Who doesn’t like to save time and money, especially when it comes to cooking? Certainly, common strategies save time or money. Take, for example, driving through a fast-food restaurant or buying prepared foods to save time; or purchasing unprocessed ingredients, like beans, rice, and flour, to save money. In these examples, either time or money is sacrificed for the sake of the other. Batch cooking, however, is a strategy that accomplishes both.
Batch cooking is the practice of cooking large amounts (or batches) of a type of food at one time and keeping some to eat at later meals. Another way to think of it is “intentional leftovers.” Batch cooking could be used for lots of different foods – ingredients, full meals, desserts, snacks. In this article, we will demonstrate an example of batch cooking meat as an ingredient to use in future meals.
Save Money and Time
When purchasing meat, it is most likely to see the cost per-pound decrease as the unit size increases. For example, at the time of writing this article, the price of one pound of 80/20 ground beef from a regional grocery chain is $4.79, but three pounds is $13.69 ($4.56 per pound), a savings of $0.23 per pound. Other times, there may be a sale on meat that makes us want to buy enough to last a while, so we aren’t back in the store a week later encountering higher prices. Batch cooking helps us find a use for the larger quantity, saving money in the long run.
Batch cooking allows us to cook once and eat many times. Cooking is reduced to just one occasion, as opposed to once per-meal, at least for the ingredient that is batch cooked ahead of time.
Ways to Batch Cook Protein
Ground and pulled meat and poultry, such as pork, chicken, turkey, beef, or bison are some of the most-versatile protein sources, which makes them great for batch cooking. Cooking ground meat only takes about twenty minutes from start to finish on the stove top. Remember to drain and rinse the fat before using, especially if the meat has a high fat content.
Pulled meats, such as those from a roast or breast, may take several hours to cook, but they have more options for cooking methods, such as the oven, crock pot, stove top, or instant pot, and they are mostly hands-off.
Recipe Ideas
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Pulled Meat: Here are some ideas to use pulled meats after batch cooking. Typically, about one pound of meat is used in a recipe and can serve about four people.
- Sandwiches: Add your choice of sauce and toppings, like barbeque and pickles, and serve on a whole-wheat bun.
- Burrito Bowls: Heat and mix with brown rice, leafy greens, roasted vegetables, beans, and sauce.
- Tostadas: Top a tostada shell with meat and your choice of other sauce or toppings, like refried beans, veggies, and cheese.
- Nachos: Toss chips onto a baking sheet. Top with meat, cheese, and your choice of veggies, or beans. Bake until warm and enjoy with your toppings of choice.
- Pizza: Use as a topping on homemade pizza or add to store-bought pizza for extra protein.
- Soups: Cook into a variety of soup recipes for added flavor and sustenance.
- Casseroles: Mix with sauce, veggies, cheese, and a whole grain and bake together.
Ground Meat: Many of the recipes for pulled meats could be used with ground meats. See Freeze Now, Eat Later! Freezer Meal Workshop for a shopping list and recipes, including marinara meat sauce (to be used for lasagna, baked ziti, and zesty chili), homemade taco helper, tex-mex enchiladas, and orange teriyaki chicken.
Food Safety
The USDA recommends using cooked leftovers within three to four days when stored in a refrigerator. They must be reheated to 165 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds before eating. Quality decreases with each re-heating.
If it will not be used within four days, cooked meats will last in the freezer indefinitely, but they are of best quality for about three months. Foods should be cooled and refrigerated within two hours of cooking or reheating.
Sources
- Batch Cooking, Cambridge Dictionary.
- Ask USDA, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
