Avoid These Mistakes Everyone Makes With Ground Beef

Not only can using spoiled beef ruin your dish, but it could potentially make you very sick. Signs of spoilage include unusual colors, odors, and textures.

If you suspect that the meat has spoiled — either because it shows signs or because it is past the expiration date — it's better to throw it away.

With packaged ground beef, you usually don't know what cut the beef is from. It could be a combination of cuts, often the less desirable parts or the leftovers.

For the ultimate gourmet ground beef, have it ground at the butcher counter instead. You can pick out your specific cut and watch as the butcher puts it through the grinder.

Fat is necessary to add flavor and keep moisture during cooking. Packaged ground beef is described first by the percentage of meat or muscle and then the percentage of fat.

For example, an 80/20 blend is 80% meat and 20% fat overall. 25%-30% fat is the ideal range for burgers while meatballs can be a bit leaner because they get moisture from sauce.

Frozen meat will not cook evenly, leaving some sections well done and others still raw. The ice can also turn to steam, resulting in steamed beef rather than seared.

For the best results, make sure that your ground beef has thawed completely before cooking it. You can thaw it in the fridge, a cold water bath, or even the microwave.

Meat shrinks when cooked, so make sure that you buy enough to suit your needs. If you're cooking burgers, form patties that are slightly larger than your intended size.