Lean ground beef vs Regular
me_ona_diet
Posts: 71 Member
I just had a thought, looking at the hamburger pic in another thread... Do you all use regular ground beef or lean?
I've always bought lean ground because I've found that regular is too greasy, but I'm also wondering if it's just a holdover from the low fat mentality, and maybe I should switch back to regular?
I've always bought lean ground because I've found that regular is too greasy, but I'm also wondering if it's just a holdover from the low fat mentality, and maybe I should switch back to regular?
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I go out of my way to get fattier ground beef. At least 80/20 but often 75/25.0
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I have changed from lean to regular. Regarding burgers how often do you think they use 'fillers'? I ask if we are eating out but often the staff have no idea. Same goes for sausages and hotdogs???0
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I think it happens once in a while at restaurants, but not to a huge amount. I don't stress about that any more than I stress about them using sugar in a dry run run, when I eat out. You can't control or worry about every possible carb sneaking in.0
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The paradigm shift isn't easy at first. Switching to fattier (word?) Cuts of meat is a whole new way of thinking.0
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I've already found that I prefer the dark meat of poultry to the white, because it's got so much more flavour and isn't as dry. The ground beef thing didn't even register though until someone said something about fattier meat, and I was like, hey! I could probably switch to the regular - it's usually a bit cheaper even
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Yes, it's cheaper. Some say they don't save money on this woe. But, I say I do. I guess when the pocketbook is used to paying for the leaner cuts it becomes a savings. Still nice to have a quicker grocery store run without having to go aisle to aisle looking for boxes and bags of faux food!:-)0
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Lol, its amazing how fast the shopping trips are these days much to hubbys delight!! Doesnt it make you marvel at how many of the foods must by default, be carbs and how much people eat and therefore spend on them. Lets not even mention all those 'special diet foods' all the CICO people spend so much on! Butchery, chilled and veggies and we are done!0
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We've been buying at least 80/20 or fattier, but I wonder if it is really the best bang for your buck. I browned 3 pounds of 75/25 the other week and weighed it after I drained it, the result being only 2 pounds of ground beef. 1/3 of the price lost in water and rendered fat. So that leads me to wonder if leaner ground beef makes more sense, but then adding back in fats afterwards (i.e. mayo, sour cream, butter, etc).0
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ChairmanWow wrote: »We've been buying at least 80/20 or fattier, but I wonder if it is really the best bang for your buck. I browned 3 pounds of 75/25 the other week and weighed it after I drained it, the result being only 2 pounds of ground beef. 1/3 of the price lost in water and rendered fat. So that leads me to wonder if leaner ground beef makes more sense, but then adding back in fats afterwards (i.e. mayo, sour cream, butter, etc).
Well, there's your problem.0 -
ha! C'mon! I don't want to eat taco flavored ground beef soup. 0
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We use ground turkey because its cheaper here. I have to add fat back in, though. Usually with mayo or cheese.0
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ChairmanWow wrote: »ha! C'mon! I don't want to eat taco flavored ground beef soup.
Not draining it makes the best tacos. Just ground beef and taco seasoning, delicious.0 -
Not draining away the fat makes the best everything.
I prefer 75/25 because I don't need even more protein or the calorie savings from leaner ground beef. I would just have to add less flavorful fat back to my meal to make up for the lost calories anyway.0 -
ChairmanWow wrote: »We've been buying at least 80/20 or fattier, but I wonder if it is really the best bang for your buck. I browned 3 pounds of 75/25 the other week and weighed it after I drained it, the result being only 2 pounds of ground beef. 1/3 of the price lost in water and rendered fat. So that leads me to wonder if leaner ground beef makes more sense, but then adding back in fats afterwards (i.e. mayo, sour cream, butter, etc).
Pour/Cook veggies in the meat fat... SO GOOD! or even as a salad dressing!0 -
New here. I usually go for a super lean 99% ground turkey breast. Why is more fat in the ground beef better?0
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raulvarelajr wrote: »New here. I usually go for a super lean 99% ground turkey breast. Why is more fat in the ground beef better?
Because you need fat in your diet in order to absorb nutrients, have enough energy (protein is not fuel, so when you reduce carbs, you have to increase fat), and otherwise remain healthy.
