How to Cook Frozen Ground Beef – Where Is My Spoon

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Can you cook frozen ground beef? Absolutely. Read this article to learn how to cook frozen meat; It’s easier and faster than you think.

A block of frozen ground beef can save dinner time on busy days. Ground beef is delicious and versatile, and cooks super fast even when frozen. And if you want to know more about how to cook frozen foods, see How to cook frozen sausages or frozen chicken breast in the air fryer. See the end of the post for more ideas.

Why should you have some frozen ground beef in your freezer?

• Quick dinner: As mentioned above, it’s great when you have no idea what to cook for dinner and don’t have time for the grocery store. You don’t even have to thaw ground beef, so this cooking method will save you a lot of time.
• Versatile: There are so many recipes you can make using frozen meat. Try this ground beef cauliflower casserole, for example. Or beef and potato curry, baked Bolognese pasta, beef stroganoff, or ground beef, zucchini and potatoes.

What is ground beef? Also known as minced meat or minced meat, it is meat

that has been finely minced with a knife or meat grinder (mincing machine). There is

no particular animal cut used to make

ground beef

; It is usually made of less tender and less popular cuts. However, if you buy your meat from a good butcher, you may be able to get minced meat made from chul, sirloin or round steak, which could also be leaner than already packaged meat blocks.

Depending on where you live, food laws decide how much fat can be added to the mixture. For example, up to 30% fat can be added to ground beef or hamburger in the United States, while in France or Germany, only 5 to 20% of the fat in beef can be added to meat. (Source: Wikipedia)

Difference between

ground beef and hamburger meat

• There is one, although many people use the products and terms interchangeably

. Ground beef can only contain the fat (up to 30

• %) of the meat trimmings used to make it, so nothing extra is added. The
• hamburger may contain added fat (also up to 30%). Therefore, if the cuts are not greasy enough, additional fat can be added.

Why freeze

ground beef? I

rarely buy fresh ground beef to freeze for later, but I happen to buy a package that, for some reason, cannot be cooked before its expiration date. And to be honest, I’m cautious when it comes to raw ground beef and food safety.

While I wouldn’t mind leaving a packet of chicken steaks or breasts in the fridge for 2-3 days (if it’s within its expiration day), I never leave raw ground beef of any kind lying in the fridge for more than 24 hours; it just doesn’t seem safe to me. So, whenever I buy something that can’t be cooked immediately, I prefer to freeze it; I don’t think there’s a significant loss of quality when you do that.

Tips for freezing meat

• The best: freeze it in reasonable portions. About 1 pound of beef (450-500 g) is the right amount for many recipes. Therefore, I often leave it in the original packaging. However, if I want to make some soup dumplings shortly, I could split that package into two servings.
• Raw meat will be frozen in a block, so once frozen, you won’t be able to remove just part of the package; you’ll have to use it all at once.
• You should NEVER freeze thawed food again.
• If you have frozen a portion that is too large for a meal, you can cook it all and then freeze the cooked meat again.
• Freeze meat in good bags or containers for freezing to avoid freezer burns.
• Add spices and form burgers. Freeze them on a plate and transfer them to a freezer bag once solid. Having a frozen burger ready will save dinner another day.

Recipe ingredients

• Ground beef: about 1 lb / 450-500 g. However, you can cook everything you need for a recipe.
• Vegetables: red pepper, onion, garlic.

Spices: 1 teaspoon ground cilantro, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper

• flakes, 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

.

• You can also try our homemade ground beef seasoning.

This

• is a basic method of cooking frozen ground beef, so you can adapt it to your needs. If you need ground beef to cook another recipe, you can use other spices.
• You can skip the peppers and use other vegetables instead. Onions and garlic are necessary for most recipes, including minced meat, so you may want to use them no matter what.
• Learn how to cook frozen meat in the Instant Pot too.

Recipe steps

You will need a large saucepan

• with anID.
• Start cooking: Place the frozen block of ground beef in the saucepan (1). Add about 1/4 cup of water, cover the pan and simmer the meat for 2-3 minutes.
• Flip the block (2).

• Scrape the cooked out of the block (the meat that has already changed color and is now brownish gray) (

3).

• If necessary, add very little water again.
• Continue cooking the meat for 2-3 minutes, scrape again, turn and scrape also the other side (4).

• By now, you should be able to break the block into smaller pieces with a

wooden spoon.

• While the minced meat is cooking, cut all the vegetables into cubes

.

• Add them to the pan, stir well, increase the temperature to medium-high and cook without a lid

. Add all the

• spices and stir well, trying to break all the lumps with the wooden spoon.
• Cook for another 7 to 10 minutes OR until the meat is well cooked, there should no longer be red or frozen pieces, and the vegetables should be soft. The cooking time depends on the thickness of the frozen block.
• Adjust the seasoning and serve.
• By now, you should be able to break the block into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon.
• While the meat is cooking, cut all the vegetables into cubes.
• Add them to the pan, stir well, increase the temperature to medium-high and cook without the lid.

Add all the

• spices and stir well, trying to break all the lumps with the wooden spoon (5).
• Cook for another 7 to 10 minutes or until well cooked, there should no longer be red or frozen pieces, and vegetables should be soft. The cooking time depends on the thickness of the frozen block (6).
• Adjust the seasoning and serve.

Recipe FAQ

How to serve?

• Cooked ground beef is versatile, you can make many delicious meals with it and you can serve it with just about anything you can think of. Mashed potatoes, pasta, rice or bread are perfect.
• Use meat to stuff jacket potatoes or sweet potatoes or make careless joes.
• Serve with baked or air-fried potato wedges, potato chips, couscous, polenta, or other grains.
• Season meat with taco seasoning and use it to stuff tacos, tortillas and enchiladas, or to make tostadas.
• Or use this homemade ground beef seasoning; it’s great!

Cooking frozen foods

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