Hello!

I'm a novice at cooking (obviously) but I enjoy doing it and hope to
learn more. In the meantime, I have a pretty basic question about an
extremely simple meal.

When I make burritos, I like to brown the ground beef in a pan with
diced new potatoes and chopped onions. I throw these all in the pan at
once and fry it until the meat is done. The problem is that this stuff
just BARELY fits in my skillet (which I've measure to be 1.5q in size).

Is there any reason why I can't do this in a 2 or 3 quart sauce pan?
As long as I keep stirring, and as long as the beef, potatoes and
onions 'boil' in their own juices, it should cook thoroughly and
eliminate any potential bacterial problems, right?

Thanks

-phaeton

On 19 Oct 2006 10:02:25 -0700, "phaeton" >
wrote:

>I'm a novice at cooking (obviously) but I enjoy doing it and hope to
>learn more. In the meantime, I have a pretty basic question about an
>extremely simple meal.
>
>When I make burritos, I like to brown the ground beef in a pan with
>diced new potatoes and chopped onions. I throw these all in the pan at
>once and fry it until the meat is done. The problem is that this stuff
>just BARELY fits in my skillet (which I've measure to be 1.5q in size).
>
>Is there any reason why I can't do this in a 2 or 3 quart sauce pan?
>As long as I keep stirring, and as long as the beef, potatoes and
>onions 'boil' in their own juices, it should cook thoroughly and
>eliminate any potential bacterial problems, right?

Hi! Welcome!

I brown meat in saucepans all the time when they'll be ingredients in
something like chili. Saves me from washing two pans afterward. Go
for it!

Carol

phaeton wrote:
> Hello!
>
> I'm a novice at cooking (obviously) but I enjoy doing it and hope to
> learn more. In the meantime, I have a pretty basic question about an
> extremely simple meal.
>
> When I make burritos, I like to brown the ground beef in a pan with
> diced new potatoes and chopped onions. I throw these all in the pan at
> once and fry it until the meat is done. The problem is that this stuff
> just BARELY fits in my skillet (which I've measure to be 1.5q in size).
>
> Is there any reason why I can't do this in a 2 or 3 quart sauce pan?
> As long as I keep stirring, and as long as the beef, potatoes and
> onions 'boil' in their own juices, it should cook thoroughly and
> eliminate any potential bacterial problems, right?

A sauce pan is fine for browning meat (I use a brazier), the high sides
save a lot of stove clean up. But you'd do better to brown the meat
first, then add the vegetables. A 2-3 qt sauce pot is kinda teeny for
what your talking about. use something in the 6qt range, you need
surface area to brown meat and room to stir.

Damsel in dis Dress wrote:

> Hi! Welcome!

Thanks!

>
> Saves me from washing two pans afterward. Go
> for it!
>

EXACTLY... Less cleanup

That, and well, for some reason some things just seem to turn out
better when you cook them all together. Just like how when I make
chili (or about anything involving beans) it always turns out better
when I double the recipe. In theory everything should be identically
proportioned and it should end up the same, but in practice something
is different. Science Fiction!

-phaeton

Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
> "phaeton" >

> Brown the beef first and drain the fat
> leaving maybe a tablespoon of the fat, first. Then add the veggies...


Thanks for the replies everyone. Is there any reason why it would be
suboptimal to start the potatoes and onions with the raw meat? That's
how I've always done it, but I see it suggested the other way a couple
of times already ;-)

Thanks!

-phaeton

One time on Usenet, "phaeton" > said:
> Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:

> > Brown the beef first and drain the fat
> > leaving maybe a tablespoon of the fat, first. Then add the veggies...

> Thanks for the replies everyone. Is there any reason why it would be
> suboptimal to start the potatoes and onions with the raw meat? That's
> how I've always done it, but I see it suggested the other way a couple
> of times already ;-)

I think that's only because it makes it harder to get the excess fat
out...

--
"Little Malice" is Jani in WA
~ mom, Trollop, novice cook ~

Little Malice wrote:

> I think that's only because it makes it harder to get the excess fat
> out...
>


Ahh I see. For the record I always use 90% lean beef for just about
everything but burgers (for those I use 1 part ground sirloin mixed
with 1 part ground chorizo). That might be a little too "flavorless"
for some people, but I tend to like my food on the 'bland' side,
believe it or not. Different strokes, all that.

Next time I'll have to brown the meat seperately, then add the vegs,
see how it turns out.

phaeton wrote:
> Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
>> "phaeton" >
>
>> Brown the beef first and drain the fat
>> leaving maybe a tablespoon of the fat, first. Then add the veggies...
>
>
> Thanks for the replies everyone. Is there any reason why it would be
> suboptimal to start the potatoes and onions with the raw meat? That's
> how I've always done it, but I see it suggested the other way a couple
> of times already ;-)
>
Because too much in the pan or pot at once will make everything "steam"
instead of browning it.

