Get Ready

Forever flexible, ground beef can be pan-fried for meat sauces and casseroles or shaped into burgers, meatballs and more.

COOK ground beef in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking into small chunks with cooking. Cook thoroughly, until browned throughout.
DRAIN.
ADD to pasta sauce or soups or use in chili, casserole, taco and soup recipes, seasoning to taste.

Watch

Common Cuts

Extra lean ground beef
Maximum fat content 10% (90% lean)

Lean ground beef
Maximum fat content 17% (83% lean)

Medium ground beef
Maximum fat content 23% (77% lean)

Regular ground beef
Maximum fat content 30% (70% lean)

Myth Buster

MYTH:

Ground beef has colour added to it – that is why it is purple in the centre of the pack but bright red on the surface.

TRUTH:

Ground beef is 100% beef with no additives, fillers or colours. As beef is exposed to oxygen, it naturally develops a red hue – so the meat at the surface of a package is bright red. The meat at the centre will turn red too once it’s opened up to the air.

Tips for Ground Beef

Cook’s Notes:

All ground beef comes designated as Extra Lean, Lean, Medium or Regular, based on the maximum fat content. This designation is the same for all ground meats: beef, turkey, veal, chicken, pork and lamb.

Ground beef types

EXTRA LEAN (10% maximum fat) great for flavour-packed recipes that you don’t drain after cooking. Use in meat loaf or cabbage rolls.
LEAN (17% maximum fat) Canada’s No. 1 grind is a good all-purpose choice. Use in all kinds of ground beef recipes.
MEDIUM (23% maximum fat)
REGULAR (30% maximum fat) use for grilling, broiling and drain to reduce fat before adding to your recipe. Use Medium in burgers and meatballs, and Regular or Medium in pasta sauces and casseroles.

Have you tried “Steak Experience” Ground Beef? Look for the names Sirloin, Chuck and Round on packages of ground beef. These names indicate that the ground beef is made from a single cut, not a mix. Ground Sirloin tastes like Sirloin Steak for example – it’s ground beef gone gourmet.
Refrigerate ground beef within 1 to 2 hours of purchase.
Refrigerate at 40° F (4° C) or lower, on bottom shelf to avoid dripping on to other foods.
Thaw in the fridge, allowing 12 to 15 hours per pound, OR thaw in the microwave, cooking immediately after thawing.
Cook all ground beef thoroughly to 160° F (71° C). Test temperatures with a digital read thermometer. Never eat ground beef raw.

Big Batch Beef

The Question of Colour

Contrary to popular belief, the colour of beef is not a reliable indicator of freshness. In its initial state, beef is a deep purple colour. As it is exposed to oxygen in the air, the pigment turns cherry red. That same beef can turn purple again if oxygen is removed. The perfect example is vacuum-packaged beef.

With certain packaging types, that initial cherry red pigment will begin to take on a slightly brown hue quite quickly. The meat is still fresh and safe to eat, but just not as bright a red as when it was first exposed to oxygen. The Best Before date is still the best way to know if your fresh beef needs to be prepared and eaten right away or frozen.

Some ground beef can be brownish in the centre. This is because the small amount of oxygen present in the centre gives the meat pigment a brownish hue. However, the meat remains fresh and safe to eat up to its Best Before date.

Cuts used with Ground Beef

Common Cuts | Ground Beef

Ground Beef Options

regular-ground-beef-canadian-beef
EXTRA LEAN GROUND BEEF
Maximum fat content 10% (90% lean)

regular-ground-beef-canadian-beef
LEAN GROUND BEEF
Maximum fat content 17% (83% lean)

regular-ground-beef-canadian-beef
MEDIUM GROUND BEEF
Maximum fat content 23% (77% lean)

regular-ground-beef-canadian-beef
REGULAR GROUND BEEF
Maximum fat content 30% (70% lean)

Ground Beef recipes:

Meat Loaf Tacos

Tacos bring fun to the dinner table and are tops with kids–just mention tacos and watch their smiles grow. This recipe is a twist on both classic tacos and classic meat loaf. With a meat loaf slice for the filling, these tacos are neat to eat and easy for children’s hands to hold.

All-New Shepherd’s Pie

All the makings of a shepherd’s pie put together differently! This one-dish dinner is simple to make, using new Hamburger Helper® Cheesy Baked Potato® Dinner Mix. Just assemble everything in the baking pan, pop in the oven and relax while dinner cooks unattended — you don’t even have to cook the ground beef first!

Beefy Italian Tortellini Soup

Serve this delicious beef slow-cooker soup recipe with crusty bread for a satisfying one-bowl meal.

Best-Ever Traditional Lasagna

This ground beef classic may seem fussy to make but using a béchamel sauce and medium ground beef makes this so much better than a purchased lasagna. Béchamel is easier than you may think and using oven-ready noodles saves prep and clean-up time. BONUS: This recipe makes about 2 cups extra meat sauce that you can package up and freeze to use as a speedy weeknight spaghetti dinner.

Latin Lover Beef Burger

Add a little spice to your life with these mildly-spiced beef burgers topped with an easy-to-make chimichurri sauce recipe. Chimichurri is a lively pesto-like, parsley sauce that is used like ketchup in Argentina.

One-Pot Beefy Tomato Macaroni Dinner

This favorite comfort meal is a big hit with Sylvia’s family. With ground beef and mushrooms in a creamy sauce, this tasty dish is bound to become one of your family favorites, too.

Tagine-Style Beef and Rice

Transport yourself to sunny Morocco tonight with the bright flavours and exotic scents of this dish. For a simple next-day salad, just add a splash of berry or balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing and a handful of diced fresh veggies to any leftovers. If you use long grain rice, cooking time can be reduced to 20 minutes. Each serving is an excellent source of iron and vitamin C.

Persian Tiny Meatballs (Koofteh Rizeh)

Koofteh is a Persian term for meatballs and Rizeh in Farsi means mini and tiny. There are many recipes for koofteh (also called kofta) in Middle Eastern cuisines. In Iran there are various recipes from different regions with most of them being from Azarbaijan province. There are many tips and tricks for making any kind of koofteh and usually grandmas are the experts. All koofteh recipes have one ingredient in common which is ground beef though the rest of ingredients may change. Some recipes have cooked rice, others yellow split peas and some might have chopped fresh herbs. Almost all of the koofteh recipes are finished by simmering in tomato sauce. Fried potatoes and tomatoes are here to bring extra flavors and texture to this recipe. This dish is commonly served with bread such as lavash or barbari. Torshi (pickled vegetables) and fresh herbs also pair beautifully with koofteh.