Ground beef is a versatile type of food. You can eat it with your spaghetti, greens etc., name them all. It’s pretty economical too. We always prefer lean minced beef, and so it’s essential to check the labels on the packages which get based on their fat content.
Extra-lean or ground sirloin is a label for a total 10% fat; lean is for 17% fat; medium is for 23% fat and regular is for 30% fat.
Hamburger is ground beef. When it is sold prepackaged, it is mostly red on the outside and lightly bluish on the inside. When the meat gets exposed to air, the presence of oxygen makes it change to red. The interior of the ground beef lacks the red colour since there is not sufficient oxygen. The appearance of a bluish colour doesn’t imply that there is anything wrong with the meat.
Cooking ground beef is pretty straightforward.
How to cook Hamburger Steak Patties
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes
Yield: 3-4 servings
Ingredients
- Six tablespoons bread crumbs soaked in some milk
- 60 g onions, thinly sliced
- Two tablespoons butter
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- One egg
- Salt
- Pepper
- Three tablespoons cooking fat or vegetable oil
- Two tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Water
Method
- Squeeze the soaked bread crumbs and mince or chop it finely.
- Sweat the sliced onions in butter without any colouring. Mince or chop them finely and allow them to cool.
- In a large dish, add the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, onions, salt and pepper and mix them well. Take a small amount of this mixture, shape into a ball and flatten it slightly into a patty. Fry it in a small skillet in some fat and then taste it. If necessary, correct seasoning of the remaining mixture.
- Divide equally into four pieces of the remaining mixture.
- Roll into balls without cracks. Flatten into round shaped steaks about 15 mm. thick using a little flour or water.
- Heat remaining fat in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the hamburgers keenly on both sides.
- Arrange on a flat meat plate.
You do not have to restrict yourself – there are many variations to the seasonings and ingredients which you may add to the ground beef. Many garnishes and sauces may accompany the hamburgers too.
How to Cook Ground Beef for Spaghetti
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 4-5 servings
Ingredients
- Salt
- 1 pound spaghetti
- One slice white bread soaked in some milk
- 1 pound ground beef
- One egg, beaten
- Three cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Two tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup oil
- 3 cups crushed tomatoes for sauce
Method
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once it has boiled, add a little salt to taste. Add the spaghetti and cook until it is al dente as per the package instructions. Drain into a colander.
- Squeeze the soaked bread with your fingers to press out excess moisture and mince them finely. Combine them with the meat, egg, garlic and black pepper. Mix it well to incorporate fully. Roll into balls, golf ball-sized, and then lightly into flour.
- Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add and cook the meatballs until golden brown, occasionally stirring, 7-10 minutes. Don’t overcrowd them in the pan. Add the tomatoes; let them continue to simmer and cook still stirring occasionally until thoroughly cooked for about 30 minutes.
- Add your spaghetti to the meatball mixture and mix gently.
How to Cook Ground Beef in the Oven
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- One large onion, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. (180 degrees Celsius).
- In a large dish, mix ground beef, onion, salt and pepper using your hands.
- Roll the beef mixture into balls and spread them on a shallow baking pan lined with heavy-duty foil.
- Place the baking pan in the lowest rack of the oven—Bake for 30-40 minutes. The time depends on the amount of fat content.
How to Cook Ground Beef for Tacos
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: 55 minutes
Ingredients
- Two teaspoons cooking oil
- 1/4 cup minced onion
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- One packet taco seasoning
- One teaspoon chilli powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 8-12 tortilla shells
- Lettuce head
- Two tomatoes, diced
- Toppings: salsa, sour cream, if desired
Method
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit-325 degrees Fahrenheit. (150 degrees Celsius-160 Celsius.).
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat then add oil and onions. Cook them for several minutes, stirring frequently; then lower the temperature and add the ground meat. Cook it until it browns. Add the taco seasoning, chilli powder, salt, garlic powder then mix well.
- Add the beef mixture into the tortilla shells.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes with the tortillas wrapped in foil. Serve topped with the lettuce, grated cheese, salsa and sour cream.
The bottom line
From hamburgers to meatballs then tacos, ground beef gets you covered. Cooking ground beef is quite easy. Frying is the most common method.
Ground beef is an extremely versatile type of food. It goes well with cabbage, rice, spaghetti and even beans. It is the main ingredient in hamburgers which most of us love.
You may add textured vegetable protein to hamburger as an extender. The textured vegetable comes from soybeans; it supplies essential amino acids and is quite economical. A mixture of ground beef and textured vegetable protein is lower in price than the regular ground meat. It doesn’t shrink as much when cooked; it may be juicer and has lesser calories.
When it comes to proper storage, ground beef is just like any other meat hence needs to be refrigerated and not kept at room temperature. If not, due to active bacteria, it goes off quickly. Surprisingly, you may not even smell the spoilage.
