Can minced meat be cooked from frozen? The best way

You had to get the mincemeat out this morning, but suddenly you realize that dinner should be on the table in an hour. Does this situation ring a bell? Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. That’s why we are here to give you solutions!

You may be wondering, then, can you cook frozen minced meat?  The answer is yes, but the way to do it will vary depending on the method. Although frozen ground beef can be cooked, there are certain modifications that need to be made depending on how you plan to cook it. 

If you read on, you’ll find out the best (and worst) ways to cook frozen ground beef.

The risks of cooking frozen minced meat

Only a few cooking methods pose risks for cooking frozen ground beef.

Cooking it slowly in the oven or in a slow cooker risks spending too much time in the “danger zone,” creating the potential for bacteria to grow.

However, other methods, such as the Instant Pot, sous vide, and method cook, are safe if proper precautions are taken and the ground beef is cooked for the correct amount of time.

Just remember that even if it’s frozen, you’re still handling raw meat, so you should always wash your hands and any surfaces you touch.

Ways to use minced meat

Although not all dishes or cooking methods are suitable for cooking frozen minced meat, there are many recipes that will make easy and delicious meals, such as

• Stovetop Beef Stroganoff
• Spicy minced meat and tomato pasta
• “Unstuffed Cabbage Skillet
• Sloppy Joes in Instant Pot
• Instant Pot Bolognese Sauce
• beef enchiladas
• Loaded Beef Tater Tots
• beef goulash
• beef taco salad
• lasagna soup
• Spicy Beef Lettuce Wraps
• Potatoes with cheese and beef
• cheeseburger pasta

The best ways to cook frozen minced meat

This ultimate ranking will help you decide how to cook frozen ground beef if you have to, as well as answer some of the most frequently asked questions about cooking frozen ground beef.

1. Instant Pot

The fastest and best way to cook frozen ground beef is in an Instant Pot.

If you have an Instant Pot or are looking for one, cooking frozen ground beef will be quick and effortless.

The best way to cook frozen ground beef in an Instant Pot is to steam it.

You’ll want to place the minced meat on a steaming tray (also called a trivet) inside the pot so it cooks evenly, preventing it from drying out.

Place about a cup of water in the Instant Pot, then add the clover with about 2 pounds of ground beef on top of it (use no more than 4 pounds of ground beef at a time).

Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes, slowly releasing the pressure at the end.

In less than 30 minutes, you’ll have perfectly cooked ground beef to use in a wide variety of recipes.

2. Pressure cooker

Much like the Instant Pot, a pressure cooker uses trapped steam to cook quickly.

You’ll want to use a similar method to the Instant Pot, placing 1-2 pounds of frozen ground beef on a steaming rack and cooking on high heat for about 25 minutes.

Be sure to include a slow release of pressure at the end.

For a super quick and delicious dinner, simply cook pasta and heat up your favorite brand of pasta sauce. You will have an easy and delicious pasta bolognese in less than half an hour.

3. Sous Vide

Another extremely easy way to cook frozen ground beef hands-free is with the sous vide method. You just have to take the minced meat out of the freezer, put it in water, turn on the sous vide and voila!

For this method, it is important to make sure that the minced meat is in an airtight bag.

Any Ziplock freezer bag will do, but if you have special sous vide vacuum seal bags, now would be the time to use them.

Be sure to completely submerge the bag in water before cooking.

When you sous vide meat that’s still frozen, you’ll need to cook it about 60 minutes longer than its normal cooking time.

Typically, thawed ground beef cooks under vacuum for one hour at 137 degrees F, so for frozen ground beef, keep the same temperature but add 60 minutes, bringing the total cook time to 2 hours.

Once the minced meat is ready, you have dozens of creative ways to serve it. Make some pepperoni cheese steak roll-ups or use as a pizza topping to make a cheeseburger pizza.

4. Kitchen

Although people most often cook thawed mince on the stove, there’s no problem cooking it from frozen!

Although it may take a little longer and require a different method, cooking frozen ground beef on the stove is one of the best ways to cook frozen ground beef.

Take your frozen ground beef and put it in a pan with about an inch of water, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.

When the water starts to boil, the meat will start to brown on the outside. Gradually peel off the golden layer, exposing the uncooked pink layer on the inside.

As it evaporates, add more water, always making sure the bottom of the pan is covered. Place a lid on the pan, removing it to break up the browned mince every few minutes.

Once only a small piece of frozen mince remains, add some aromatic vegetables, such as onion, garlic and celery, and allow the water to evaporate (at this point, the juices from the vegetables will help keep the moisture in of meat).

Once the minced meat is soft enough to separate completely, break it up with a spatula and stir, making sure all sides brown and cook evenly.

This method is great for a variety of dishes, such as Sloppy Joes or as a topping for mac and cheese. Get creative and make a taco pizza with a hot sauce and a mix of Mexican cheeses.

5. Air Fryer

Believe it or not, you can even cook frozen ground beef in an air fryer! Although not the most popular method, cooking frozen ground beef in an air fryer can give you great results, especially if the ground beef is shaped like a patty.

Put the frozen burgers in the fryer basket and close the lid.

Cook at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, or until meat is completely browned. This is a quick and hassle-free way to make frozen burgers.

Just keep in mind that preparing frozen burgers in the air fryer will give different results than grilling them. They may not be as juicy and won’t have the grill marks that some people value in a burger.

6. Oven

Another method, especially suitable for cooking frozen burgers, is to cook frozen minced meat in the oven.

Just preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a baking sheet.

Spread the burgers on the tray and cook them for about an hour, or until they are completely done.

To prevent the burger from sticking, place a piece of aluminum foil under it before baking it.

7. On the grill

Do you have a barbecue and have you forgotten to defrost the hamburgers? You do not have to worry! Although it is normal (and ideal) to grill them after they have been thawed, burgers can also be grilled frozen.

To do this, preheat the grill to medium heat for at least 10 minutes, making sure it is fully preheated before placing the frozen patties.

Flip the burgers every 3-5 minutes, cooking them for at least 20 minutes (this will ensure the burgers cook evenly on both sides).

To make sure your burgers are fully cooked, use a meat thermometer, making sure the internal temperature has reached at least 160 degrees F.

The worst ways to cook frozen minced meat

1. Crock Pot/Slow Cooker

Cooking frozen minced meat in a slow cooker is a tricky topic. Putting a big block of frozen ground beef in a slow cooker is not a good idea at all.

Slow cooking time can encourage bacteria growth, and because of its density, the ground beef block can stay in a dangerous temperature zone, between 40 and 140 degrees F, for an extended period of time.

This could lead to salmonella growth, and we wouldn’t want that to happen.

However, if your frozen mince has already been cooked (in the case of frozen meatballs, for example), you can safely cook it in a slow cooker without worrying about food safety issues.

To make delicious and easy slow cooker meatballs, toss some precooked frozen meatballs into a slow cooker with chopped onion and barbecue sauce.

Cook on high heat for 2.5 hours or on low heat for 4 hours. Serve them over mashed potatoes and you’ll have an easy and delicious dinner on the table with very little effort.

2. In the microwave

Although the microwave is a suitable method for thawing minced meat, you definitely should not cook minced meat in it.

The minced meat has to be golden brown, something that cannot be achieved by cooking in the microwave.

To defrost ground beef in the microwave, remove it from its packaging and place it on a microwave-safe plate.

Microwave the ground beef on medium power for 3 minutes per pound, making sure to turn it every minute or so to ensure even cooking on each side.

Questions Related to Frozen Minced Meat

Read on to find out more about frozen ground beef. We hope to answer all your questions when you read the full article.

What is the best way to thaw frozen ground beef?

There are several ways to thaw frozen ground beef, and the best one for you just depends on how much time you have.

The quickest way to thaw frozen ground beef is in the microwave, which is the method we’ve described above. The microwave method should only take up to five minutes.

However, if you are not in a hurry, there are other methods you can try.

If you don’t need to cook the minced meat for a couple of hours, just transfer it from the freezer to the fridge, and it will defrost in a few hours.

You can thaw frozen ground beef in the fridge 1-2 days before you cook it, so if you’re a planner, take it out of the freezer the day before you plan to cook it. This way you make sure it thaws on time.

Another method of thawing frozen ground beef is in cold water. Put the minced meat in an airtight plastic bag and submerge it in cold water.

You should change the water every 30 minutes, making sure it never gets too hot, and cook the minced meat immediately after it thaws.

Can frozen meat be browned?

As you can see, it is possible to cook minced meat in the oven from the freezer, browning it in the process.

However, there are certain recipes that call for browning the ground beef directly in a slow cooker or Dutch oven, in which case using already thawed ground beef would be ideal.

Does ground beef taste better if you cook it thawed instead of frozen?

Depending on the recipe you want to make and the method you use, minced meat tastes just as good cooked frozen as it did thawed.

However, there are some important considerations to keep in mind.

Since you can’t season ground beef when it’s frozen, be sure to season it sufficiently after cooking.

Since most frozen ground beef needs to be cooked in water, if you are adding it to a sauce, be sure to cook it a bit in the sauce so that it takes on some of the flavors.