Want a new way to store hamburger meat? Have you ever dehydrated it? It’s called hamburger rocks and has been very helpful for me. I have more room in the freezer and the meat is safe if the power goes out for very long. This also allows me to buy more hamburger meat when I find it on sale and still be able to store it relatively long-term.
Divide the hamburger into approximately 1 lb. sections. Fry one pound at a time until it’s brown. Drain the grease off and rinse under hot water in a colander to get as much grease off as possible. We want as little grease as possible left on the meat.
Line each tray of your dehydrator with parchment paper. I put one pound of browned hamburger on each tray in my round dehydrator. Set the temperature at 135° and dry at least 12 hours. To test, I break open the largest piece I can find to verify it’s dry in the middle. Now you’ll understand why it’s called hamburger rocks.
Put each tray in a clean pint jar. Make sure it’s dry. If you have a vacuum sealer with a lid attachment, just seal it up. If not, put an oxygen absorber packet in the jar with the rocks and close it tightly.
To use them, pour the jar of hamburger rocks in your pan and add about ¾ of the jar of water. Put a lid on and turn the fire fairly low. I tend to put dried spices and onions in at this point. Leave it about 10 minutes. Looks and tastes like fresh hamburger. Just add the rest of the ingredients for what you are making.