Shopping For The Perfect Ground Beef
When you go to the market, and you see the hamburger section, it can be so overwhelming with all the choices. Its like a field of options and if you dont understand what all of it means you wont know which way is best for you.
Here is a breakdown to help guide you through the ground beef buying process:
- Regular Ground Beef It can have up to 30 percent of fat content in it.
- Medium Ground Beef The fat content in medium ground beef is not allowed to have more than 23 perfect fat.
- Lean Ground Beef When making lean ground beef, it cant be more than 17 percent fat content.
- Extra Lean Ground Beef This has the least amount of fat content and isnt more than 10 percent.
The choice of ground beef that you buy will depend on your preference for fat content. Low carb / Ketogenetic lifestyle followers will choose a higher fat content ground beef, whereas those who are following a lower-fat diet will obviously choose something closer to the lean or extra lean category.
A higher fat content usually results in more flavor, as the old adage goes Where theres fat, theres flavor. So most people will use more added seasonings to season up the lower fat ground beef.
Can I Cook Frozen Ground Meat In The Instant Pot
Absolutely! It is a time saver and so easy to make, you only need two ingredients: water and beef. While I would highly recommend staying away from cooking frozen meat in the microwave or boiling it on the stovetop or cooking it in the slow cooker.
Because the cooking time takes too long. Also, the beef becomes over-cooked on the outside and under-cooked in the center, and the texture just isnt the same. The pressure cooking method, however, is the one that I found the most success with. It only takes minutes to cook frozen ground beef in the instant pot, so make sure to save the recipe for emergency dinners!
How To Cook Frozen Ground Beef In The Pressure Cooker
Step 1 Place your trivet in the bottom of your pressure cooker. Your instant pot should have came with a trivet but if not or you need a new one, I suggest this trivet with silicone handles. You can also use a steam basket here as well.
Step 2 Place your water in the bottom of the instant pot.
Step 3 Close the lid and set the release to SEALING. Press the pressure cook button and set it for 22 minutes for 1 pound of frozen ground beef. If you are cooking 2 pounds, set it for 27 minutes.
Step 4 Once the pressure cooker is done cooking, allow it to come to natural pressure. This should take about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and make sure the internal temperature of the meat has reached 160 degrees.
Step 5 Remove the trivet and use a spatula to crumble the ground beef. You can add your spices at this point and continue cooking your meal!
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Tips And Notes On This Instant Pot Frozen Ground Beef
- If youd like to season your beef , I suggest cooking on high pressure for half of the time to thaw the beef, quick release, remove the beef, pour out remaining liquid, and remove the trivet before putting the meat back in the Instant Pot on sauté mode. Season and finish cooking on sauté.
- For meal prepping, I store my ground beef in an airtight glass container.
- It takes 5-10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure before the countdown starts so dont be worried if it doesnt start counting down right away.
- I use either a potato masher or just two forks to break up the cooked ground beef to make it look like ground beef if it was cooked on the stove top.
- As this recipe isnt seasoned, I usually pair this ground beef with a sauce.
How Long Does It Take To Cook Frozen Meat In The Instant Pot
How long it takes to cook frozen meat in the Instant Pot depends on the meat.
I have found that if you are cooking meat that is included in the cooking time chart at the back of the Instant Pot recipe booklet , its quite easy to adjust the time for frozen meat.
Usually frozen meat will take about 1.5 times as long as fresh meat to cook. So for instance, if youre cooking chicken breast they take 8 minutes to cook at high pressure if theyre fresh, and 12 minutes if theyre frozen.
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More Reasons To Love Instant Pot
Theres almost nothing this small appliance cant do. It serves not only as a pressure cooker, but it can also function as a steamer, yogurt maker, a slow cooker or even as a warming pot. This highly rated appliance can do just about anything you need it to do in the kitchen.
People using the old pressure-cooking method from the past know that it could be finicky at best and potentially dangerous at worst. But the Instant Pot makes pressure-cooking safer, more hands-off. Plus it offers you the ability to cook up to six times faster than traditional methods, while at the same time reducing the energy required to operate the appliance.
