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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,110
Registered: ‎11-06-2011

Re: when browning ground beef


@Kachina624 wrote:

@shortbreadlover.  Is that 1 teaspoon of water?  Seems like an insignificant amount.


 

@Kachina624 - I'm guessing it's supposed to be 1 Tbsp of water; this is a trick that was discovered by America's Test Kitchen, and that's the formula they used. The water just helps the baking soda dissolve more quickly to start the pH reaction with the beef.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 9,135
Registered: ‎06-25-2012

Re: when browning ground beef

I simply use a potato masher to break up my ground beef when browning. Works like a charm.

"Pure Michigan"
Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,000
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: when browning ground beef

I didn't realize I had a problem, but I'll give it a try.  I added baking soda to some green split peas and they turned a most unappetizing shade of bright, bright green.  It disturbed me so much I threw out the batch and started over on the soup.  I just couldn't imagine serving something that color and I don't have a clue what was going on.  These were organic split peas.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,345
Registered: ‎08-20-2012

Re: when browning ground beef


@ID2 wrote:

I simply use a potato masher to break up my ground beef when browning. Works like a charm.

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     I have a neat little gadget from Chef Curtis on HSN. Have had it for sometime and it works great on ground beef....breaks meat clumps up, but not shred it!!


 

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,173
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: when browning ground beef

[ Edited ]

@shortbreadlover   Do you kniw if this works for other ground meats (turkey, lamb, pork  or chicken)?


@shortbreadlover wrote:

add 1 t water and 1/4 t baking soda and mix together.  then mix into the raw ground beef.it changes the ph ofthe beef and makes it brown better and crumble better.  you can not taste the bakingsoda, but will make the meat juicier




Honored Contributor
Posts: 43,176
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: when browning ground beef

i have one of these gadgets and it works so well in breaking up ground beef/chicken/turkey.....a meat masher. they are pretty inexpensive and can be found in most kitchen gadget stores.

 

 

Image result for meat masher

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"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,397
Registered: ‎03-19-2010

Re: when browning ground beef


@dex wrote:

@shortbreadlover @I read that Asian chefs use baking soda on the chicken to velvet it for stirfry.


@dex :  I have never heard of baking soda on chicken.  How much and ??????

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,143
Registered: ‎09-30-2010

Re: when browning ground beef

@Kachina624   I use 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2  cup of water for every 12 ounces of meat.  I set the meat in this mixture for at least fifteen minutes, up to a half hour, then drain and proceed to cook the chicken as desired.

 

There were a couple of threads on this in the summer of 2016.  One was titled Chinese Take Out Secret-You Won't Believe This and the other had Velveting Chicken as part of the title.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 78,156
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: when browning ground beef

@aroc3435.  Thanks for the additional information.   It's quite different from the other instruction, which the author has not come back to clarify.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment
Honored Contributor
Posts: 10,361
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: when browning ground beef


@Hoovermom wrote:

@dex wrote:

@shortbreadlover @I read that Asian chefs use baking soda on the chicken to velvet it for stirfry.


@dex :  I have never heard of baking soda on chicken.  How much and ??????


 

@Hoovermom  @dex I'm pretty sure @shortbreadlover meant cornstarch not baking soda.