Avoiding the mess when cooking beef
The fat is in the fire as our tester tries different grease-draining techniques
Whenever I attempt to drain cooked beef from a pan, it’s a hot mess.
I dangerously slop fire-hot grease all over, stain countertops and lose bits of beef on the floor.
Like the infomercials say, “There’s gotta be a better way!”
Sure enough, there are products online that claim to help with the grease-draining process, such as a slew of pot strainers on Amazon that attach to the side of cookware.
But as some reviews suggest, they don’t always work.
Of course, you could just not drain the beef at all — it’ll have the best flavour that way.
But in our calorie-conscious age, it is very important to note that draining the grease from a pan of cooked beef can decrease the calorie count significantly, according to the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
I scoured life-hack websites and cooking-advice blogs for the easiest, safest, most calorie-cutting method with the least amount of cleanup.
Test One: Fork it
The test: Place a regular fork face down with the prongs along the edge of the pan. Fit a lid over the pan so the fork is sticking out, leaving a small space between the pan edge and the lid. The fork is meant to guide the grease out easily into a mug or jar. Allow grease to harden before disposing. The result: This can only be done well with the appropriately sized pan and lid combination.
Like my usual method of tilting the pan with a lid to hold the beef back, this method requires a bit too much precision for my liking.
But the fork does indeed guide the grease along its prongs, which allows for a sturdier grip on the lid. The rating: 7/10
Test Two: Spoon it
The test: Using a spatula, push the cooked beef to one side of the pan and tilt it so the grease pools to one side. Using a spoon, scoop out spoonfuls of grease and dump in a mug or jar. Allow grease to harden before disposing. The result: This method is far too slow. It also requires a certain amount of precision to tilt the pan and keep the beef to one side.
Big spoons can’t quite get under the grease and smaller spoons can’t quite get enough of it.
There’s an urge to just tilt the pan over and dump it. The rating: 5/10
Test Three: Douse and drain it
The test: Place a colander over a bowl and carefully dump the beef from the pan into the colander, allowing it to drain. Remove the first bowl, set aside to harden before disposing. Place a second bowl under the colan- der. Heat a large cup of water in the microwave or boil some in a kettle and let cool for a minute.
Pour the water over the beef and let drain for a minute. Wipe the pan with paper towel and return beef to pan. The result: While it may seem bizarre to pour hot water over ground beef, the trick works. It requires a few more steps than the others, but there is less tilting and balancing of pans required.
The rating: 8/10 Conclusion
There’s no perfect method for draining cooked beef.
If calories are a real concern, then try the water draining method, which easily gets the most grease off the beef. Jonathan Forani is a Toronto-based freelance journalist in search of ways to make everything a little easier. Still looking for a life hack to six-pack abs.