I cooked a pound of 81% lean hamburger last night. It was still frozen a little in the center and I crowded the pan, so I set it up for failure.
I sprinkled a heaping 1/4 tsp of baking soda on the meat and mixed it in a little, then let it sit for about 5 or 10 minutes before I cooked it. When I fried it up, a little more fat seemed to render out and a lot less water. I didn't really brown it much, just ate some on a burrito. But I could have browned it w/o having to boil off a bunch of water first. It tastes fine.
Today I finished browning the leftovers with a chopped onion, and made a little pot of chili. (it's still cooking) It did seem to brown more easily. There's a little bit of bitterness that I can't explain and don't like, but that might be from the dried peppers I used, or the onion. I think it will cook out or I can cover it up.
Overall I would say it was a success, but that bitter taste bothers me (it wasn't there last night) so I still have some reservations but it probably wasn't from the soda.