Is there a way to prevent cooked ground beef from hardening?

#1

I want to meal prep ground beef patties, but if I store it cooked for more than a day, they harden up into rocks so that I can’t re-heat them or else they’ll just get even harder. Is there a way to prevent them from becoming so tough after an extended period of time?

#2

You’re overcooking them. I do ground beef in my meal prep all the time. What you’re describing only happens if I lose track and overcook them. Like any meat, they keep cooking when you pull them off, that needs to be accounted for, and especially if you’re going to heat them again. The SECOND they hit medium, they’re done.

#3

You can also mix some eggs in.

(Ohio ) #4

Bacon grease.

(Robin) #5

Most questions can and should be answered with “bacon grease”.

#6

Try re-heating them in the microwave.

(Geoffrey) #7

Nailed it!

#8

I don’t have to worry about risk of getting sick from ground beef only being cooked to medium?

#9

Nope, that’s how almost any good burger you’d order in a restaurant would be cooked. At least everywhere I ever worked in my food days. If there’s no more pink, it’s overcooked.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #10

Yes, there is always some element of risk from improperly prepared food, but if your butcher’s meat is so untrustworthy that it has to be overcooked, then it would probably benefit you to find a better butcher.

(Polly) #11

I have not experienced this. I often cook a batch of 100% beef patties with a 12% or 20% fat content and store them in the fridge for up to a week. I initially cook them in the frying pan and then re-heat when wanted in the air-fryer.

(Troy John) #12

You need to cook them in medium low heat. High heat always turns them hard when stored.

#13

I would recommend a few things. Use the highest fat content available to make your burgers. If you are frying your burgers in a pan, lower the heat; otherwise, you will lose too much fat and juice. You could also add some ground pork. When reheating, do so in a microwave with a tiny amount of water in a sealed container for about 20-30 seconds max. .

#14

Wrap them in bacon!

(Edith) #15

When I want to use hamburgers for left overs, I will undercook them, so that when I heat them up, they don’t get over cooked.

(Robin) #16

Best method is to eat it all instead. :smirk: