browning ground beef:

Heat a little bit of oil in a pan on Medium-High and throw in the ground beef (or turkey or pork).  I try to break everything up as quickly as possible so I end up with little pieces and not strings or clumps.  A better way would be to break up the meat in its container before you throw it in, but I often don't do it.  

Fry it without a cover (or the meat will toughen) until all the water evaporates and everything is browned.  Ground beef tends to lower-quality meat and therefore is subject to parasites and other nasty beings, so it should be completely browned. 

Drain the beef through a colander or mesh strainer, catching the oil and throwing it away so it doesn't clog up the drain.  If I buy very lean meat, which is a little less moist, sometimes there is so little fat it can just go down the drain.  If I'm making taco meat or something similar, I will drain the meat and then throw it back in the pan and heat it up with the tomato sauce, salt, and spices.  I don't put the tomato sauce in early because I need to be able to see the meat is cooked through.  You don't have to brown the beef first in a slow cooker (like if you're cooking chili or a meat sauce), since it will be cooking for so long, and the beef will most likely be cooked through.