Recipe and image courtesy of Julie Chiou (tablefortwoblog.com)
Get down with ground
In addition to summer burgers, ground beef provides the base for a wide variety of meals
Budget-friendly, versatile, easy to prepare and adaptable to many recipes, ground beef is one of Canada’s favourite dinner staples.
Burgers, meatballs and meat loaf can be seasoned traditionally or given a tasty spin with caramelized onions, red pepper flakes, savoury cheese or Mediterranean herbs. Sautéed ground beef can be seasoned differently for tacos, keto-friendly lettuce wraps, Korean beef bowls or Persian cabbage rolls.
Ground beef also stars in chili or cheeseburger soup; sloppy joes, cottage pie or your favourite pasta casserole; and béchamel-topped moussaka, colourful stuffed peppers or a rich and flavourful Bolognese sauce over fresh pasta.
Ground beef is available in a number of variations, but I’m going to focus on lean ground beef, a good all-purpose grind that works virtually anywhere. It can be used in many recipes, such as cabbage rolls, meat loaf, tacos, wraps and even power bowls, but is especially good for meatballs, sauces and casseroles.
Cooking with ground beef is easy, but following these tips will yield superior results in your next meal:
● When mixing burgers, meatballs and meat loaf, handle the meat as little as possible to avoid compressing the strands of ground beef together, which results in a denser, heavier product.
● When turning burgers on the grill, avoid pressing down on the meat; to turn meatballs, handle gently with tongs. When browning ground beef, preheat your pan and pat the beef with a paper towel to minimize liquid before you start.
● Salting before cooking draws moisture and juice out of meat, so add salt after the meat is browned.
● Fresh raw ground beef can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two days; if it’s already cooked, it will keep refrigerated for four days.
● Freeze raw ground beef for up to four months, or up to two months if it is cooked.
● For safety reasons, thaw frozen beef slowly in the refrigerator or more quickly in the microwave.
Costco Connection: You’ll find organic, halal and conventional ground beef in the meat department in Costco warehouses.
