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Ground meat isn’t exactly a showstopper when it comes to looks. It starts off as a messy, speckled mass and often turns into a dull, grey mound when cooked.
One way to improve its appearance is by leaving the meat undisturbed, allowing it to develop a golden sear before breaking it apart, but this doesn't fully stop the usual moisture loss when cooking. Anyone who's prepared a big batch of meat for sauces or chili knows about the resulting pool of liquid.
Thankfully, there’s a solution: a little compound known as 'sodium bicarbonate'—better known as 'baking soda.' Adding it to your ground beef not only helps keep it tender but also accelerates the browning process.
The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Ground Beef
This isn't a 'new' trick or recent breakthrough, so I’m surprised I missed it for so long. But I’m glad it’s finally clicked for me. I discovered it while scrolling through the America's Test Kitchen Instagram account, which shared a graphic from a five-year-old chili recipe.
Last night, I decided to give it a try with just over a pound of ground meat I had to use up. I sprinkled about a third of a teaspoon of baking soda over the meat, stirred it, let it rest for 15 minutes, and then cooked it on medium-high heat in a pan.
I never expected ground beef to impress me, but I was blown away. Despite some extra stirring and handling, the beef developed a rich, brown crust, and the usual puddle of liquid shrank to almost nothing. It was much more tender, with no toughness or rubbery texture—just perfectly browned, flavorful chunks of beef.
What makes baking soda so effective at browning ground beef?
Why does this technique work? The baking soda, which is alkaline, raises the pH level of the meat, preventing the proteins from overly bonding and squeezing out moisture. This keeps the meat tender and prevents the usual liquid pool from forming. The drier the pan, the quicker your food will brown, but, according to ATK, an alkaline environment is also better for the Maillard reaction—the chemical process between amino acids and reducing sugars that creates the browning and flavor of cooked food.
You can apply baking soda to other cuts of meat as well. ATK recommends using 1/4 teaspoon for every 12 ounces of ground meat and 1 teaspoon for every 12 ounces of sliced meat. Mixing the baking soda with a tablespoon or two of water can help distribute it more evenly, especially with sliced meat. However, I found that simply sprinkling the baking soda over the ground beef worked fine. Just toss the raw meat with the baking soda, let it sit for 15 minutes (don't leave it longer, as it won't improve the effect), then cook it as usual.
A Simple Way to Brown Ground Beef
Ingredients:
1 pound of ground beef (or any type of ground meat)
1/3 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
Sprinkle baking soda evenly over the raw ground beef in a large mixing bowl and gently mix it in with a spatula or your hands. Let it sit for 15 minutes. While it rests, lightly coat a large cast-iron or stainless steel pan with oil and heat it up—you want the oil to shimmer, but avoid letting it smoke.
Season the meat with salt, then press it into an even layer in the pan using a spatula. Once it's in place, leave it undisturbed. Pour yourself a glass of wine or distract yourself with something else—just let the meat cook undisturbed for a while.
When the edges of the meat begin to brown and crisp, divide it into quarters and flip each part to brown the other side. Break it into pieces, add more salt if needed, and use a slotted spatula to transfer the meat to paper towels (if desired, though I usually skip blotting because I don’t mind a little grease). Use the perfectly browned beef in tacos, meat sauces, rice dishes, or anything else that can benefit from crispy, flavorful beef.
