Have you ever cut into a beef enchilada at your go-to Mexican spot, dug into a taco salad from your favorite diner, or bit into a loose-meat sandwich from Maid Rite (tell me you’re from the Midwest without telling me) and thought to yourself:
“How do they get the beef so soft and finely-textured?”
Because when I brown ground beef in a skillet at home the result is fine, but the beef isn’t extremely tender nor does it have a super fine, almost creamy texture.
Anyway, I figured out how to cook ground beef so it turns out like a restaurant’s — boil it!
Browned then Boiled Ground Beef
Although the method for boiling ground beef is new to me, I’m not claiming to have invented it! Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants boil raw ground beef with water and seasonings until cooked through to achieve a super fine texture, and the aforementioned Maid Rite sandwiches (aka Loose Meat Sandwiches, which are NOT Sloppy Joe’s!) use steam to keep the cooked ground beef soft after cooking.
What I am suggesting you do is combine the more common method of browning ground beef in a skillet with simmering it afterwards. This allows us to drain excess fat from the skillet after browning the beef, then achieve a fine crumble by boiling it afterwards.
Use the ground beef for tacos, enchiladas, nachos, meat sauce — any dish you need cooked ground beef for, you can use this method to cook it!
Ingredients Needed
- Ground beef: I prefer fattier 85/15 or 80/20 ground beef for this method instead of leaner 90/10 or 97/3. Much of the fat will be drained off after it’s browned, but the little bit that remains will keep the ground beef tender and flavorful. This recipe works just as well with 1lb of ground beef as it does 2 or 3lbs.
- Broth or water: water or low-sodium beef broth is used to simmer the browned ground beef in.
- Seasonings: depending on how the simmered ground beef will be utilized will determine how to season it. See below!
How to Season the Ground Beef
After browning then draining the ground beef, you’ll return it to the skillet with beef broth or water plus seasonings. This recipe works really well with Tex-Mex-flavored dishes, or more general ground beef dishes like meat sauce for spaghetti.
Here’s how to season the meat for either option:
- For Tex-Mex recipes: add 1-1/2 — 2 Tablespoons Homemade Taco Seasoning per pound of ground beef.
- For general beef recipes: add 1/2 teaspoon each onion and garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, and salt and pepper to taste per pound of ground beef.
Keep in mind that even low-sodium beef broth contains a little bit of salt which will reduce and concentrate in flavor as the meat simmers. That said, if you’re sensitive to salt, choose no-salt-added beef broth, use water instead of broth, and/or omit salt in the seasoning.
Ways to Use Boiled Ground Beef
As I mentioned, you can pretty much use this method for browning then boiling ground beef in any recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. Here are some ideas!
- Tacos
- Burritos
- Cheeseburger Quesadillas
- Beef Nachos
- Big Mac Salad
- Quesadillas
- Taco Bowls
- American Goulash
- Loose-Meat Sandwiches
- Taco Salads
- Cheeseburger Fries
- Spaghetti Sauce
Alrighty — ready to give this restaurant-style method for cooking ground beef a try?
How to Cook Ground Beef like a Restaurant
Step 1: Brown then drain the ground beef.
Start by adding a pound or more of ground beef to a large skillet with high sides and a lid over medium-high heat. Brown the beef until it is cooked through then drain and return it to the pan.
- Tip: Anytime I brown ground beef I let it sit undisturbed in the hot skillet until ~3/4 of the way cooked through and then I begin to break it up finely. The brown crust that forms on the bottom imparts a ton of flavor to the beef.
Step 2: Add liquid and seasonings then boil.
Add enough water or low-sodium beef broth to the skillet to cover the beef. This 12″ skillet requires ~2 cups liquid to submerge 1lb of browned ground beef. Add your seasonings then stir to combine.
Bring the liquid to a boil then place a lid on top and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 1 hour, breaking the beef up finely with a spatula every 10 minutes or so. I love that you don’t have to babysit nor over-think this recipe. Just chop it up anytime you remember!
As the hour passes, add more liquid as needed to keep the beef about halfway submerged. If it gets to a point where you can pull the beef back with a spatula and no liquid fills the gap, add more liquid.
When there’s 10 minutes left, remove the lid then continue to simmer until the liquid is concentrated and saucy. You can either drain out any excess liquid, or use a slotted spoon to remove the beef and use it in whatever recipe you have planned.
Voila — restaurant-style, super-tender cooked ground beef with a fine crumble!
