Comments on: How I process large quantities of ground beef…

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:07:55 +0000

and if you’re SUPER thrifty with that marked down fatty ground beef…

After you’ve boiled the beef and removed it, cool the liquid and put it in containers/jars to put in the fridge overnight (eww, I know but stay with me here). The next day the fat has solidified on the top, you can spoon it out into the trash, and VOILA! beef broth that you can also freeze in 2 cup quantities for use in stews, etc. There’s no salt in it like if you’d bought the can, but I prefer to salt to taste per recipe anyways.

I love this site! Cooking your recipes makes me feel like my nana is in the kitchen with me and that my girls are getting to know her….such a blessing, thank you!

By: Erika Engle

Erika Engle — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:51:05 +0000

Hiya @SouthernPlate! I mean, Christy!
Long time no talk! My wonderful existence as a telecommuter came to an end in April when some of my hard-working and excellent colleagues were laid off due to the economy and those of us who were working at home were recalled to the newsroom. Hence, I don’t get much Twitter time or other online time that isn’t strictly work-related. Kinda like kids worry about “POS,” or, parent-over-shoulder, I’m a bit leery of EOS — or, editor-over-shoulder.
Yes, I am kind of complaining, but mostly, I’m grateful to still be employed as a journalist. This economy has not been kind to my kind (or to many other great folks in jobs they love).
I’ve been reading several of your posts (and harvesting your wonderful recipes) and when I got to this one, I just HAD to chime in. I’ve been browning and bagging ground beef — and freezing it in right-for-my-family quantities for years. It takes some time on the weekends but it is a huge weeknight-worknight time-saver! I don’t do the water method like you do; usually use a large stockpot to brown and drain.
After draining, I often add S&P and chopped onion and cook until onions are translucent, then add fresh minced garlic and cook until fragrant, before cooling, bagging and freezing, since many of the dishes I make call for ‘em.
If my weekend is too busy for that, I’ll just bag up 1lb hunks of raw ground beef in quart-size freezer bags & mush them flat, squeezing the air out before stacking them in the freezer. Not as convenient as having pre-cooked gr. beef, but being flat like that, I can just slide it out of the bag and into a heated skillet to start cooking it, scraping down the cooked bits and turning the still-frozen side over in the pan.
Costco actually had huge trays of ground pork this week, which I will also be pre-browning — though I’ll save some, unbrowned, to combine w/gr. beef for a meatloaf at some point.
Gosh, my first time back here in months and I’ve gone on a Christy-esque tangent.
I hope you and yours are well and I wish you wonderful holidays!
Aloha,
– Erika

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:38:14 +0000

Christy, I could hug you for this idea. I do not look forward to separating big batches of beef into 1-pound bags to freeze. And how it leaves the fat behind! Utter genius. You rock.

By: Joan Brown

Joan Brown — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:27:07 +0000

I have done this once, since reading about it, but I don’t think it tastes the same as if it is actually browned. I used it one time straight out of the bag and after that I put it in a frying pay for just a few minutes. Now granted maybe the day, I didn’t think it tasted right, it could be that I wasn’t feeling quite right or something, my daughter that lives with me didn’t say anything and she is a real fussy, adult mentally disabled woman. When I got done boiling it, I spooned the meat out and did 1 1/2 cup pkgs. Then let the pot sit in the sink until all of the fat had congealed on the top of the water and spooned it out into my wastebasket. I don’t have room in my apartment to store empty cans, and milk cartons, etc.

When I do brown hamburger the real way, I have my daughter do it, this is just for a meal at a time, and then when no pink shows, she calls me and I go and turn the heat up high enough that a lot of the fat burns off or cooks off, which ever term would be the best to use.

By: Texas Straw Hat - And Really Big Rabbits | Southern Plate

Texas Straw Hat - And Really Big Rabbits | Southern Plate — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:01:15 +0000

[...] I have my beef all browned and in the freezer and just take out a bag to use in order to cut out an extra step but we all have off [...]

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:53:40 +0000

I just joined your site. This is the best idea for ground beef. I have never heard of this before but what a timesaver, especially having 3 hungry boys & 1 hungry man around!! Thanks

By: Not Your Average Joe - Sloppy Joes! | Southern Plate

Not Your Average Joe - Sloppy Joes! | Southern Plate — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:29:26 +0000

[...] ground beef is always pre-browned and waiting in the freezer when I need it so I just popped out two bags to get about two [...]

By: jubilare

jubilare — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:41:18 +0000

Hello Christy,

During college (so, so many years ago), I worked for a regional taco joint and this was the way they cooked their ground beef. The difference was — they cooked 20lbs at a time and didn’t add as much water (so it evaporated during cooking). They also didn’t drain the grease off. My mother always wanted to know the “secret” to the fine grain of taco meat and this is it. She does drain the grease off, though. *grin*

Thanks for sharing your technique. It brought back fun memories.

By: Seanette

Seanette — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:35:25 +0000

I normally brown large amounts at once, but wouldn’t the water wash out a lot of the flavor of the meat?

By: Untypically Jia

Untypically Jia — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:16:57 +0000

This is the best thing ever! I’ve got mine on the stove right now and I’m gagging at all of the fat that’s just rising up. It’s amazing I’ve been eating all of that for so long! Gross!