9 Ground Beef Hacks You Need to Know | Allrecipes
Looking to up your ground beef game? Join Nicole as she shares 9 clever techniques that will make cooking with ground beef easier, faster, and more flavorful. From browning your beef like a pro to smart ways of draining the fat, these tips and hacks will elevate your cooking routine.
Nicole walks you through each of these helpful techniques, including:
+ Using a potato masher to brown beef quickly
+ The best way to drain the fat using a fork, tin foil, or paper towel
+ Bulking out your beef recipes with mushrooms for a budget-friendly and healthier option
+ How to use baking soda to get perfectly browned beef
+ Freezing and portioning ground beef for easy meal prep
+ Cooking ground beef straight from the freezer without thawing
Whether you’re cooking for a busy weeknight dinner or meal prepping for the week ahead, these easy hacks will save you time, money, and effort.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction
0:31 – How to Brown Ground Beef Quickly with a Potato Masher
1:50 – Best Way to Drain Fat Using a Fork
2:17 – Using Tin Foil to Drain Fat from Beef
2:56 – Draining Fat with a Paper Towel
3:28 – Bulking Out Recipes with Mushrooms
5:27 – Using Baking Soda to Brown Beef
7:01 – Freezing Ground Beef in Zippered Bags
7:27 – Portioning Frozen Beef for Easy Use
8:37 – How to Cook Ground Beef from Frozen
9:02 – Final Tips & Recap
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Once I learned the paper towel hack for draining the ground beef, that’s the only way I do it
Excellent hacks! I've actually been adding mushrooms for quite a while. Very "umami" taste.❤❤ Keep those hacks coming!!
Kroger sells a 10 pack of 1/4 lb hamburger patties – for about the same as the bulk lb price — easy to portion one or two patties per baggie for freezing
I precook my bulk ground beef/turkey (combo) in the oven and freeze it in 1 pound portions. Defrosts very fast and is immediately usable in recipes!
Love these tips. THANK YOU!
Good thing he wasn't allergic 😂
Mushrooms for volume do change the taste, if you need just volume use zucchini
What year is this? Why does she not have a meat masher/ chopper.
if it's frozen rock solid it doesn't hurt to microwave it a little. even when I'm brining meat of out of the freezer I like to give it about 6 minutes on defrost/low setting to get it started to ensure I'll have fully thawed meat the next day.
My grandmother and mother used to add a little cooked rice to extend the ground beef. (Depression hack)
My burger hack is takeout prevention! I like to fry up 5 or 6 lbs with onion and freeze it flat in 1 lb portions. I have a short list of quick meal ideas for the precooked burger. On those nights I forgot to take something out, or the meal plan fails, I can still have dinner ready in 20 minutes.
I've stacked the meat for years.
Love ur hacks n tips!!!!!!
I rather nuke the meat or thaw out in the frig for 2 days.
When thawing a steak and really ANY meat you thaw it in your refrigerator. It takes a full day if your not thawing say a pot roast that may take 3 days but it makes a MASSIVE difference texture AND flavor of the meat
Mushrooma are genius! Thinking if I added onion/garlic folks won't know what the bits of mushrooms are.
Wow, super helpful!
Your hair hanging down over the food you're cooking grosses me out.
Here from TT. Glad my favorite recipe/cooking show is here.
I like this pretty lady here I love to hear her talk and I LOVE HER DELICIOUS 😋 RECIPES 👍😁👍❤️
Off topic: Ma’am, Ma’am (shoulder tap), 1:22 what is that nail polish color? Love it!
On topic: Great beefy tips – paper towel grease soak up and bulking it up with mushrooms.
Thanks!
Do people literally think you can't cook frozen hamburger?
I love mushrooms
I also use celery to bulk out meat (chicken too) and soups/stews
I use way more onion than most too so that adds some bulk
I’ve added zucc and yellow squash too for bulk and if it’s shredded, there’s little notice.
Ofc lentils, cooked & ground add also. About 1c to 1# hamb — or I just add 2/3c unground cooked lentils to simmer w/everything in pan.
Great tips especially the time saving frozen to pot one! Thanks!!! ☺️
👍 very informative…much appreciated
🤯 I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!! I WENT TO THE GROCERY STORE & ACTUALLY FOUND "FAKE MEAT!" YEP! THERE IT'S WAS! IN BETWEEN THE STEAKS & HAMBURGER ( REAL MEATS ) 😔 BAD THING WAS… IT WAS DOUBLE THE PRICE AS REAL MEAT, SO… I HAD TO SACRIFICE & GET THE REAL MEAT. 😒 IT'S A BUDGET THING. 😆
Not hating on anyone- but SMELL your paper towels 🤢 you won’t want that nasty chemical smell heated and added to your beef. At least I don’t.
They make a took that is better for breaking up ground beef, works better than a potato masher. Also, that liquid you're draining has tons of flavour, find ways to use it.
I don't waste foil, so I drain it in a glass bowl. Then, once it is cool and solid, I just clean it into the trash. Everythig else I've been doing since I became a father. I like functional processes and this video is full of them. Thank you.
I know some of those, but learned a few things as well. I really enjoy your channel. I make your collard green recipe and it is on point every single time! Thank you!
If you are going to freeze your ground beef, buy a vacuum sealer. I make my burger patties in advance, freeze them individually on a sheet pan, then vacuum seal them in various sized packages from 2 to 6 patties. Vacuum sealed ground meat will last well over a year in the freezer.
Oh, heck yeah! Genius tips!
Foil in the sink is a great idea!
*shhh….I am a paper towel grease girl too.
Lol. I do the paper towel drain. 😊 I also do the freeze in bags mashed down.
MMMmmmm, paper fibers in my food. Delish LMAO
I am becoming a fan of Allrecipes. I like how their recipes just get to the point.
If you wrap your portioned meat tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap with foil…then place in freezer bags you will have zero ice on your frozen meat or freezer burn. Doing this I have had ground beef for 10 months in the freezer that looked, smelled and tasted like newly frozen meat. Works for chicken too. Loved the baking soda tip. I will try it for sure!
ABSOLUTELY THE BEST VIDEO EVER!!!
Thank you for teaching me the various ways to drain ground beef. I DEFINITELY learned something new today!
Paper towel method user here🙋♀️. Love love love the mushroom idea. Going to try that this wkend. Not so much for the "stretching" meat budget reason (although awesome) but more for decrease the waistline and lowering tricycles/cholesterol reason. ❤
interns number, please
I totally do the paper towel method!