5 Simple Ground Beef Recipes You Can Prepare In 30 Minutes

What is Ground Beef?

Do you love your beef? Do you drool over Delmonico steaks, LA Galbi and Bistec Encebollado? No matter how sophisticated your taste, no devotion to beef is complete if it doesn't offer up a candle to that staple of American cooking ground beef.

Ground Beef is THE most popular beef product in the US, accounting for 40-45% of the beef consumption in the country. It is utilized 60% of the times beef is prepared at home. It's no wonder there are hundreds of mouth-watering ground beef recipes floating around.

This leads us to an elementary (and alimentary) question- What is ground beef? People often use the terms 'hamburger' and 'ground beef' interchangeably. But are they really one and the same?

Ground beef is essentially just the minced muscle of cattle. There's a common misconception that ground beef comprises undesirable 'variety meats' like ears, organs, snouts, or other parts of the cow that are not sold usually in the US or other parts of the West. This is not the case. Ground beef containing organ meats cannot be marketed unless it is clearly labeled as such. The lone exception is tongue and heart. These are permitted in ground beef according to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations.

Some stores sell ground round, chuck, or sirloin; these labels indicate that only trim and primal cuts from those wholesale cuts are permitted.

A maximum of 30% fat is allowed in both hamburgers and ground beef. Only fat sourced from meat trimmings may be used to make ground beef, however. It contains no added fat, which isn't the case with hamburgers, where fat can be added.

What's the Nutritional Profile of Ground Beef?

Ground beef is rich in nutrients. According to the USDA, 100 g of ground beef has a high water content of 58.7 g and provides 240 kcal of energy. It contains 25.1 g of protein and 14.5 g. of total fat (in cooked ground beef ), in addition to smaller amounts of calcium, sodium, zinc, potassium, and so on.

Ground beef also contains 84 mg of cholesterol, 5.6 g of total saturated fatty acids, 6.4 g of total monounsaturated fatty acids, and 0.486 g of total polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Ground Beef Recipe No. 1 Beef Stroganoff Sandwiches

Ingredients-
Two pounds of ground beef, one teaspoon of salt, half cup of chopped onion, half teaspoon of pepper, half teaspoon of garlic powder, one loaf of French bread weighing one pound, two cups of sour cream, one-fourth cup of softened butter, two seeded and diced tomatoes, three cups of shredded cheddar cheese, and one large diced green pepper.

Instructions-
1. Cook the ground meat and onion together in a skillet till they turn brown, and then drain. Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste.

2. Cut the bread in half lengthwise and apply butter on both halves before placing them on baking sheets.

3. Take the meat mixture off the heat and stir in the sour cream. Spread the mixture on the bread.

4. Add green pepper, tomatoes, and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese melts. In the case of crispier bread, the baking has to be done for a longer period of time.

Ground Beef Recipe No. 2 Spinach Beef Soup

Ingredients-
One pound of ground beef, two cartons of reduced-sodium beef broth measuring 32 ounces each, three cloves of minced garlic, two cans of diced tomatoes with celery, green pepper, and onion (undrained) measuring 14 and a half ounces each, half teaspoon of pepper, one teaspoon of dried basil, one-fourth teaspoon of salt, half teaspoon of oregano (dried), three cups of bow-tie pasta (uncooked), grated Parmesan cheese, and four cups of fresh spinach chopped coarsely.

Instructions-
1. Cook beef and garlic in a 6-quart stockpot over medium flame till the meat loses its pink color. Crumble the meat and drain.

2. After that, the broth, seasonings, and tomatoes are stirred in and brought to a boil. It should be returned to a boil after adding the pasta.

3. Cook uncovered for seven to nine minutes until the pasta turns tender. Wilt the spinach by stirring it in. Serve with a cheese garnish.

Ground Beef Recipe No. 3 Curried Beef Pitas

Ingredients-
One pound of lean ground beef (90% lean), one cup of fat-free plain Greek yogurt, one tablespoon of minced fresh mint, one cup of finely chopped and peeled cucumber, two cloves of minced garlic, two teaspoons of lemon juice, two teaspoons of snipped fresh dill, one-fourth of teaspoon of salt, one medium Golden Delicious apple finely chopped, one small chopped onion, two teaspoons of curry powder, one-fourth cup of raisins, eight whole wheat pita pocket halves.

Instructions-
1. Take a small bowl, and combine the Greek yogurt, minced mint, finely chopped cucumber, fresh dill, minced garlic cloves, salt, and lemon juice.

2. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Cook beef and onion in a large skillet over medium flame for six to eight minutes, or until the beef loses its pink color. Then crumble the beef and drain.

3. Add raisins, apple, salt, and curry powder. Cook, stirring occasionally until the apple is soft. Serve in pita halves along with the sauce.

Ground Beef Recipe No. 4 Skillet Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients-
One pound of ground beef, two cups of frozen corn (thawed), one cup of chopped onion, two cups of frozen peas (thawed), one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, two tablespoons of ketchup, two teaspoons of minced garlic, one teaspoon of beef bouillon granules, one tablespoon of cornstarch, half cup of cold water, three-and-half cups of mashed potatoes prepared with butter and milk, three-fourth cup of shredded cheddar cheese, and half cup of sour cream.

Instructions-
1. Cook the beef along with onion in a large skillet over medium flame until the meat loses its pink color and then drain. Stir in the corn, ketchup, peas, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce the heat to medium-low.

2. The mixture has to be covered and cooked for five more minutes. The bouillon, cornstarch, and water should be mixed well, and stirred into the meat mixture. The mixture can then be brought to a boil over medium flame. Stir and cook for two minutes, until the mixture thickens.

3. The sour cream should be stirred in and heated through. Be careful not to boil the mixture. Place mashed potatoes on the top and add cheese. Cook covered until the potatoes have been heated through and the cheese has melted.

Ground Beef Recipe No. 5 Southwestern Goulash

Ingredients-
One pound lean of ground beef (90% lean), one cup of uncooked elbow macaroni, one can of undrained diced tomatoes measuring 28 ounces, one medium-sized chopped onion, one can of tomato sauce weighing eight ounces, one can of chopped green chilies weighing four ounces, two-third cup of frozen corn, half teaspoon of ground cumin, one-fourth teaspoon of salt, half teaspoon of pepper, and one-fourth cup of minced fresh cilantro.

Instructions-
1. Prepare the macaroni according to the instructions on the package and then drain. Meanwhile, cook and crumble the beef along with the onion in a 6-quart stockpot over medium flame till the meat loses its pink color, and then drain.

2. After that, the tomatoes, corn, green chilies, tomato sauce, and dry seasonings are to be stirred in, and the mixture needs to be brought to a boil.

3. Reduce the heat and let the preparation simmer uncovered for around five minutes till the flavors blend well. Finally, the cilantro and macaroni have to be stirred in.

4. The total preparation time of this dish is 25 minutes.

Tips on Cooking Ground Beef

• According to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) a USDA agency ground meats have to be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 160 F to ensure Food Safety. The temperature range of 40 to 140 F constitutes the Food Temperature danger zone in which disease-causing pathogens thrive and rapidly multiply. No foodservice business can afford to overlook this.
• Ground beef that has been defrosted has the best texture and flavor. It is, therefore, preferable to thaw ground beef beforehand. This can be done in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave.
• Break the beef up before putting it in the pan to ensure that the cooking is even and there is no steaming. The meat should be torn into chunks with the help of a wooden spoon or by hand and placed in a single layer in a hot skillet.
• Let the beef get cooked untouched for several minutes. While cooking ground beef people tend to constantly stir the meat as it turns brown, but this dehydrates the meat and causes it to become hard. Gently move the beef around in the pan only when it is sufficiently seared at the bottom and the color is seen inching up the sides.
• When browning ground beef, the most common mistake is putting the meat in a cold cooking pan. The beef tends to steam as it gets hot, giving it a drab appearance. The purpose is to sear the beef, and for that, the pan has to be sufficiently hot.
• Browned ground beef should not be rinsed. Rinsing away every last drop of fat leaves the beef unpalatable. In case you don't remember to thaw frozen ground beef, you can use an Instant Pot for thawing or cooking the meat from a frozen state.
• Wait until the ground beef has turned brown and has been drained before seasoning it.
• Pathogens in food can't be identified just by tasting, smelling, or looking at the food. Therefore, a food thermometer becomes indispensable. One can use a Grill Thermometer, smoker thermometer, or meat thermometer to ensure that the beef is cooked safely. The Weber iGrill2, Thermoworks Thermapen MK4, and ThermoPro TP20 Wireless Thermometer are handy grill thermometers. The Cooper-Atkins Blue2 temperature monitor can be integrated with the Zip HACCP food safety software available on the Hubworks platform to ensure that the meals are safe.