Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Draining hamburger grease


Tammy's Recipes hosts a special Kitchen Tip Tuesday each week. I've been cooking a lot this week, and my little helper has been taking photos for me!
I used to drain ground beef by pouring the grease into a jar, then rinsing the beef with water and pouring it off again. My kitchen drawer won't hold a large strainer, so I improvised with a tilted pot lid.
I had just been steaming some broccoli when I realized my steamer insert could double as a colander! Rinsing the beef to remove extra fat became even easier in a larger area. I let the ground beef cool in the steamer insert before bagging it for the freezer.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you don't use garlic and onions in the beef while you are browning it, you can save the hamburger grease for making soap! I used to do that when we used a lot of hamburger. If you make soap, it is a nifty thing.

Anonymous said...

Another of those 'why didn't I think of this before' moments...I have done this for years and years. I do save some of the grease to make a family favorite of hamberger gravy....Roxie

Homegrown Family said...

I have 2 colanders one big and one medium but the insert for steaming I use alot more for this same thing noodles etc. The kids always grab it when they need in their cooking as well. Very useful item to have besides the steaming part!

Lisa said...

I had never heard of rinsing the grease from hamburger. Does it change the taste any?

The colander would be a very helpful tool for what your doing.

Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Good idea!

You can also add a 1/2 cup or a cup of water while cooking your ground beef. It cooks more evenly and makes it easier to drain.

Anonymous said...

We don't use beef, only venison. You don't ever need to drain the venison!

Anonymous said...

I didn't have a colander for years and had to use my steamer!

Mummymac

http://homebutnotalone.wordpress.com

Meredith said...

I love to make something I already own do double duty.

Lisa, washing the ground beef with meat does remove more of the fat. It also takes a little of the flavor. I am using this pre-browned ground beef for spaghetti sauce and taco meat, so it will get a second dose of flavorings upon reheating.

Lisa said...

Thanks for your posting, Meredith!

I also cook hamburger in bulk. Using a colander for draining and rinsing the cooked hamburger is a very easy and convenient step to add to the process. I am going to try it. You have changed my world! :)

Anonymous said...

Any tips from Meredith or fellow readers on how to avoid clogging the drain with grease accumulation? I'd love to try this but so far am too concerned about the drain. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I take the burger and drain it into a large metal bowl. NOT down my sink drain. I have also used the grease to add some beef flavor to dry dog food kibble. Our vet said it was okay to do this a little. NOT just a whole lot of it. So a couple of table spoons goes on the dry kibble as a treat to the girls...the rest goes into an old jar and is trashed....Roxie

Meredith said...

Oh, I'm sorry! I thought it was clear that you don't put grease down the drain under any circumstances!

The grease from the steamer insert drips into the pot where I browned the hamburger. After that, I pour the grease into an old jar. When the grease hardens and/or the jar is full, I put the lid on and throw away.

Anonymous said...

Have you heard that it's ok to drain your hamburger grease down the sink drain if you run hot water simultaneously?