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Ground meat can take on numerous forms from meat loaf, casserole, meat pies to the classic hamburger. In many recipes the ground meat loses its own personality to create a flavorful meal.
Ground beef cooking tips
If you're using cooked crumbled ground beef in a sauce or casserole, you can reduce the fat content by rinsing it after browning and before adding to your recipe. Simply cook the meat until done, pour into a colander in the sink, and rinse with hot water. Thoroughly drain the water and blot dry with paper towels. This method used on regular ground beef can reduce the fat content down to that of the more expensive lean ground beef. Although the fat content is greatly reduced using this method, be aware that the flavor goes right down the drain along with that fat.
Frozen ground beef can go from the freezer to the pan, but it's not recommended in most instances. Freezing turns the natural juice in the beef to ice crystals. If you cook the beef while frozen, chances are you'll be draining off the juicy flavor along with the fat. Instead, plan ahead to let the meat thaw slowly in the refrigerator to give the ice crystals time to melt and redistribute as much as possible back into the tissue. For optimum results in recipes where the meat is the focus, try to use fresh ground beef. If the ground beef is to be used in a casserole or sauce, you probably won't notice any flavor difference when using frozen meat.
When cooking ground beef, you'll have less shrinkage with leaner blends than with regular ground beef. The fat renders down reducing the volume of the meat. Leaner blends have less fat, thus less shrinkage. Generally, the higher the cooking temperature, the greater the shrinkage, so cook ground beef at a moderate temperature rather than high heat. Overcooking will result in a dry, tasteless result as the juices evaporate.
