10 Go-To Ground Beef Recipes - Damn Delicious (2024)

FAQs

What is the best way to cook a bunch of ground beef? ›

If you're cooking for a family of four to six, a pound of ground beef in a skillet is likely the quickest and easiest solution for browning ground beef. But if you're feeding a crowd and need a way to brown ground beef in large quantities, an Instant Pot or even opting for a sheet pan dinner can be your supper savior.

A package of ground beef can stay in the fridge for up to two days from the date of purchase, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. By day two, it's best to either cook the ground beef or freeze it. Freezing ground beef is a great long-term solution, as it can last in the freezer for months.

Boiling ground beef is the best way to cook it so that it comes out in small, fine crumbles. Trust me, this is the secret to all those amazing tacos and pasta sauces at your favorite restaurant! It's also a healthier option, because the boiling process helps separate the fat from the meat, and it comes out quite lean.

Cook ground beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F as measured with a food thermometer. The color of cooked ground beef can be quite variable. At 160 degrees F, a safely cooked patty may look brown, pink or some variation of brown or pink.

Adding hard working muscles that contain a lot of myoglobin will lower the cost of your end product while enhancing that flavor. A good basic mixture would be to use 50% chuck (the cheap and lean), 25% rib plate (the fatty parts) and 25% brisket (the fatty and beef flavor).

Check the color

The interior of raw ground meat may be greyish brown due to a lack of exposure to oxygen. This doesn't indicate spoilage. Nevertheless, you should throw away ground beef if it has turned either brown or gray on the outside, as this indicates that it's beginning to rot.

Color changes can occur in frozen foods but the foods remain safe to eat. The bright red color of meat as purchased usually turns dark or pale brown depending on its variety. This may be due to lack of oxygen, freezer burn or abnormally long storage. Freezing doesn't usually cause color changes in poultry.

This darkening is due to oxidation, the chemical changes in myoglobin due to the oxygen content. This is a normal change during refrigerator storage. Beef that has turned brown during extended storage may be spoiled, have an off-odor, and be tacky to the touch and should not be used.

For More Tender Ground Meat, Grind It After Cooking Too

And it's easy enough to get: Just cook your meat with seasonings as you usually would, then cool the mixture and transfer it to a food processor. Pulse it together to your desired consistency and you'll have a much more tender and hom*ogenous filling.

Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants boil raw ground beef with water and seasonings until cooked through to achieve a super fine texture, and the aforementioned Maid Rite sandwiches (aka Loose Meat Sandwiches, which are NOT Sloppy Joe's!) use steam to keep the cooked ground beef soft after cooking.

What can I add to ground beef to make it taste better? ›

The magic lies in the seasoning – a simple yet potent mix of garlic, onion, cumin, and cayenne, creating some of the most tasty ground beef.

To be sure all harmful bacteria are destroyed, cook all ground beef products to an internal temperature of 160 °F throughout. Ground beef can be pink inside after it is safely cooked. The pink color can be due to a reaction between the oven heat and myoglobin, which causes a red or pink color.

If your ground beef smells like eggs it is due to the substances that causes sulfur, which gives an egg-like smell when beef begins to spoil. When the beef smells like eggs, it's time to dispose of it to avoid food poisoning!

This may be the first thing you notice if your beef has gone bad, even before you open the fridge. Spoiled beef will develop a scent to it similar to ammonia or sulfur. In short, it won't smell good. Occasionally ground beef will develop a light smell if it's been in airtight packaging, and that's alright.

However, you can achieve that 80/20 target ratio by blending different cuts of meat as well. You can take a fattier cut of meat, such as brisket trimmings, and mix it with a leaner cut, such as ground sirloin. In the proper blend, you can achieve a very flavorful 80/20 mix.

Add a small amount of oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the ground beef, breaking it into large pieces with a wooden spoon. Let the beef sear for a few minutes without moving it around.