And if there was ever a reason to make the switch from the slow cooker, being able to go straight from freezer to pot might have to be the one. Stock your freezer with ready-to-go roasts, and youll be eating well on the quick .
How To Make Instant Pot Frozen Ground Beef:
- The size/shape of your frozen ground beef blocks will change the time needed to cook it in the Instant Pot. Blocks that are 1-1.5 inches thick will take about 20 minutes. If theyre 2-3 inches thick, add 3-5 minutes to the cook time.
- This recipe will have your ground beef almost, but not quite, cooked through. Finish cooking it with the saute function while you break up the block of beef, before continuing with your recipe.
- Make sure not to discard the Instant Pot liquid down the drain as the beef fat will be part of it after pressure cooking. If you refrigerate it for a few hours, the fat will solidify and can be easily scooped off and discarded.
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The Answer Like Your Cook Time With This Amazing Pressure Cooker Is Short Yes
Shutterstock / Kei Shooting
Since the Instant Pot hit the market in 2010, its become one of the hottest products on Amazon.com. And one common question people are asking about this electric pressure cooker? If its safe to cook frozen meat inside this miracle appliance. Happily, for them, the answer is a resounding yesand it works even better if you take a simple step beforehand.
How To Thaw Ground Beef In An Electric Pressure Cooker:
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Tips For Cooking Beef In Instant Pot
Be Mindful Of The Size And Shape Of Your Food When You Freeze It
For example, cut racks of ribs into 3 piece chunks. A whole rack won’t fit in your instant pot frozen solid. Same with thinks like Pork Shoulder. I often cut them into 4 chunks to ensure even cooking. Also easier to shred this way.
Same goes for things like chicken breasts. Don’t freeze the whole package in one big block. If you can freeze them as individual breasts, that is best.
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How To Thaw Ground Beef In The Pressure Cooker:
In order to defrost your ground beef in the Instant Pot, you will have to actually cook it. There is no function to thaw or defrost it without cooking it!
To do so, add water to the pot , position the trivet or rack, and then place your frozen ground beef on top of the trivet. Pierce the frozen ground beef with a knife as far it can go to help vent so the inside meat cooks better.
If the frozen ground beef has a flat form, it will take around 20 minutes. But it has a tube or cylinder form like mine, it will take about 25 minutes to reach a safe cooking temp which is 165 degrees F .
After that, you may season and saute your ground beef to add flavor and use it in whatever dish you want to.
Of course, you can make a ground turkey in the Instant Pot instead! In fact, you can cook any type of ground meat such as ground chicken, pork, etc. not only beef.
How long to cook ground beef in the Instant Pot?
It depends on whether the meat is fresh or frozen and also its form/shape.
If the meat is fresh, it takes around 6 minutes to 8 minutes to cook in the Instant Pot.
But if the beef is frozen, the cooking time will be longer about 20 to 25 minutes .
In any case, always check the cooked ground beef internal temperature to safely consume it. The meat thermometer must register 165 F .
For more Instant Pot recipes and their cooking times, get the charts and see how to use a pressure cooker.
How To Defrost Ground Beef
Freezing your ground beef is easy, and as is common in most cases, the defrosting process is simple too. The best method of defrosting for you will depend on how quickly you want to be able to use the beef. Learn how to thaw ground beef.
Just like many foods that have been frozen, for the best results, we would recommend thawing your ground beef softly and slowly. However, we are well aware that this is not always possible, so we have included some quicker defrosting methods too.
The best way to defrost your ground beef is in a way that you probably will have heard of, and it is the most common way to defrost any food that has been frozen.
For this method, all you need to do is take the container that holds your ground beef out of the freezer and transfer it into the fridge approximately 24 hours before you want to use it.
You should place the container onto a plate before placing it in the fridge to avoid any possible moisture from the meat contaminating your fridge during the freezing process. Once defrosted in this way, the ground beef will be safe to eat for 1-2 days which gives you lots of flexibility in how you eat your defrosted ground beef.