How to Store and Freeze
- To store: If you don’t plan on using the ground beef right away, cool it to room temperature then scoop into an airtight container with a lid and refrigerate for 3-4 days.
- To freeze: Cool the beef down to room temperature then scoop into a gallon-size Ziplock freezer bag or freezer safe container and freeze flat. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
While browned ground beef is delicious on its own — if you’ve got a little extra time, this method for tender, restaurant-style ground beef is totally worth the extra effort.
I hope you love it! Enjoy!
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How to Cook Ground Beef (Restaurant-Style)
Description
Have you ever wondered how Tex-Mex restaurants get their ground beef so soft, tender, and finely-textured? Boil it! I'll show you how.
Ingredients
- 1lb ground beef, see notes
- seasonings, see notes
- 2 — 3 cups low-sodium beef broth or water
Directions
- Preheat a large skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef then brown, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain the beef then return it to the skillet.
- Add enough broth or water to cover the cooked ground beef (~2 cups) then add seasonings (see notes). Bring the liquid to a boil then place the lid on top of the skillet and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring and breaking the beef up finely every 10 minutes or so, adding more broth/water as needed to keep the beef moist. After the first addition of liquid to submerge the beef, you don’t need to keep the meat fully submerged, just about halfway submerged.
- When the beef has 10 minutes left, remove the lid then let the liquid continue to simmer until the liquid becomes concentrated and slightly saucy. Taste then add more seasonings if necessary and use as desired.
Notes
- This recipe works just as well with 2-3lbs of ground beef as it does with 1. Cook for the same amount of time — 1 hour.
- I prefer using 90/10, 85/15, or 80/20 ground beef for this cooking method. Extremely lean beef doesn’t get as soft and finely-textured.
- Even low-sodium beef broth contains salt so if you're very sensitive to salt use no-salt-added beef broth, use water, and/or omit the salt in the seasoning.
- For Tex-Mex recipes (tacos, burritos, enchiladas, etc): add 1-1/2 — 2 Tablespoons Homemade Taco Seasoning per pound of meat.
- For general beef recipes (burger quesadillas, loose meat-sandwiches, spaghetti sauce): add 1/2 teaspoon each onion and garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, and salt and pepper to taste per pound of meat.
- Use the simmered ground beef in these recipes:
- Tacos
- Burritos
- Cheeseburger Quesadillas
- Nachos
- Big Mac Salad
- Quesadillas
- Taco Bowls
- American Goulash
- Loose-Meat Sandwiches
- Cheeseburger Fries
- Spaghetti Sauce
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin
Fond memories of going to Mason City and eating a Maid-Rite. Every so often I have to have a Maid-Rite (loose meat) sandwich, so I do it with my Instant Pot. I do use a 9% fat ground beef in the pot and mix in 1/2 cup of beef broth, 1 Tbsp of dehydrated onion, 2 tsp hoisin sauce, 1 Tbsp vinegar, a dash of Worcestershire sauce and mix it all up. Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes, let it set 10 min more before releasing and its done. I like the hands-off and not needing to babysit the skillet.
That sounds awesome, Rick! I’ll have to give that a try sometime!
Thank you for sharing this and yes, fond memories of Maid Rite! It also reminds me of Cincinnati Chilli where the ground beef is boiled rather than browned in a skillet. Completely different texture.
Yes, Cincinnati Chili is a great example — this is an excellent method for cooking ground beef to use in any chili/gravy-esque sauce recipe!
Hi Kristin! I am so glad to hear you talk about Maid Rite sandwiches. I searched years back for a recipe to make them for my 97 year old Mom. She had fond memories of Maid Rite sandwiches. Thanks
They really stick with you — so unique and delicious!
How did you make those taco shells? They look so good!
Yes!! Here’s the how to:
Add 1/2″ vegetable or canola oil to a medium-sized skillet with high sides then heat over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 350 degrees — 4-5 minutes. If you don’t have a thermometer you can drop a piece of tortilla into the oil and if it doesn’t start sizzling, keep heating.
Line a plate or tray with paper towels then slide a corn tortilla into the oil one at a time with tongs and fry for 10-15 seconds. If you tap the top of the tortilla with the tongs it will cause it to puff up slightly. Use the tongs to flip the tortilla over then bend one side up to mold it into a shell shape and fry for another 10-15 seconds. Flip then fry on the other side of the shell for another 10-15 seconds or until the shell is golden brown all over and able to keep its shape. Transfer to the plate or tray with paper towels then sprinkle lightly with salt.