Ground beef, draining fat...

megan_01_18
megan_01_18 Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey all!
I'm confused on the ground beef...if I get a higher fat, say 80/20 ground beef, but I drain all the greasy fat after cooking, can I count it on my diary as a lower % fat ground beef? If so, what do you count it as? 85/15? 90/10? 93/7?

Thanks!
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Replies

  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
    megan_01_18 wrote: »
    Hey all!
    I'm confused on the ground beef...if I get a higher fat, say 80/20 ground beef, but I drain all the greasy fat after cooking, can I count it on my diary as a lower % fat ground beef? If so, what do you count it as? 85/15? 90/10? 93/7?

    Thanks!

    Use the calories for 80/20.
  • mweckler
    mweckler Posts: 623 Member
    Just because you remove some of the fat through cooking, it is still a higher fat content ground beef. Still go by the calories it says on the package, because you are only removing a small amount of the fat when it renders through cooking.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    There's still more fat in the meat than is released, you log it as you bought it. Sorry!

    I bought 80/20 once when it was on sale, and after logging and realizing I only had room for 50g and seeing my sad sad taco I decided to switch away from beef. It isn't worth it to me, cost or calories.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Not what you asked, but. Draining delicious beef fat is a sad, sad practice :s
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Nope - log the meat you actually purchased.
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
    No. That's like logging the 90/10 beef as 0 fat.

    Does anyone NOT drain the fat from ground beef? I mean come on.
  • Wickedfaery73
    Wickedfaery73 Posts: 184 Member
    edited March 2016
    The thought of not draining it makes me queasy... I even drain the little bit that comes out of 93/7
  • jenovatrix
    jenovatrix Posts: 219 Member
    brb_2013 wrote: »
    There's still more fat in the meat than is released, you log it as you bought it. Sorry!

    I bought 80/20 once when it was on sale, and after logging and realizing I only had room for 50g and seeing my sad sad taco I decided to switch away from beef. It isn't worth it to me, cost or calories.

    Nonsense, tacos are never a sad thing! :smiley:

    OP, I don't eat too much ground beef anymore but to be on the safe side I'd stick with 80/20. Always better to overestimate than underestimate, IMO.
  • ForeverSunshine09
    ForeverSunshine09 Posts: 966 Member
    amyrebeccah wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Not what you asked, but. Draining delicious beef fat is a sad, sad practice :s

    I do it sometimes if it seems like it will make the whole recipe too greasy, but what kills me is people who RINSE the meat.

    Rinse the meat? That sounds gross!
  • jenovatrix
    jenovatrix Posts: 219 Member
    Rinsing is also dangerous. Some people grew up thinking you're supposed to rinse chicken but all that does is put loads of bacteria in your sink and wherever else that water might splash.
  • megan_01_18
    megan_01_18 Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks everyone! I LOVE beef, and in recipes that call for it, substituting turkey just doesn't do it for me :( I'll just log what I bought then. I always wondered about this and am glad to see what everyone's input is.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I would log it as 90/10. You aren't going to get all the fat out, but logging fat you don't consume will skew your calories for the day. I would only log what I eat.
  • moe0303
    moe0303 Posts: 934 Member
    I think the usda site might have estimates for cooked ground beef. Google it. That being said, keep in mind that it is all estimates and that logging as raw will give you a buffer of sorts for any variance in the estimates.
  • BlueMacaroniArt
    BlueMacaroniArt Posts: 122 Member
    This is an old link / study but I thought it was interesting. I've wondered the same thing before too. I usually go down a notch like someone said above because i do drain it very well. And I haven't noticed it effecting me in a negative way. But I guess if you like to keep a little wiggle room in your logging, logging it as what it says wouldn't be a bad idea.

    http://foodsafety.wisc.edu/assets/pdf_files/reducing fat in ground beef.pdf

  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    I log it as whatever it is. I usually get 93/7 or 90/10 and drain any excess fat. It's not much difference. Probably makes up for the gum and Tic Tacs I don't bother logging.
  • lfod308
    lfod308 Posts: 31 Member
    The fat is where the flavor is and will satisfy your hunger longer so you eat less.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    meganridenour wrote: »
    No. That's like logging the 90/10 beef as 0 fat.

