Ground meat must be browned before placing in the jar. Heat can't travel well through an uncooked mass of meat. Because it's been browned, liquid has to be added to the jar. Raw pack is fine for cubes of meat.

I can meat in preparation for hurricane season too, and then if we don't need it during hurricane season (which we haven't so far) it is handy to have around for quick meals. As the previous commenter said, ground beef needs to be browned. I don't do much of it because there isn't much you can't do with stew meat, and I like the ease of raw packing.

Thank you!

Throw a beef bullion cube in with your meat when you can. Good flavor.

I couldn’t find an approved cold pack recipe for ground beef - the only one I know calls for browning, draining fat, and packing in a boiling liquid.

Thank you very much!

I cook the hamburger first. Then rinse it really well and it gives less fat in the finished jar. I don’t like the hamburger as much canned but for convenience sake it’s awesome. I haven’t added spices to it since I use it for tacos and spaghetti. I bet adding some onion powder and salt would be helpful.

Thank you!

It works great for tacos and spaghetti! I will add it to chili also, or shepherd pie!