I would boil it, if I were you.
Lisa

I don't like "boiled beef"...I would do it in a large fry pan....3 pounds of ground beef really isn't all that much.
I suppose you could do it in the oven, you could spread it on a cookie sheed and put it into a 375 or so oven....and stir and break it up avery 5 minutes....should be done in 20 minutes...but I think it would be a lot easier in a fry pan. When I make a big pot of spaghetti sauce....I have the meat browning while I am chopping onions and opening cans of tomatoes and getting the spices from the cabinet etc....
Linda C

If you put three pounds of ground beef in a frying pan, it will end up "boiling" or steaming, anyway. You would have to do it in batches.
Doing it in the oven would be way too work intensive because, as Linda said, you would have to stir it so much to get it broken up.
Lisa

Doing it in a fry pan is what I am trying to avoid, because it still needs to be done in batches.

I have the meat and it needs to be cooked today, but I am not making my sauce until tomorrow. Need to go to the store first. Otherwise, I'd do it like Linda does, and the batches don't bother me.

I can put the meat in a large roasting pan in the oven tho, all at once.

Can that large roasting pan go on your stove top? That's what I'd do..roasting pan on stove top..

I have a family size skillet that does 3lbs pretty easily..

For sure you can use a roasting pan in the oven. I wouldn't for some other dishes but given it is destined for spaghetti sauce it really just needs to get cooked.

PS MY Mom used to cook it from raw in her sauce!

"Mom used to cook it from raw in her sauce!"

Ewwwww. I know it's still cooked, but still! I have often thought about that, since my sauce simmers for hours, but I just cannot bring myself to try it. I guess it's like thinking that roast beef and hot fudge sauce don't go together, but you might have both in the same meal, it all winds up in the same place. LOL!

I can do more in a huge fry pan that I have, I just do not like to crowd things in a skillet, and a little more than a pound is all I like doing at once. I like space in the pan to push it all around, and to avoid boiling it, as Lisa said.

Try spreading the meat out on your broiler pan. That way all the fat will drip underneath. Then, just bake it in the oven.

I have a big fry pan...14 inches easily does 3 pounds of meat.
And if you don't have one that big....steaming isn't a problem.
And I always used to put the raw meat in my sauce when I had my own 98% lean beef....
The only reason I brown the meat first is to get rid of the grease.
I very often makes auce with meat other than ground beef...like a pork steak or a chunk of sirloin and i put that in my huge LeCruset and while I am chopping the onions and peppers it is browning, but it soon becomes part of the sauce.
Fairgold, you need a bigger fry pan...a wonderful excuse to go shopping!
Linda C

I have a 14" pan. And I think that I still like a lot more room to move it around. I really don't like 3# in that pan.

Isn't it funny how we do things differently?

I'd do it in a 13x9 cake pan.

It can be hard to tell how much liquid ground beef might liberate while browning and I'd be worried about it swamping a cookie sheet (half-sheet pan).

I was going to use a roasting pan with 2" deep sides, a bit bigger than 13x9.

Will let you know how it works later today.

I brown ground beef in the oven at 425F spread out in a large roasting pan. After 8 or 10 minutes I break it up further, turning it over as much as I can, and pour off any grease, then continue to roast until it is done. If more grease has cooked out, I drain beef in colander briefly.

This is a great item to have in freezer. I usualy fill one quart containers 3/4 full with meat, then pour canned stewed tomatoes on top to help cool and keep moist, then place in fridge overnight, then in freezer if not needed until later. You can add garlic, celery and onions but I usually wait on these and other seasoning until I finish off the sauce later. The 1 quart containers are a good size for this 2-person household, plus they thaw/reheat quickly in microwave.

I also start hamburger patties under broiler then switch to 425-450 oven for further cooking. And meatballs...same system. For these I check with meat thermometer to be sure they've reached 160F. The patties I wrap individually and then place in container or ziplock. Meatballs I cover with beef broth or stewed tomatoes...dependent on what I plan to use them for.

josh

Glad to hear it was that easy. I'll keep that in mind!