Monday, January 31, 2011

Time Saving Hamburger

 Starting the browning process...
 Draining off the fat...
 Completely browned
 Let the paper towels absorb the remaining grease
 Work to get the rest of it out...
 Yuk... that's all I can say... eeewww!
One happy mommy!
If you are like me... I don't make the time... nor do I know on a daily basis what schedule Josh is going to be on... if he will be home for dinner... if Kendra or my parents will be eating with us... so to think that far in advance and actually remember to take hamburger out of the freezer before I leave for work is impossible for me.  My mom taught me this trick back several years ago... brown all of your hamburger at once.  That way you only have the smell once... the extra dishes once... and I can "fly by the seat of my pants" and still cook something fast and easy for my family on a moments notice.  Josh's favorite is Hamburger Helper Cheese Macaroni... (Kendra is going to love that) - but it works for Spaghetti - Tater Tot Casserole - BBQ - Lasagna - Tacos... just zap in the microwave and you are off to the races.  Every 6 months I get an extra check at work... so I try to buy my meat then. I bought 30 pounds of extra lean (I think it was 93%) and I still got a ton of fat off of it. So for every 7.5 pounds I got a whole glass of fat and gunk skimmed off.  I brown it in a skillet (I think the heat stays more even and it doesn't burn... when I do it on the stove top I have to watch it every second).  As the meat is browning I tip the pan so the grease runs to one side and then I spoon it into a glass. After it's completely browned  I have several plates with layered paper towels that a put the browned meat on to finish draining.  After it's cooled some I take more papers towels and using both hands (in the pic I am only using one... I had to use the other to take the pic) and really make sure to get all of the grease out of the meat.  Make sure to add new paper towels each time you start a new batch. I then pour it into freezer bags.  It's usually just a little over a pound in each one... then I make sure to get all of the air out of the bag and seal it up good and tight... then off to the freezer.  After 4 hours... I was ready to be done... but I know the time and energy it is going to save in the long run... Bon Appetit!

6 comments:

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

I've been doing this for years and years - great for last minute meals. Once when my daughter was a toddler, I had a batch of cooked ground beef cooling in containers on the counter. I took a phone call and when I hung up I realized the beef was missing. I asked my toddler if she knew what happened to it. She nodded and told me she put it in the fridge, but when I looked it wasn't there. So I asked her to show me where it was. She turned around and headed for her bedroom - yep, she had put the beef in her play kitchen refrigerator. She's 15 now, and we still laugh when we talk about it.

Green Eyed Girl Crafts said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stef said...

This is so smart! Where in the world do you buy 30lbs of beef at once? I definetly need to do this!
Stef
itsallinmyheadstefsblog.blogspot.com

kraftenkrazy3 said...

I have recently started canning my hamburger due to limited freezer space, but did exactly this for many years. I started when I was a week overdue with my son and was trying to do whatever I could to 1-keep busy, and 2-be ready for the craziness that was coming.

I didn't care for the day-old taste of the hamburger plain, so I would usually add tomato sauce to the batch. You don't need a lot, just one small can per 2-3 lbs of cooked hamburger. Mix it in the bowl just before packing in the bags to freeze.

I do the same with chicken-fill the crockpot, cook for 4-8 hrs, shred or cube and bag. It is also nice if you add a splash of soy sauce, but water is not needed. Leave the water out and you get a nice roasted chicken taste :0)

It really is the only way to cook. I can have dinner on the table in literally 5 minutes! You are a girl after my own heart.

Thanks for the post!

Auntie Lolo said...

This is genius!! I am so bad at never defrosting things or thinking ahead for dinner.

Anonymous said...

I do this as well, with a couple tweaks. I season some with taco seasoning, some for sloppy joes and leave some plain. Then my boys can make themselves tacos after school or when I'm late getting home from work. My boys are teenagers so it works great.

I also do the chicken like kraftenkrazy3 mentioned. I add white cooking wine to the chicken with a little garlic and onion and it turns out great, so tender!

I have to say I have never tried this with 30 pounds! You Rock!

Thanks for a great post!