The Foolproof Technique For Perfectly Browned Ground Beef Every Time

Ground beef is easy and quick to prepare, so it comes in handy for all kinds of dishes, from homemade beef chili to kid-friendly hamburger pasta. But, as it is with cooking any type of meat, some techniques and tricks will help give it the most flavor possible. 

To achieve the most flavorful ground beef, you should brown it. This involves drying it before cooking, properly seasoning it, and avoiding breaking it up before it has a chance to form a crispy exterior.

While focusing on the outside of the ground beef will help you impart the most flavor, it's important to cook ground beef thoroughly due to the risk of foodborne illness. Bacteria such as E. coli can grow on the surface of meat and cause food poisoning. So browning your ground beef is a balancing act of getting a nice sear on the surface of the meat so that it ends up tasting delicious, and also cooking it all the way through so that it is safe to eat. The good news is that this is easy to do.

Perfect ground beef starts with the preparation. To get the best sear, dry the outside of the ground beef as much as possible. (Keep it intact as one chunk; don't break it apart yet.) Place it on some paper towels, then pat it dry. If you don't remove at least some of the moisture, the beef will hit the pan and immediately steam, preventing you from getting that crispy beef you're looking for.

Next, lightly coat the bottom of a pan with any high-smoke-point oil that's good for shallow frying, such as avocado oil. You don't need a ton of it since the beef fat will also help crisp things up. When you add the meat, you can smash it and spread it out, so it takes up the entirety of the pan, but don't break it into a bunch of small pieces. By leaving it in one giant patty-like shape, you'll get a great sear on a lot of the meat before you flip it. Cook the beef on medium-high heat so that its exterior browns quickly since it won't take long to cook through.

You won't be able to flip it all at once, so just do the best you can and flip it in pieces if needed. Let the meat sear nicely on the other side for a couple of minutes, then you can break it up to ensure those unexposed pieces get fully cooked.

By using the searing technique, the beef will get crispy on the outside and remain soft in the middle, giving it great texture once it's broken up. But flavor is important here, too. Make sure you generously season the beef with either kosher salt or sea salt as it cooks. You can wait for the meat to crisp up on one side, then flip it and season it, or you can even just season the meat when it's done. Unlike thick cuts of beef, there is no need to season ground beef in advance because you don't need the salt to permeate through in the same way you would for a three-inch thick filet mignon.

The type of beef you cook makes a difference. Beef that's higher in fat is also loaded with flavor, plus the fat combined with the oil in the pan will ensure the meat doesn't dry out. If you're going strictly for flavor, use no higher than 85% lean ground beef. But if you want a healthier meat, you can use up to 93% lean; make sure not to overcook the latter because it could taste too dry. If you haven't let your beef get nice and crispy before breaking it up, then once you try this technique, you'll never cook it another way again.