Goomba38 wrote:

> Because too much in the pan or pot at once will make everything "steam"
> instead of browning it.

Is that bad, or just different?

:-)

-phaeton

In article . com>,
"phaeton" > wrote:

> Goomba38 wrote:
>
> > Because too much in the pan or pot at once will make everything "steam"
> > instead of browning it.
>
> Is that bad, or just different?
>
> :-)
>
> -phaeton

There are very few positive posts made by Goomba.
She is a very negative person......

So sad. :-(
--
Peace, Om

Remove extra . to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

phaeton wrote:

> Goomba38 wrote:
>
>
>>Because too much in the pan or pot at once will make everything "steam"
>>instead of browning it.
>
>
> Is that bad, or just different?


I'll go with bad.

--
Reg

On Thu, 19 Oct 2006 19:16:40 GMT, Reg > wrote:

>phaeton wrote:
>
>> Goomba38 wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Because too much in the pan or pot at once will make everything "steam"
>>>instead of browning it.
>>
>>
>> Is that bad, or just different?
>
>
>I'll go with bad.

I will go with bad too, especially if you want browned meat. If you
want steamed meat, then it is okay.

Christine

In article . com>,
"phaeton" > wrote:


> Is there any reason why I can't do this in a 2 or 3 quart sauce pan?
> As long as I keep stirring, and as long as the beef, potatoes and
> onions 'boil' in their own juices, it should cook thoroughly and
> eliminate any potential bacterial problems, right?


"Boiling" is such an ugly word when referring to beef. I've seen it
called steaming, which I think sounds much better.

For many dishes, I prefer my hamburger steamed. As others have
suggested, I cook the hamburger separately until the pink is almost gone
before adding the onions and potatoes (often no potatoes, often some
minced garlic). If you like what you are doing now, stick with it.

--
Dan Abel

Petaluma, California, USA

>Well, if a recipe says to "brown" the meat, it usually means to
>partially cook it on high heat so that the outside turns brown.

A wide skillet hastening in evaporating moisture to brown. A
saucepan can't do that.

An alternative to 'browning' in a skillet or saucepan - which I've been
using now for some months - is to place the meat into a large baking
tray and place in a very hot oven (200DegC/400DegF).
After about 10 minutes, move the meat around and/or flip (if using beef
strips for example) and return for another 5 minutes or so.
This works particularly well for beef strips/cubes for casseroles,
stews, even stroganoff.
Added advantage is that the meat becomes more tender through the
roasting.
Have also used this method (as an experiment) for minced beef for
bolognaise sauce. Needed a bit more moving around so as not to create
'clumps' but worked really well.

cheers,

LadyJane
--
"Never trust a skinny cook!"

<Alan > wrote in message
...
> On 19 Oct 2006 12:12:03 -0700, "phaeton" >
> wrote:
>
>>
>>Goomba38 wrote:
>>
>>> Because too much in the pan or pot at once will make everything "steam"
>>> instead of browning it.
>>
>>Is that bad, or just different?
>>
>>:-)
>>
>>-phaeton
>
> Well, if a recipe says to "brown" the meat, it usually means to
> partially cook it on high heat so that the outside turns brown. (Then
> you can finish cooking it at a lower temperature -- by itself, or
> with other goodies.) The browning is done to make the meat flavor
> richer.

This, for me, is the key to good braising, at least for beef.

<Alan > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 21:43:18 -0400, Ward Abbott >
> wrote:
>
>>>Well, if a recipe says to "brown" the meat, it usually means to
>>>partially cook it on high heat so that the outside turns brown.
>>
>>A wide skillet hastening in evaporating moisture to brown. A
>>saucepan can't do that.
>>
> Yeah, if you're going to brown the meat, this is the best
> alternative.
>

Still, I brown beef and pork this way all the time, before I braise.



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

: >> Brown the beef first and drain the fat
: >> leaving maybe a tablespoon of the fat, first. Then add the veggies...


: You can do it that way, if you want.

: However, "browning" the meat is a specific method of cooking it in
: high heat to brown it on the outside (instead of having it just cook
: to grayness).

: This richens the flavor of the meat, and is usually what is at the
: base of the idea of browning the meat.

Exactly! When most people "brown" ground meat, they usually simply cook
it just enough to "gray" it - the majority of home cooks don't actually
brown the meat. They stop cooking it way too soon before the Maillard
reaction happens.

That said, if you add vegetables AFTER the meat is properly browned,
then the meat will have burnt by the time the vegetables are done.
And likewise, if you add quick-cooking vegetables like onions at the
start of the beef cooking, the vegetables will have burnt by the time
the beef is properly browned.

So - start the potatoes and ground beef at the same time since they have
similar cooking times. Once the beef has completely "grayed", then add
the onions. The end result is that all ingredients will end up properly
cooked at the same time.


"browning" DOES NOT MEAN "graying"!!!