Simple Ways to Drain Ground Beef: 10 Steps (with Pictures) (2024)

FAQs

How do you drain ground beef with a paper towel? ›

Take 2-3 paper towels and dab the grease. If there's still grease in the pan, get more paper towels and continue dabbing the grease. Cover a bowl with tin foil and put a strainer over the bowl. Pour the ground beef and the grease into the strainer.

Colander & Food Strainer Kitchen Set - Strains Ground Beef & Bacon Grease - Colander Set Rinses Pasta, Rice, Fruit, & Vegetables | Comes with Grease Container with Lid (Blue)

A neat trick to soak up the grease under your meatloaf is to line the bottom of the pan with bread slices. The bread soaks up the grease as the loaf bakes. When the meatloaf is done, you can either throw out the bread or bake it to make some truly indulgent toast.

"From a food safety standpoint, there's no need, but if you're worried about the grease, my suggestion is to simply drain your ground beef. Anything that remains is going to be the great flavor that you don't want to miss out on."

Lay several cloths loosely over the meat and leave to dry out for 24 hours. Don't cover with cling film as that will prevent it drying out. The air inside a fridge is desiccated (drying it out) and this can be useful for all sorts of things.

Throw it in the trash

Cooled, solidified oil can be thrown in the trash once it is placed into a sealed container. You can use glass jars, waxy containers like milk cartons, and styrofoam boxes to contain any potential leaks.

Necessary, no, but it's a good idea, for two reasons. There is a certain amount of fat in the beef, which will render out when you cook it. As a rule, you don't want this beef tallow in your braised (slow cooked) dish. So you cook the beef in a pan, drain off the fat, and put the drained meat into the cooker.

Why does ground beef release a lot of "juice" while cooking? In making ground beef, some retail stores grind the meat while it is still frozen. Ice crystals in the frozen meat break down the cell walls, permitting the release of meat juices during cooking.

Let the loaf cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. If you baked the meatloaf in a loaf pan, carefully drain off the liquid fat before transferring the meatloaf to a clean cutting board.

Should you drain the liquid when cooking ground beef? ›

After you've finished boiling the ground beef, you'll need to drain it. To avoid letting any fat or grease fall down the drain of your sink, set up a strainer inside of a large bowl.

Place a colander over a glass or ceramic bowl and pour the ground beef and grease into the colander. The colander will drain the grease and the beef will remain on the top. Grease may melt a plastic bowl.

Season the Ground Beef

When it comes to seasoning your ground beef, wait until after it has been browned and drained. Adding salt to raw ground beef pulls out moisture, drying the meat out and creating steam while it cooks, which prevents it from browning properly.

Rooter Plumbing say this would be a big mistake. This quick and convenient action could lead to a lot of problems (and money down the drain), as the grease will begin to solidify as it cools. Once this happens, the mass can trap other debris in your pipes, which can slow down and eventually clog the drain.

When it comes to seasoning your ground beef, wait until after it has been browned and drained. Adding salt to raw ground beef pulls out moisture, drying the meat out and creating steam while it cooks, which prevents it from browning properly.