If this method is too slow for you, we do have a quicker method that you can use. If you want to use your ground beef within 1 hour of taking it out of the freezer, we would recommend defrosting it in a bowl of cold water.
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Instant Pot Frozen Roast
This recipe may have originated out of necessity when I forgot to thaw my roast in advance, but its quickly become our chosen way of making roast! The results are so tender, that I dont see the need to thaw the meat in advance anymore.
If youre looking for pull-apart tender pot roast with minimal effort and time, this is definitely the recipe for you!
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Using Frozen Ground Beef
If you forgot to thaw your ground beef, the good news is that you can cook your beef straight from frozen! The cooking instructions from frozen are fairly simple. To cook the frozen ground beef, skip the saute step in the cooking instructions and simply pressure cook for 12 minutes. Once the pressure cook has completed, do a natural pressure release and youre done!
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Why Cook Ground Beef In A Pressure Cooker
When I cook the ground beef from frozen, it is so fast and straightforward to do. Once in a while, I am not great at planning ahead and deciding at the last second what to make. This causes problems when the hamburger is frozen solid!
Placing it in the fridge takes overnight to defrost it, microwaving the meat sometimes ends up half thawed and half-cooked, and its really not safe to just leave it on the counter to thaw, so pressure cooking it cuts out all that extra waiting time.
There are other reasons to cook ground beef in a pressure cooker. One of my other favorite reasons besides thawing and cooking quickly is that the hamburger becomes so tender and is extra juicy. That flavor is hard to beat and makes all my recipes taste awesome!
SO EASY!!!!
Instant Pot Bolognese Sauce
Instant pot spaghetti Bolognese sauce recipe made with frozen ground beef! This easy homemade pasta sauce you would find yourself making over and over again. It is quick, easy, meaty, delicious, not bland and the best.
Not only is this pressure cooker spaghetti sauce easy to put together you can also serve the delicious sauce with other dishes, and it stores well too.
Spaghetti Bolognese is a weeknight staple in most homes especially if you have got kids. This classic Italian recipe has won the heart of many homes including mine. It is one of my childrens favourites and I have no choice but to make it when they request it. I have the quick stove top version of spaghetti bolognese recipe on the blog already, that would tell you how much my family loves it.
Since I started using an instant pot, I found it easier to make Bolognese sauce as it is mostly handsfree, I dont have to simmer for hours and it also gives me the chance to use up frozen ground beef I have in my freezer.
Pressure cooker bolognese sauce is affordable and it uses store cupboard ingredients, delicious family favourites and perfect for fussy kids.
You will have this recipe from the instant pot to your table in 30 minutes if you use fresh ground beef instead of frozen. I leave instructions on the cooking time if using fresh mincemeat. Let me show you how to make the best instant pot spaghetti bolognese sauce with fresh or frozen beef.
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The Best Instant Pot Ground Beef Recipes:
2. Instant Pot Cheesy Beef Taco Pasta ground beef and pasta come together to make a quick and delicious dinner!
3. Instant Pot Bolognese Sauce for this recipe, I like to use Italian sausage OR ground beef. Both give you an amazing dish full of flavor that takes a fraction of the time regular bolognese takes.
4. The BEST Instant Pot Sloppy Joes up your sloppy joe game with this delicious recipe. My kids LOVE when I make these for dinner!
5. Instant Pot Ravioli Soup this dump and go Instant Pot recipe is so easy to make. Just dump it all in and be on your way! You can sub the ground sausage with ground beef and its amazing.
6. Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef this recipe takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish and is a kid favorite! Adults love it too.
7. Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers this recipe doesnt get any easier because you dont have to pre-cook the peppers or the onions. A classic dish made easier in the Instant Pot!
8. Instant Pot Mini Meatloaf everything is better when its mini, right? This meatloaf recipe is SO simple to make in the Instant Pot.
10. Instant Pot Meatloaf and Potatoes we love this recipe because it makes both the side dish AND main dish in ONE Instant Pot! Genius!
