Ground beef is a staple protein in many American households for a reason. Not only is it incredibly versatile — used in everything from hamburgers to tacos to casseroles — but it’s also widely available and relatively inexpensive. However, ground beef has one annoying quality: It releases a significant amount of liquid when cooked, and it…
Mix, Rest, and Cook
Here’s what to do: For every pound of meat you’re cooking, dissolve 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in 1 tablespoon of water. Add the solution to the raw ground beef, mixing thoroughly until it’s distributed evenly. Then, allow the meat to rest on the counter for 15 to 30 minutes before cooking. After that, you can simply cook your beef as you normally would.
Why Does Baking Soda Help Brown Ground Beef?
Baking soda is something of a miracle ingredient when it comes to ground beef. It works by raising the pH of the beef’s surface, which alters the charge on the muscle filaments so they repel each other instead of coming together. This repelling action keeps the filaments a very small distance apart and allows them to retain more moisture. (Without this, the muscle filaments collapse and release a large amount of liquid — that’s the runoff you see when you cook ground beef without baking soda.) This method also works on thin slices of meat and is commonly used in Chinese stir-fry recipes.
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Beyond browning, baking soda also tenderizes the meat. The same chemical process described above helps the meat stay tender by locking moisture inside. Since the meat isn’t releasing all that liquid into the pan, it won’t dry out and develop a chewy texture.
