I have been talking extensively in podcast episodes (see Five Tips for Efficiency in the Kitchen HERE) and in blog posts about my cycle cooking (PODCAST) and just the general idea of preparing meats to be used in dishes. (See my Shredded Chicken post here.)
Having meats ready to use in recipes is one of the best kitchen efficiency tips that I can give people. It truly makes creating a quick meal doable.
I am going to be posting tons of recipes for using crumbled ground beef, ground turkey, or a combination of beef and turkey. So, here are some steps to help you cook ground beef in the crock pot quickly to either freezer in quart bags for later use or to use immediately.
Here is what I do:
1. I place six to twelve pounds of ground meat in small chunks in my crock pot, depending on the size of crock I am using.
2. I cook this on high for three hours or so or low for six hours or so. (My crock pot is super hot!)
3. Then I drain this meat into a colander and let it cool a few minutes or more in the colander.
4. As soon as it can be handled, I crumble it up with my hands (you can use a potato masher, if desired).
5. Normally, I do one of any of the following at this point:
a. Place all of the meat back in the crock pot and make something—chili, sloppy joes, spaghetti sauce with meat, taco meat! Ideas are endless.
b. Bag and freeze part of it and put part back in the crock pot and make a soup—chili, pasta e fagiloi, ground beef stew, etc.
c. Put part in the fridge for a meal later that week and use part in the crock pot as described above.
When I was a homeschooling mama with lots of kids in school, this method forced me to come up with a meal. I mean, the meat was already ready!!! Easy peasy.
Try it. You’ll like it! And check back often (or subscribe to the blog!) for dozens of recipes using crumbled meats!
