The Simplistic Way to Cook With Hamburger

Having cooked hamburger on hand that you can throw in with any dish is like gold!  You don’t have to defrost it or remembering to thaw it out in the fridge the day before.  You don’t have to cook it.  It’s already done.  Run it under a bit of hot water for a minute or two to get it out of the bag. Dump it in your pan.  Heat or cook with whatever ingredients you want.  Done.  It’s amazing!  And remember, hamburger goes with everything!  It really is a staple that you don’t want to run out of. 

Having pre-portioned, cooked, and frozen hamburger can

-Make meal prep super fast on busy days

-Help with meal inspiration

Since you know one of the ingredients you already have prepared 

-Save you money

You’ll be less inclined to order take-out or go out to eat on busy nights

-Increase family time

• Less time cooking, more time with the family OR involve the kids in cooking since it’s so easy to prepare a meal now

In addition to all of its advantages, it’s really easy and pretty fast to prepare for freezing. 

Here’s how to do it:

1.     Thaw as much hamburger as you want to freeze.  I recommend doing at least 10# at once.  Make it worth the little bit of time you need up front.  Plus, you’re going to want it later!

2.     Use a large electric griddle or if you don’t have one, your largest frying pan.  Brown 2-3 pounds at a time.  Or whatever your pans will hold. 

3.     Season it if you wish.  However, plain hamburger can always be seasoned later while cooking your dish.

4.     Put your browned hamburger in a large baking pan like a 13x9 cake pan or two.  And repeat step 2 until you have all of your hamburger cooked. 

5.     Cover the cake pan and hamburger with tin foil and cool the hamburger in the fridge until it is cool (40F or less) all the way through. 

a.     Cooling the hamburger before freezing keeps the moisture in the hamburger better than if you were to freeze it while hot.  More moisture escapes the food due to the temperature differential and collects inside of the bag on top of the food.  Then when you cook it, that moisture is often lost when you throw away the bag it was stored in. Or, you may find that you have extra water in your dish that you didn’t really plan on. 

6.     Divide the cooled hamburger up into freezer ziploc bags in useable portions.  Label with what it is, quantity, and date prepared.  Freeze flat to make the most room in your freezer.  You can stand them up in a box or tote when they are frozen for more efficient storage if you wish.