And food tastes better when there's more fat.0 -
We use 80/20 ground beef, though I did have to admit, it made the messiest taco meat the other night. For burgers though, there is no comparison, 80/20 is awesome!0
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I buy the lower fat kind as the fattier cheaper one here is gristly and chewy. I just cook the lean in butter and it's plenty fstty enough.0
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Even 80/20 ground beef is getting pricy, at 4.29-4.59$/lb here. Ground beef is supposed to be cheap!0
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It depends on your recipe. If you're making soup, and you don't want a greasy soup, use lower fat ground beef. I try using a slotted spoon to remove the browned meat into a bowl and using some of the fat rendered to brown my aromatic veggies, but it still might be necessary to drain off fat. Unless you're adding something that absorbs the fat in your recipe (like canned pumpkin or mushrooms).
Meatloaf is the same way. If you add ingredients that absorb the excess fat, like minced mushrooms or a bit of almond meal, you get a meatloaf that is moist and tasty. If you don't add these things, the fat just renders out of the meatloaf. You can save the suet to use in another recipe, but it usually ends up just sitting in my refrigerator for an ungodly amount of time because I tend to use bacon grease, lard, ghee or coconut oil much more often.0 -
I was wondering how much volume I might lose with a higher fat ground, didn't think about cooking with the fat though. I need to start saving my bacon grease!0
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I save the beef fat, but I haven't used it for anything for human consumption. My dog, however, is feeling very spoiled. Do you all save it just like bacon grease? I strain my bacon grease through a coffee filter to remove any of the little bacon pebbles. Not because I'm opposed to bacon pebbles but just because I had read that rancidity is much slower if you strain first. Does anyone do that with the beef fat?0
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How long do people keep their bacon etc fat? Do you refrigerate?0
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I buy the fattier one. It's a LOT cheaper here - half the price and it tastes a lot better too.0
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I never drain my burger meat. The greasy beef soup is the best. Sometimes I'll let it chill a bit, so the fat is thicker and easier to get all of.
Bacon fat, I pour into a jar and refrigerate. I haven't been going through as much of it as normal because I have been grilling a lot more often. But, I cook with it whenever I put anything on the stove in a pan.0 -
ChairmanWow wrote: »We've been buying at least 80/20 or fattier, but I wonder if it is really the best bang for your buck. I browned 3 pounds of 75/25 the other week and weighed it after I drained it, the result being only 2 pounds of ground beef. 1/3 of the price lost in water and rendered fat. So that leads me to wonder if leaner ground beef makes more sense, but then adding back in fats afterwards (i.e. mayo, sour cream, butter, etc).
I drain mine out a bit when making taco meat and stuff when it is more brown than pink. The rest that renders out becomes part of the taco sauce! I find that when I use 73/27 (which is mostly all I buy anymore unless I catch something else on better sale), the 1/2 ratio is a bit much for me and my fiance who is not LCHF... So I do the "half drain" and it works out well.0 -
Nope, I still cannot get past the extra crap in there (like the gristle *shudder*) and it has to be at least 80/20... and that is usually for grilling or meatloaf. I tend to buy grass fed beef (local) or ground bison, which are all very lean. I just use bacon grease to cook it all in and it has a great taste, too.
We have lots of bacon grease. Because my kitchen has been staying warm (back door), I have started to refrigerate it again.0 -
yeswehave8 wrote: »Nope, I still cannot get past the extra crap in there (like the gristle *shudder*) and it has to be at least 80/20... and that is usually for grilling or meatloaf. I tend to buy grass fed beef (local) or ground bison, which are all very lean. I just use bacon grease to cook it all in and it has a great taste, too.
We have lots of bacon grease. Because my kitchen has been staying warm (back door), I have started to refrigerate it again.
Yeah, if I could get my hands on affordable grass fed and local products, I'd be right there with you!
But I don't know what it is anymore, but I don't have the gristle or anything like it when I buy the ten pound bulk I buy regularly...0 -
If I have to drain the meat, as for tacos or what cooks out of meatballs, I always save what's left. It's not exactly water, you're getting a pretty nicely flavoured light beef broth out of it that is fabulous when you just add it to other recipes. It never lasts more than a few days in the fridge so I don't worry about straining or anything, the sediment always drops to the bottom and I am left with creamy white fat on top of the broth. I love sautéing vegetables in beef fat more than bacon fat because I think the taste is richer and (gasp) I am not always up for bacon flavour unless it's #$&*(# BACON FLAVOUR. No wimpy bacon flavours for me!0
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This is an old picture, and it has melted cheese mixed in, but that's how I like my grease. Totally undrained. Makes for an awesome meal. LOL0
