Fight The Urge To Commit This Common Ground Beef Browning Blunder

Whether your ground beef is going into spaghetti, stir-fry, or some old-school ground beef dish everyone has forgotten about, it's important to ensure that it's properly browned first. This process is a common step in many dishes, but it's also one of the biggest mistakes people make when cooking with ground beef. The broken-up mush of beef can be unwieldy, and it's tricky to make sure each piece is evenly cooked. That's why we spoke with Jennifer Borchardt, the culinary director of Pre Brands, who offered advice on avoiding some of the most common ground beef browning blunders.

According to Borchardt, the easiest way to brown your ground beef is fairly straightforward, but often skipped. "Spreading out your beef into a thin layer on the bottom of the pan will increase the amount of surface area that's directly contacting the hot pan," she says. "This will make it brown much faster, and you'll end up with some nice crispy bits!" Simply use your spatula to position the beef so that as much of the meat as possible is directly touching the pan — creating a giant patty.

With this browning method, it shouldn't take long before the ground beef is finished. And as Jennifer Borchardt explains, once you've spread the beef evenly across the pan, you should let it sit undisturbed for two minutes. "You'll notice it will start to brown and crisp on the edges," she shares. "That's when you know it's time to start breaking it up, stirring it, and cooking the rest of the beef through." Avoid any urge to disturb the ground beef while it's browning. Once you've properly broken it up, let the meat rest in the pan so that it's properly cooked by steady direct contact with the skillet.

It also helps to cook your meat in a heavy duty cast ironn pan, which absorbs and evenly distributes heat very well. Make sure you preheat your cast iron pan for the best results. You can also use a heavier sheet pan to brown your beef, but this process could take longer. Once this is done, you're ready to season: Add onion powder or garlic powder or a dash of cumin after the beef has browned and the grease has been drained, so your seasoning can flavor the beef without messing up the initial cooking (salt, in particular, dries out beef if added too early).