Cooking completely kills the bacteria and makes the meat safe to eat, but you have to
hit that 160 degree number.
So, why can you eat a steak rare and not a burger? With a steak, the bacteria's on the
outside, and it's seared off when it's cooked. The inside is pretty bacteria-free. When that
steak is turned into ground beef, though, the grinding process mixes the bacteria-covered
outer layer into the rest of the meat, and it's exposed to bacterial growth throughout.
And that rare burger isn't worth risking food poisoning: according to Healthline, E. coli
can cause things like gastrointestinal pain and distress, vomiting, and severe diarrhea,
which can last for up to a week and get very, very serious.
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