Oven Cooking Ground Meat

I have worked in some pretty small kitchens from time to time BUT have never failed to figure out how to complete a scheduled meal. A long time ago I developed an easy, simple way to cook bulk ground meat in a commercial oven using little supervision and a potato masher.

Why would this be a useful thing to know? Not all kitchens have large braising pans, electric skillets, or enough pots to cook it on the stove.

I use 4 inch chafing dishes/hotel pans and cook 10 to 15 pounds of meat in each one. Doesn't matter if its ground beef, ground chicken, ground pork, sausage...

Start with about half an inch of water in each pan...here I have 2x10# (2 packs of 10 pounds each) of Ground Beef (80/20 meat fat ratio). See my water pitcher in the background?

Take the meat and spread it out in pan. You can do this quickly it does not have to be "just so".

 I have a commercial convection oven that I set to 375 Fahrenheit (fan on low). You can use 350 or 400 degrees Fahrenheit its not an "exact" type of thing, but the first time you cook it like this keep track of your own times to repeat the process the same way every time. It's easier to teach someone else this way.

This is what it looks like in my oven. I do not cover the meat. The heated air works quicker and allows for some additional coloring and texture of finished meat(besides it looking a light gray from essentially oven steaming it). Yes! I keep a sheet pan in the bottom of my oven at all times for catching drips or mistakes...as you can see some on the pan, black spots.

And another "zoom out" view...

Let the meat cook undisturbed for thirty minutes, no matter what...you can adjust finishing time later. Depending on your oven, the temperature you use, kind of meat, et cetera...the time it takes to cook ground meat to proper internal temperature varies. I believe its 155 Fahrenheit for most ground meats except poultry, which I believe still has to reach 165. See how it looks kind of "meat loaf-ish"? Its time to pour as much juice/fat/water off as you can. Plus if you remove the liquid, its less dangerous using the masher to "ground" the meat! Ok, your thirty minutes has gone by...

Notice now we have most of the liquid and impurities drained off. Please don't feel like you have to drain the pan of liquid till every last drop of liquid is out, that defeats the purpose of this being easy and simple. See how the meat looks like a big loaf?

Time to turn that potato masher into a multi-tasker...Alton Brown would be so proud right now! I usually mash it down with the masher squiggles going one way, then mash the meat again with it going the other way...use the masher as a "rake" to move big chunks around for another mash if needed. This is when I would season the meat. After the first drain and mash. Back in the oven!

Its time to put the meat back in till its done all the way AKA (also known as) being at the proper internal temperature. This could be 15 minutes or more...depends on the meat and how many pounds you started with. But if your using a timer just set another 15 and check it again. NOW we are pretty sure the meat is done...drain it again if you think it has released more liquid than you want to keep in it.

Mash again. This is the second and last time. Once while cooking and again after the meat is done. Your now ready to use your meat, and/or let it cool, label & date, and put in freezer or fridge.

If your commercial kitchen is small like my current one, we do not use a fryer so we also do not have a grease pit that holds oils and fats until a big truck comes and services it(sucks it out). So, I let the fat separate naturally and then I ladle into a +Ziploc bag inside a +Cambro pitcher.

Then I throw it in a freezer till its solid, pull it out of the pitcher, and throw it away!

Cambro Sweet Experiment - Modern Twists on Old Classics

I entered a contest held by Cambro called Sweet Experiment: Mini desserts are making a big impact! Now is your chance to showcase your most creative mini dessert creation with Cambro's Dessert Glass and have a chance to win $3,000 in Cambro products! Free to enter — we send you the dessert glasses, you create the sweet experiment!

So I figured, hey, I can get a cool set of mini dessert glasses (6) and make some creative mini desserts. The $3,000 in Cambro products was for the business establishment that employs me in my food service role, so it was not entirely a selfish involvement. Ha! Who would not enjoy new products in the kitchen/food department that they work in?

Unfortunately, I did not win. But I had fun entering, receiving my free glasses, and being creative with the desserts.

I titled my dessert submissions 'Modern Twists on Old Classics'. In the below pictures are my submissions from left to right.

Left: S'mores, graham cracker pieces or crumbs, marshmallow, and chocolate. Easily heated in the microwave melting marshmallow cream and chocolate. ( either melt marshmallow in pan or use the marshmallow cream or sometimes called fluff, because if you try to melt this dessert to desired taste in the microwave the marshmallow expands in the glass and pushes other ingredients out)

Middle: Creamsicle, layered vanilla bean ice cream and orange sherbet topped with a mandarin orange slice...reminiscent of that popsicle offered at the corner store or ice cream man riding through the neighborhood.

Right: Peach Cobbler, layered peaches, banana bread, homemade granola, and caramel sauce...spices with a little cinnamon and brown sugar.

It's Busy!

Lately at our household we have had so many commitments, social engagements, and additional work details that it was almost to hard to keep up with! And our household (wife and two small boys, toddler and infant) has had an ongoing case of the sniffles, coughs, and pneumonia (myself) that keeps on hanging on and dragging out more doctors appointments. So, of course the first thing that starts getting behind is my posting.

I have a few posts in the draft mode coming up...recently I joined a contest that involved using some new dessert glasses from Cambro and will be posting soon. One thing I really need to work on is taking more pictures! Recently we did a Christmas Banquet for the academy teachers and I was to busy to get pics. Sigh.

Merry Christmas everyone!!! (In case you or I don't make it back here again!)