Why does ground beef smell bad when cooking?

[gshoemate]

I just made tacos using ground chuck and i'll tell you, I can not stand the smell of it when it is cooking. Does anyone else have this problem? My mom used to use ground beef alot and I never remember it smelling when she cooked it. Maybe I need to go to the meat counter and try it there instead of using the prepackaged.

 

[MsLeFever]

maybe your meat is spoiled?

 

[tar heel]

I think you answered your own question. I think the prepackaged is gross. Exactly what do they put into to give it that long shelf life? It's BOGOF at our store this week, but I won't be buying any.

I'm talking about those tube-shaped packages -- I assume that's what you meant.

I'm not a fan of meats that have sodium solutions added. This means I stay away from most of Walmart's "fresh" meat and those big bags of frozen chicken breasts.

 

[Sparx]

I hate the smell of any meat cooking. Its just nasty. I especially hate the smell of beef.

 

[mommaU4]

We don't use ground beef anymore. When a recipe calls for it I use ground turkey. We've used it in tacos, chili's, meatloaf, whatever and I've never had anyone notice the difference.

 

[gshoemate]

maybe your meat is spoiled?

Nope, just bought it and it has days left before it expires. And it just didn't happen today, I have noticed that it smells bad while cooking for a few years now. I think I will try going to the meat counter for now on, it can't smell any worse.

 

[Christine]

I have noticed it on occasion, but it doesn't happen all the time.

I never buy the tube ground beef but always the stuff from the meat case.

When I buy Laura's Lean ground beef it doesn't seem to bother me as much. Maybe you should try it and see if it works for you.

 

[daisyduck123]

We only buy Laura's Lean Ground Beef & I've never noticed a "bad" smell before.

 

[mum4jenn]

I think it has to do with the blood in the meat cooking but I am not sure because I don't always smell it. I do not remember it smelling when I was a kid either. Maybe the combination of the blood and whatever "other stuff" is in the beef these days.

 

[SDFgirl]

We only buy Laura's Lean Ground Beef & I've never noticed a "bad" smell before.

I LOVE Laura's Lean. That's all we buy. I think it's worth the extra money.

 

[hdecker]

I never had a problem with ground beef - until I got pregnant the 3rd time. It's been 14 years now and I still cannot stand the smell of cooking meat. Has to be something in it they added around that time.

 

[crazee4mickey]

Can't stand the smell....I'm not a big meat eater and the smell of cooking ground beef just about makes me throw up! I do a lot of gagging...sometimes DH feels sorry for me and will take over which is so nice...YUCK!! It's just soooo gross!

 

[Denine]

I don't use much ground beef, but I think it is the blood.

I would never buy the pre-packaged stuff. That is why I won't shop at Tops anymore. That is all they sell. They got rid of their butchers.

 

[siouxi31]

I know the smell you're taking about and I don't like it either. My daughter is a vegetarian so I made tacos for her using Smart Ground. The only difference in the end is that it's too salty if you use the same seasoning that you'd use with ground beef. I have to lighten the seasoning when using Smart Ground. There's no bad smell either.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I think that the posters who have mentioned what is ADDED to the beef are correct. I am especially sensitive to that 'solution', and I HATE the smell.

I started using Laura's Lean... NO additives...
Now I buy my ground beef at Food City. Fresh Ground every day, with NO solution added. It is excellent!

One more tip.

Do NOT buy ground chuck. YUCK!!! Just that cut of meat alone seems to have that 'smell'. I can always smell that distinctive smell when a chuck-roast is cooking.

Go for the GROUND ROUND!!!!
I will never buy chuck, or prepackaged beef ever again... NEVER.

Try it... You'll see!!!

 

[Alaska Catdog]

We buy our meat at Costco, they seem to have the best around here, then we grind it ourselves with the kitchenaid attachment. It's hard to go back to preground meat after that.

 

[LoveWDW]

I don't like the smell of beef cooking either. For ground beef try cooking chopped onions with it if the recipe will work out- the smell is more palatable (sp?). I use lean ground turkey instead of ground beef usually. I think it does have a different taste than ground beef, but the ground turkey tastes good- just different.

 

[disykat]

I never had a problem with ground beef - until I got pregnant the 3rd time. It's been 14 years now and I still cannot stand the smell of cooking meat. Has to be something in it they added around that time.

My first thought when I saw the post was - is she pregnant? That's when ground beef started bothering me.

 

[mum4jenn]

My first thought when I saw the post was - is she pregnant? That's when ground beef started bothering me.

Back when I was pregnant with dd I could not stand to be around any raw meat. It was hard to get away from it because I worked at a grocer store at the time(Publix) and at times I had to run a register. I had to run to the bathroom a couple of times in the middle of ringing someone up because they bought a bunch of meat....that and/or that Campbells soup in the jar(IT looked like throw-up in a jar) Also we lived near a Winn-Dixie that was being remodeled at the time and the fish smell was so bad I could not even walk in that store. That was when dh started doing all the grocery shopping!!

 

[Abbie]

I know the smell you mean, but we've beaten it around here by sprinkling the meat with garlic salt while browning it. MUCH better!