How to brown ground beef so it comes out uniform and not chunky?

How do you get even small pieces when you brown ground beef? It always seems to come out chunkier than I would like.

ground-beef

Best Answer

To help get uniformly broken up ground beef:

Choose an at least moderately fatty (say 80-85%) grind, as very lean ground beef will tend to stick to itself more.
Don't compress it when you are bringing it home, as by setting other groceries on top.
Don't salt the meat before cooking, as salt tends to help it bind to itself.
Break it up into chunks with your finger as you put it in the pan to brown.
Don't raise the heat too high, which leaves you less time to break it up as it browns.
While it cooks, frequently break up chunks with your spoon or spatula

The real key is the last one.

There is always going to be certain variability in the size of chunks, unless you are very vigilant in breaking up the pieces fairly continuously.

If you cook it in water, as per Cincinnati chili, you can get it very broken up, but it will be a different texture.

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How do you make ground beef not chunky?

If you put your ground beef into a hot pan, it will start to cook immediately. Once it's cooked, its texture becomes much harder and you'll have a tough time breaking up any clumps that have formed. It's much better to cook it slowly. That way, you can break up any clumps before they get too hard.

How do you make perfectly brown ground beef?

How to Brown Meat So It's Actually, You Know, Brown

Dry the raw meat on paper towels and let it come up to room temperature. ...

Add the meat to a hot, lightly oiled cast-iron pan and smash it into an even layer\u2014then don't touch it. ...

Once you see crisp edges, use a spatula to divide the patty and flip it in pieces.

How do I make my ground beef smooth?

Use a spatula or wooden spoon to break the ground beef up into smaller pieces as it cooks. Try to keep the pieces around the same size so the beef will cook and brown evenly. Continue to cook for about 6 minutes, or until the beef is no longer pink. To drain the beef thoroughly, use a slotted spoon.