How to Pre-Cook Ground Beef for Camping

Camping should be a relaxing vacation for everyone, including the designated cook in the group. Every cooking shortcut you take at home can result in extra time lying around the campsite doing nothing. You can use cooked ground beef in soups, stews, chili, sloppy joes and many other dishes while camping. Cook and package ground beef ahead of time, and it will be ready to pour into the pot with zero prep time on vacation.

Things You'll Need

  • 1 lb.ground beef
  • Heavy skillet
  • Spatula
  • Colander
  • Zip-top bags
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Instructions

    • 1

      Break up 1 lb. of ground beef into chunks and place them in a heavy frying pan. Place the pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium.

    • 2

      Cook the ground beef over medium heat, stirring it every few minutes to turn the pink side down and to break up the chunks into small bits.

    • 3

      Stir the meat in the pan until there is no pink left. Break it up into small pieces about the size of a pencil eraser.

    • 4

      Transfer the meat to a colander and rinse the meat with cold water. This will remove any excess fat clinging to the meat.

    • 5

      Drain the cooked ground beef thoroughly. Pour the cooked meat into a zip-top bag. Squeeze the bag to remove as much air as possible, then zip it closed. Freeze the bag until you pack for the campsite.