I hate to admit it, but I ate a large amount of processed, half-prepared meals as a kid. My parents often worked late, which meant Kraft mac and cheese, Stove Top stuffing, and Hamburger Helper were on regular rotation as we children were left to fend for ourselves.
Watching episode four of the latest season of “The Bear” took me right back to those moments when my older siblings would teach me how to make boxed comfort foods taste better. A pat of butter here, a splodge of ketchup there, et voilà, fine dining as I knew it.
In the episode, Chef Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri) prepares Hamburger Helper for TJ, her cousin’s teenage daughter, giving the familiar shelf-stable meal a few cheffy touches while dissecting sticky life scenarios, such as sleepovers — both real and proverbial — and in the end, sating both their hunger and pangs for connection.
A tasty upgrade
The box instructions say to brown ground beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat, then drain the excess fat. After that, Sydney goes off script. She dices half a yellow onion and sautés it with the drained beef until softened. Then adds a couple tablespoons of double-concentrated tomato paste “to deepen the flavors and make it taste like it didn’t come out of a box,” she explains. She also substitutes some of the milk called for with heavy cream for a richer sauce. As another flavor boost, she enlists TJ’s help to grate fresh cheese and stir it into the final dish.
To give the creamy pasta some textural contrast, Sydney toasts up some panko breadcrumbs in the oven (presumably to scatter on top). Toss about a cup of breadcrumbs with a tablespoon of neutral oil and half a teaspoon of kosher salt. Spread the crumbs out on a baking sheet and toast in a 400-degree oven for 5 minutes, until golden brown.
Finally, she minces up fresh parsley to sprinkle on top. This may seem optional, but the herb really helps to brighten up the dish and make it taste gourmet.
My honest review
It looked like something I’d expect to be served at a restaurant — or proudly offer to guests at my own table. And once I dug in, it was every bit as satisfying: deeply savory and beefy, creamy and comforting. The tomato paste brought a hit of umami and mellowed the artificial yellow from the powdered cheese, making the dish look more natural. The real cheese added a tangy edge, but it was the parsley and panko that were my favorite additions, adding a fresh, green note and satisfying crunch.
Is it as good as a pasta sauce made completely from scratch? No. But it’s not meant to be. As in the episode, the meal isn’t delicious enough to distract from the meatier topic at hand: sleepovers and how to handle complicated relationships. Its point is to make your loved ones feel full and content in a pinch, and on that note, it succeeds.
Tips for making this ground beef pasta
- Use a bigger pan. A larger 12-inch pan would also make your life easier, as the Hamburger Helper crowds the smaller skillet. Sydney opts for an enameled Dutch oven.
- Buy fattier beef. The box says to use lean ground beef, but any chef worth her salt would opt for a fattier grind, like 80/20 chuck, for more flavor.
- Drain fat with paper towels. There is no need to transfer the ground beef from the pan. Simply push it to one side and tilt the pan so the grease pools on one side. Then use paper towels to sop it up and toss it in the garbage.
- Caramelize the tomato paste. After adding this ingredient, take the time to cook it, making sure it browns and incorporates itself into the other ingredients, before adding the liquid.
- Substitute some cream. The box calls for 1 1/4 cups of water and 2 cups of milk. Swap in half a cup of cream for some of the milk to make the sauce richer. Alternatively, you can use only water and cream, but adjust the ratio so you’re using more water than dairy, like 2 1/4 cups water to 1 cup cream.
- Add real cheese. There are many iterations of Hamburger Helper, and the right cheese depends on the box you’re cooking. The classic cheeseburger flavor does well with 1 to 2 cups of aged white cheddar. The green label boxes, like the Italian and lasagna variations, tend to go better with 1 cup of Parmesan.
(Perry Santanachote is a contributor to TheKitchn.com, a nationally known blog for people who love food and home cooking. Submit any comments or questions to editorial@thekitchn.com.)