Many casserole dishes call for browned or cooked ground beef as an ingredient, and it is nearly impossible to convert a recipe calling for cooked beef to one starting with raw hamburger. But it makes little sense to heat up the stove to cook the beef,and then just use the solar oven to finish heating up a meal. Although it takes a bit of watching and stirring, hamburger can be browned in the solar oven.
Browning Ground Beef in a Solar Oven
Start with a pound of ground beef. Break into small chunks or pieces. Place the broken up beef into a pot suitable for the solar oven. I placed a collapsible steamer basket inside of my pot so that I could easily lift the browned beef out of the juices and grease.
Cover the pot and place into a pre-heated solar oven. I used a Solavore Sport solar oven. After about 30 minutes, stir the beef, break up the chunks, and continue cooking. Continue stirring the beef about every 20 -30 minutes, until done. Drain the grease from the beef (or lift out the steamer basket).
Every time the solar cooker is opened, it will lose 25 – 50 degrees F of heat. So you don’t want to open too often, but you also need to keep it stirred and keep breaking up the clumps. Keeping the solar cooker facing into the sun will help it regain the heat it has lost. The amount of time to cook will depend on the type of solar oven you are using, the weather, and how hot the cooker gets. For more information, see How Long Does It Take to Cook in a Solar Oven.
The perfect ground beef is ready to be added to any casserole, tacos, sloppy Joes, etc.
Very good idea and instructions. Thanks for sharing. That steamer basket is a very clever idea, that’s for sure. Come visit when you can.