How Do You Cook Ground Beef?

You will learn not just how to properly cook ground beef but everything about it and why this is so important.

Let's begin.

Ground beef is very easy to cook. Break up the meat in a skillet and cook over medium-high heat, occasionally stirring, until browned and cooked through.

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You can season the ground beef with salt and pepper if you like. If you like your meat to be really brown or for a crust to form on the outside, try not to stir the meat too often. This will allow the meat to brown.

What part of a cow is ground beef?

Ground beef can be made from a variety of cuts. Leaner cuts of beef might come from the round cut or sirloin cut because that part of the cow has less fat.

If you see 80/20 ground beef, this is usually ground chuck. The fattier cuts of meat, such as 73/27, is most likely made using the plate cut, which comes from the underbelly of the cow and is tough and fatty.

Why is ground beef so cheap?

If you’re lucky enough to find cheap ground beef, consider yourself very lucky. Ground beef has become increasingly expensive, with the leanest varieties costing $5 or more per pound.

Granted, this is a less expensive price than steak. This is because ground beef is often made from trimmings of other cuts, such as chuck or sirloin.

What is ground beef made of?

Ground beef mostly comes from the following cuts: chuck, round, sirloin, plate, and flank.

Ground beef is actually just steak/roast cuts that are ground. The trimmings from these cuts might be left over after roasts are cut for sale.

If you want whole cuts, you can pick out your own roast and have it freshly ground at the store.

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What are the types of ground beef?

The most common types of ground beef are 73/27, 80/20, 85/15, 90/10, and 93/7. You can also find a 96/4, but this type isn’t as popular due to the higher cost and the low amount of fat that makes for dry meat.

Do I need to add oil to cook ground beef?

It depends. If you’re cooking very lean ground beef, such as 93/7, you may want to add a bit of oil to prevent sticking when using a stainless steel skillet. In most cases, though, you do not need to add oil.

Do you add water when cooking ground beef?

Some do add water to ground beef as it cooks to retain the moisture. This can be done with leaner cuts of beef to keep it moist since there isn’t much fat.

The water can also make it easier to break up the meat as it cooks. If you’re looking for tiny crumbles of ground beef, water can also help.

There is a trick of putting an ice cube in the middle of a hamburger patty and forming the meat around it to keep it moist as it cooks.

Do you Season ground beef before or after cooking?

There are different ideas on this subject. On one hand, seasoning the meat too early will draw out moisture.

On the other hand, not seasoning the meat right before cooking will mean the meat has less flavor. You can choose to season the meat as it cooks and retain the moisture and get great flavor.

Do you wash ground beef?

The USDA recommends against rinsing your ground beef, claiming it causes cross-contamination. Some choose to rinse their beef to remove excess blood.

Best utensils to cook ground beef?

You can purchase a meat masher tool that makes it so easy to break apart ground beef and then stir it as it cooks.

You can also use a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon. You want something sturdy enough to break the meat apart.