browning frozen ground meat

2020-04-26

Browning meat adds flavor and color and can also remove much of the excess fat. Meat will only brown when it reaches about 400 ºF. external temperature. Many people have trouble browning ground meat because it produces so much liquid. Ground meat must be cooked dry—all water evaporated until only pure fat left—before it will start browning,

Many grocery stores sell these plastic 'sausages' of ground meat. They have the advantage that they are easy to freeze. However, be aware that almost all mass-processed ground meat is contaminated with E. coli. Because of that, it is important to not thaw first and to cook this very thoroughly.

Use a large-diameter frying pan. The wider the pan, the faster this whole process can go.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 2-4 servings:

1 lb. ground meat
S&P, spices of your choice

Pic1: browned ground meat

Directions

07:26 AM

Pic2: ground meat sausage, water
Pic3: cover, simmer
Pic4: peel outside

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil.
Hold the plastic sausage under hot water for a minute or so to loosen the plastic.
Cut away one end of the plastic. Add the frozen meat sausage to the pan.
Cover and reduce heat to a simmer.
After 5-10 minutes, check and scrape away the partially-cooked outside layer of the sausage.
Break up the scrapings in smaller pieces.

7:47 AM

Pic5+6: repeat
Pic7: simmer

Repeat every 5 minutes or so until the 'sausage' is all gone.
It took me about 1/2 hr. to get to this point. By this time, there will be a larger amount of liquid than the original cup of water. The water in that liquid needs to be evaporated until only pure fat remains.
Turn up the heat and simmer uncovered while stirring frequently to evaporate the water.

8:04 AM

Pic8+9: browning the meat
Pic10: separating the fat

When the water is all gone, the temperature of the fat will increase a lot and the meat will finally start browning.
Continue stirring until you reach the desired doneness.
That took only 5 minutes.
Prop up one side of the pan on to separate the fat. Rest 5-10 minutes.
Remove the meat with a slotted spoon.
Discard the fat.
Alternatively, reserve the fat if you have use for it.

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more and avemariasongs.org

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more
and avemariasongs.org