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Anne Murphy

Feeding the Freezer

Brown several pounds of beef cubes and then freeze them. They are ready to drop right into a slow cooker without fuss, but with the delicious flavor.
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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lbs. beef round or chuck or more
  • oil for pan

Method
 

  1. Set a heavy fry pan over heat so that it heats evenly and thoroughly.
  2. Cut the meat into bite sized pieces - the size you want to use in stew, soup, chili, or whatever.
  3. When the pan is heated well, add oil. When the oil shimmers, add beef cubes in a single layer, so that they each sit on the hot pan to sear. Do not crowd the pan.
  4. After 2-3 minutes, when the meat has browned, use a spatula to turn them. Repeat every couple of minutes, still on high heat, until most surfaces have been browned. Remember, you do not want to fully cook the meat - just brown the surface.
  5. Remove beef to a heat proof dish to cool, repeat the process, in several more batches, until done.
  6. Once meat has cooled, package it for the freezer, and freeze. Use later in recipes that call for browning stew meat.

Notes

Pre-browned meat is particularly helpful for slow cooker recipes, since you can set it up in the morning without having to stop, cut and brown the meat, and wash a pan.
Do remember that the meat is not fully cooked - this is intended to simmer in your final recipe, improving the flavor of both meat and sauce.
3 pounds of meat is my suggested minimum - since recipes typically call for a pound or more. It can be well worth it to do this with a whole 7 pound roast, especially if your family (and freezer) is larger than mine.