Draining fat off hamburger - yay or nay?

#21

I’ve been following Maria Emmerich’s books more closely and her instruction is to not add fat. So if you can drain it go ahead and do so. But this is really only a concern for those interested in weight loss. www.mariamindbodyhealth.com
If you haven’t tried her recipes yet YOU ARE MISSING OUT! Girl knows how to make delicious Keto recipes. Start with her Protein Noodle Lasagna!!! You. Will. Not. Be. Disappointed.

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #22

I don’t generally cook ground beef but I do save my many jars of bacon grease in the fridge. When I’ve accumulated way too much I let it get soft, mix with bird seed and store it in the freezer in ice cube trays and throw them out to my chilly bird friends.

(Diane) #23

I don’t understand how this can happen. :yum:

#24

If its organic beef I keep it, set fat aside and cook with it later. If its not organic I chuck it away.
I replace fat from cooked meats (usually after I’ve air fried) with some oils I think are tasty and healthy… either EV Olive oil or Hemp oil or Avocado. Or organic butter. And I really like using the fat to cook later.

Because I know humans store toxins in body fat (to prevent them being in circulation) I’m edgy about eating animal fat if its not organic. Specially since I am eating truckloads of fat/oil.

Fish I always fry in butter or grill and add butter afterwards.

Recently I’m enjoying spinach leaves fried in fat from beef I’ve cooked.

(PSackmann) #25

For things like tacos, I use the fat from the ground beef instead of adding water with the seasonings. I also make my own mix and it seems to absorb more liquid. For burgers and such, I try to saute salad greens or something in the pan after cooking.

(Little Miss Scare-All) #26

I’ve not drained it and thought, “Oh this will be soooo decadent and satisfying”, but in reality, it was several trips to the bathroom in close succession.

Other times I’ve drained it and ended up with something resembling brown sawdust.

There is a middle ground. Drain half of it?

#27

If it’s grass fed, I eat it; if it’s basic commercial, I drain it.

(Allan Misner) #28

I typically only buy grass fed, so I leave it in there. And I’ve been known to throw in a tablespoon of butter or bacon grease to up my fat to protein ratio.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #29

You can always turn the pan juices into gravy, don’t forget.

(Little Miss Scare-All) #30

I did this with Kobe beef strips I bought this weekend. Sauteed up onions and peppers, added my beef, took errthang out and put a pad of butter and some heavy cream. Reduced it just a little and it was freakin awesome.

Waste not, want not!

(I came for the weight loss and stayed for my sanity... ) #31

I keep it either in the cooked meat or I use it to cook something else (veggies for example)
but recently when I have leftovers I really like the chilled meat with the hardened fat around it straight out of the fridge, like savory chocolate…

Call me gross, or call me hardcore keto :joy::joy:… either way, I wont toss it

(Bunny) #32

I save the precious saturated hamburger grease for later (refrigerate it) and cook something else with it, I try not to drain too much off!

(Laura) #33

Grass fed or Kobe, I keep and do not drain. Anything else, I give to the cats.

(Jennifer) #34

For me, it depends. If it’s so greasy that it’s going to make the integrity of the recipe suffer, I drain. But many times, I’ll keep the fat, and saute my aromatics in it. If I make a chili (for example), I will brown the beef first, then scoop out the beef with a slotted spoon, then use the remaining grease to saute the onions, pepper, and seasonings. It helps keep the fat while reducing the big oil globules that rise to the top, and might make for an unpleasant mouth feel.

(Christiana) #35

I eat all the grease from all the meats. In fact, if I’m lucky enough to get an extra fatty batch of ground beef, I eat the grease first with a spoon and then eat the leaner/meatier parts to fill up the rest of my meal. I do remember when I first started this WOE I couldn’t stomach that, but as the years have gone by I crave fat more and more.

(I came for the weight loss and stayed for my sanity... ) #36

Yeeesss hardcore keto sister! Love that! :sunglasses::fist_right::fist_left:

(Christiana) #37

You know it! <3

(David Fox) #38

Excellent idea PetaMarie… making suet for birds.

(David Fox) #39

I made hamburgers with the kids this evening and put the pan grease on some keto bread… like butter.