We love minced meat because it's a real all-rounder in the kitchen and tastes so delicious at the same time! However, there is one pitfall in its preparation that can ruin your meal - we'll tell you how to avoid it.
Whether it's for meatballs, bolognese, or stuffed peppers, ground beef is an ingredient in numerous dishes and often ends up on our menu because it's quick and versatile to prepare. However, when browning minced meat, there is one mistake you can make that can spoil the taste ...
This is what you should keep in mind when using minced meat
The term minced meat comes from the past, when the meat was finely chopped with a knife. Nowadays, it is put through a meat grinder: because the raw minced meat has a larger surface area, it can spoil faster than meat in one piece. For this reason, fresh minced meat is also marked with a use-by date and may only be sold on the day it is produced. Fresh meat can be recognized by its red color, but also by its smell: if the minced meat has a sweetish smell, it should not be eaten.
Since fat is a flavor carrier, it is recommended to go for minced meat with a high fat content, for example, minced pork with 35 percent fat. Mixed ground meat consists of half pork and half ground beef and has a maximum fat content of 30 percent, while ground lamb, for example, is much leaner.
Browning ground beef: Almost everyone makes this mistake
You bought fresh ground meat with a high fat content, but the taste of your food still leaves something to be desired? This could be because you took the meat straight from the refrigerator for browning and it ends up cold in the pan: In this way, the minced meat loses all its liquid, becomes dry and acquires a rubbery consistency. It is better to store minced meat at room temperature for about 15 minutes before further processing and then fry it.
For best results, always prepare minced meat with a little clarified butter and break up the meat in the pan with a wooden spoon so that it becomes crumbly. The crumbles form best when the minced meat is browned over high heat for several minutes. Ground meat should be heated to at least 70 degrees to kill all germs. Finally, it can be seasoned with salt and pepper and further processed as desired.