    Does anyone NOT drain the fat from ground beef? I mean come on.

    You actually do? No no no.
  • sassybutclassy1
    sassybutclassy1 Posts: 5 Member
    Try grass fed ground buffalo/bison - it's 96% fat free, a 4 oz serving is only 125 calories, 4 gms fat, and 25 gms protein and tastes much better than ground beef.
  • Mentali
    Mentali Posts: 352 Member
    sassybutclassy1 wrote: »
    Try grass fed ground buffalo/bison - it's 96% fat free, a 4 oz serving is only 125 calories, 4 gms fat, and 25 gms protein and tastes much better than ground beef.

    Is that something that your grocery store generally stocks? I think if I tried to find that here, I would be laughed out of the store... :p
  • Irishsugar
    Irishsugar Posts: 117 Member
    ForeverSunshine09 wrote: »
    amyrebeccah wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Not what you asked, but. Draining delicious beef fat is a sad, sad practice :s

    I do it sometimes if it seems like it will make the whole recipe too greasy, but what kills me is people who RINSE the meat.

    Rinse the meat? That sounds gross!

    Ummm... Guilty!! Hehe. I don't typically use ground beef but I have had gallbladder issues in the past so when my husband isn't looking I spray it down with a little warm water. He can always tell lol.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    sassybutclassy1 wrote: »
    Try grass fed ground buffalo/bison - it's 96% fat free, a 4 oz serving is only 125 calories, 4 gms fat, and 25 gms protein and tastes much better than ground beef.

    I'm sure that it does, at $10 a pound or something ridiculous...

    Heck even the $8 a pound of 93% beef is too much for me most of the time.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    I do Bison every once in a while its great with grilled egg plant slices for the bun some mushrooms red peppers and a unique cheese Very very good. Typically I can make 4 patties with a pound that stay the same size when cooked so for $20.00 I can make four meals cheaper than fast food and its fun to make.. Another meal is shrimp I get 16-20 size shrimp already cooked tail off 2lbs for $19.00 even if I eat 8 ounces at a time its under $5 a serving.

    Back to the ground beef I try to buy ground beef in the 3-5lb packages split it into three packages and save $2.00 a pound.
  • Ws2016
    Ws2016 Posts: 432 Member
    I think most of what you drain in store bought beef is water. I buy beef by the quarter processed locally and am amazed how little water is in it, how low the shrinkage is.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    Ws2016 wrote: »
    I think most of what you drain in store bought beef is water. I buy beef by the quarter processed locally and am amazed how little water is in it, how low the shrinkage is.

    Less shrinkage with less cold water makes sense.
  • bonforyou
    bonforyou Posts: 22 Member
    If you think rinsing it is bad...I actually boil my raw ground beef to cook it. Then I drain it and rinse it with very hot water! Whatever I cook it in absorbs all the flavor and my husband can't even tell the difference! Figure it takes a bit more fat out, if not that's okay just my way of doing it.

    Grossed out yet?
  • fishshark
    fishshark Posts: 1,886 Member
    edited March 2016
    i must be of the rare few that buys 90/10 mostly ha.
  • bonforyou
    bonforyou Posts: 22 Member
    I normally buy 97/3, but still boil, drain and rinse.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    No, but if you want weigh after cooking and use the cooked entry.

    I buy low fat ground beef when possible, but since I buy from a farm I often have no choice and assume it's a higher fat cut.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    bonforyou wrote: »
    I normally buy 97/3, but still boil, drain and rinse.

    You boil and rinse ground beef?
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    jenovatrix wrote: »
    Rinsing is also dangerous. Some people grew up thinking you're supposed to rinse chicken but all that does is put loads of bacteria in your sink and wherever else that water might splash.

    I think they mean that they rinse the cooked meat to remove excess fat, not rinse the raw meat.

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