Ground Meat Is a Cheat Code

Ground meat requires almost no preparation, cooks quickly and works with nearly any flavor. The same package can become noodle soup, tacos, pasta, rice bowls, sandwiches, or meat and potatoes.

It is also forgiving. If it turns out dry, bland or over-seasoned, you can usually add something and make it perfectly edible.

For anyone who wants dinner made quickly with very little preparation, ground meat is a cooking cheat code.

The Simplest Complete Noodle Soup Meal

This is what I make when I want a complete, satisfying meal quickly without taking out a chopping board.

Ground meat adds protein and savory flavor. Noodles provide carbohydrates. Frozen vegetables add color, flavor and nutrients without washing or cutting anything. Everything cooks in one saucepan, and the meal is ready in about 15 minutes.

Several Asian noodle dishes cook minced meat directly in boiling broth. We can use the same principle to make a meal with only a few necessary steps.

1. Bring about 2 cups of water or broth to a boil for every 2 ounces of dry noodles. Extra liquid is fine; you may simply need more seasoning.
2. Add as much ground meat as you want to eat. Break it into small pieces with a spoon.
3. Let the meat cook in the boiling liquid for about 5–7 minutes.
4. Add the noodles according to the cooking time on the package. It is fine if the meat cooks longer.
5. When the noodles are done, transfer them to your serving bowl with tongs or a slotted spoon.
6. Add as many frozen vegetables as you want. Keep the saucepan over the heat until they are hot, following the package directions if given.
7. Pour the meat, vegetables and broth over the noodles.
8. If you used water, start with 2 teaspoons of soy sauce for every 2 cups. Taste and add more if needed. If you used broth, taste it before adding soy sauce because the broth may already be salty.

Browning the meat first creates deeper flavor, but it is optional. Cooking it directly in the broth saves a step.

One More Easy Method: Cook It in a Pan

You need:

• Ground meat
• A frying pan, skillet or saucepan
• A spatula or sturdy spoon
• Salt, seasoning or a sauce you like
• Oil, optional

Put the pan over medium heat.

If you are not using a nonstick pan, add 1 teaspoon of oil for every pound of meat.

Add the ground meat and break it into small pieces with the spatula or spoon.

Continue cooking, stirring and breaking up the meat, until it is evenly cooked and no raw-looking or pink pieces remain. Break open a few of the larger pieces to check the middle.

Add salt, seasoning or sauce.

The pieces do not need to be perfectly even, and the meat does not need a dark restaurant-style crust. It simply needs to be cooked and ready to become part of a meal.

Choose Whichever Ground Meat You Like

Ground beef is available almost everywhere. Depending on where you shop, you may also find ground turkey, chicken, pork or lamb.

Choose what you like, what is available and what fits your budget. You can cook all of them using the same basic methods.

Different ground meats contain different amounts of fat. You do not need to find the perfect one—choose the kind that works for you.

Why Ground Meat Makes Cooking Easier

• No chopping, trimming, bones or skin
• Quick to cook in small pieces
• Easy to portion, season and combine with other foods
• Easy to stretch with beans, vegetables, rice, noodles or potatoes
• Forgiving: dry, bland or over-seasoned meat can usually be rescued

What to Do With the Grease

Some ground meat releases quite a bit of grease as it cooks.

Carefully spoon the grease into a clean, dry, room-temperature glass jar saved from a previous purchase. Let it cool completely before replacing the lid and putting the entire jar in the trash.

Do not pour grease down the sink. As it cools, it can coat the inside of the plumbing, collect other debris and eventually clog the pipes. Hot water may move the grease farther down the drain, but it does not stop it from cooling and hardening later.

Fix It and Keep Going

Most ground-meat problems have simple fixes:

• If it is dry, add pasta sauce, salsa, gravy, broth or another sauce.
• If it is bland, add more seasoning or a stronger sauce.
• If it is too salty or spicy, add rice, noodles, potatoes, beans or vegetables.
• If you cooked too much, refrigerate or freeze the extra.

Lean ground turkey and chicken are often lower in fat and saturated fat than regular ground beef, but their lower fat content also makes them easier to dry out. If that happens, add something moist and turn them into a meal.

More Ways to Turn It Into Dinner

Add any seasoning or sauce you like, then serve the meat with rice, noodles, potatoes, bread, or tortillas. Add beans, vegetables, cheese, or whatever else you have.

Once you understand the basic method, you can use ground meat in whatever meal sounds good that day.

Freeze It in Break-Apart Portions

A full package of ground meat can be difficult to separate after it freezes. Portion it before putting it away:

1. Put the raw meat in a freezer zip-top bag.
2. Press out the extra air and close the bag.
3. Flatten the meat into a thin, even layer.
4. Use the side of your hand or a blunt utensil, such as a chopstick, to press deep dividing lines through the bag.
5. Freeze the bag flat.
6. Break off one section when you need it.

Do not use a knife against the plastic bag.

You can divide a one-pound package into four roughly equal sections. Each section will contain about four ounces of raw meat, but the portions do not need to be exact.

What if the Meat Was Already Frozen?

If you buy ground meat frozen, thaw the package and cook all of it. Divide the cooked meat into portions and freeze whatever you will not eat within the next few days.

Do not refreeze thawed raw meat unless it was thawed in the refrigerator and remained cold.

If you thawed it in the microwave or in cold water—or you are not sure how it was thawed—cook it before freezing it again. You can then freeze the cooked meat in smaller portions.

Never thaw meat on the counter.

Minimum Food Safety

• Keep raw meat and its juices away from other foods.
• Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after touching raw meat.
• Wash the pan, utensils, counter and anything else that touched the raw meat with hot, soapy water.
• Cook ground meat thoroughly. See “For the Curious” below for the recommended temperatures and how to check loose ground meat.
• Refrigerate cooked meat within two hours.
• Use refrigerated cooked meat within three to four days, or freeze it.

One Ingredient, Many Possible Meals

Ground meat gives you the beginning of many different meals without requiring a new cooking method each time.

Cook it in a pan or directly in broth. Change the sauce, seasoning or food served with it. Use what you have and make enough to satisfy your appetite.

One versatile ingredient gives you many more ways to feed yourself.

For the Curious: How Do You Check the Temperature of Loose Ground Meat?

Checking the temperature of a hamburger is easy because you can insert the thermometer into the patty. Loose ground meat is more awkward, but the same food-safety temperatures still apply.

Gather enough cooked meat into a thick mound to cover the thermometer tip. Insert the thermometer horizontally from the side so the tip reaches the center without touching the hot pan.

Check more than one spot, especially if some pieces are larger than others.

The meat is ready when it reaches:

• 160°F for ground beef, pork and lamb
• 165°F for ground chicken and turkey

A thermometer provides the most reliable safety check because ground meat can sometimes change color before it reaches a safe temperature.

Sources

• USDA: Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart⁠
• USDA: Ground Beef and Food Safety⁠
• FoodSafety.gov: Four Steps to Food Safety⁠
• The Kitchn: How to Cook and Brown Ground Beef⁠
• Food Network: How to Cook Ground Beef⁠
• What to Cook Today: Singapore Minced Pork Noodles⁠