Browning hamburger is a basic cooking skill that a lot of recipes call for. Some recipes assume you know how to do this and do not include explicit directions.
The size of skillet you use will depend on how much hamburger you have to brown and also the remainder of the recipe after the hamburger is browned. Some recipes call for only 1 lb of hamburger, but will require a larger skillet for the remainder of the recipe. Go ahead a use the larger skillet to brown first, reducing the number of dishes dirtied up.
You should always brown hamburger from a thawed state. You should also always thaw hamburger in either cold water, or in the refrigerator overnight.
Draining the grease from hamburger can be done in a number of ways. Many people use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked hamburger from the grease. Others use a non-slotted spoon to keep the hamburger in the skillet and pour the grease off into a glass container. This method can also be achieved with a skillet strainer or strainer lid.
I prefer draining in a colander in the sink and rinsing with HOT water to remove excess grease. If you do this, just remember to run HOT water down the drain continuously before, during, and for a few minutes after dumping the hamburger in the colander.
After draining, I also like to rinse/wipe out the skillet to remove extra grease, unless the recipes calls for you to reserve it.
The following directions are for browning 1 lb of hamburger for use in casseroles, skillet meals, soups, tacos, etc.
Instructions
Crumble thawed, raw hamburger into a cold 10″ skillet.
Turn heat to medium-high. Stir hamburger with spatula, breaking it up.
Add onion, seasonings, salt, pepper, Worcestershire Sauce, beef base, or whatever the recipe calls for now. Some recipes will tell you to mix it all together before putting it in the skillet – that’s fine, but not entirely necessary. Stir to mix, continue to break up hamburger.
If the recipe just calls for “browned ground beef,” but not additional seasonings, you should at least salt and pepper it.
Allow to cook, stirring occasionally. As it gets closer to done, you’ll want to stir more often.
Cook until hamburger is done through and browned on the outside. You want a good, brown sear on the crumbles. It will start to smell charred (not burnt, but char-broiled)
Drain.