How to Brown Ground Beef

Browning ground beef is a very easy task. It can be done both in a skillet as well as in a microwave. If you know how to brown ground beef, you will also be able to drain the fat off from the beef as it cooks. With this the beef is more healthier and less fatty. Let's see about learning how to cook ground beef by browning it.

Cooking Brown Ground Beef ...

... in Skillet
Technically, for browning ground beef, it should be cooked at a temperature of 160 degrees F. With this you will be able to kill off all the bacteria present in the meat and at the same time make it less chewy which will enable you to prepare some easy recipes for ground beef. However, it is not necessary, that you have a thermometer, when you are browning ground beef. The trick is to make sure, there are no pink areas on the ground beef. Now we will see, how can we ground beef in a skillet.

• Heat the skillet on medium to high heat for a couple of minutes.
• I will recommend, you thaw the meat, before you brown it, however, if you do not have the time, then when the skillet heats up, put a few drops of water into the pan. When the water evaporates from the pan, understand, that the pan is hot enough and you can add the cold beef to the pan. This will ensure, that the beef does not stick to the pan.
• Now stir in such a way, that the meat is broken up, when it cooks. You can stir, twist or turn the meat. If you do not break the meat, chances are high that the beef will cook in the shape you have added it to the pan.
• Keep stirring the meat, till all the pink color has disappeared and all the meat has turned brown in color. You may have to mash the meat in between so that there are no big lumps of meat.
• This entire process will take anywhere between 5 to 7 minutes. Once the color has changed, use a colander to drain off the fat from the meat, so that you get healthy beef.

... in the Microwave
If you prefer to use the microwave to cook, then you certainly would want to know, about browning ground beef in the microwave, because this is one of the best ways to make ground beef recipes quick and easy. Let's see the procedure, for the same.

• Remove the ground beef from the packaging and place it in a microwave safe colander.
• Now place the colander in a microwave safe bowl. Make sure the colander fits well in the bowl, so that it rests just above the bottom of the bowl. This will ensure, there is space for the fat to drain in to the bowl and keep it away from the beef.
• Place the bowl in the microwave and start cooking the ground beef on high for 5 minutes.
• After 5 minutes remove the meat from the microwave and check it. You will have to break the meat apart and stir it a little.
• Now place the bowl back in the microwave and let the meat cook again for 5 minutes on high.
• You will have to keep stirring the meat and also check, if the meat is no longer pink. When the meat is no longer pink, you can remove it from the microwave.
• Remove the colander from the fat drippings and place it on a paper towel. Now your meat is ready to be added to your recipe.

Now that you know how to brown ground beef, you can brown the ground beef and place it into smaller freezer bags and use it whenever you want to make a ground beef recipe. The advantage of browning ground beef at home is that it is not only fat free, but also cheap.