Fill the Freezer With Ground Beef – but Cook It First
Regardless of whether you’ve stocked up on a sale or bought time for the coming expiration date, you most likely have ground beef in the freezer. It seems as useful as being such a good starting point for a variety of recipes, but when have you ever remembered to defrost frozen ground beef beforehand? Then you need to fry it or cook it before it gets into your slow cooker, baking dish, or taco. After all, this is not such a big time saver.
But what if you made the future – did you do a favor and cook the ground beef before freezing it? I know – yes! But I needed this advice from The Kitchn for me to figure out it would work, and maybe I’m not alone.
Sear and cook ground beef seasoned with neutral salt. Let it cool and then freeze in zippered bags, measure by cups or portions if you like, and date. It will stay in good condition for about four months, but given how easy it will be to use the beef now that it’s cooked – seriously, you can throw it still frozen in the slow cooker – you will probably use it up long before that.