I’ve been trying to lean toward the higher fat ground beef when buying from the supermarket, but the amount of grease is starting to bug me, and I think I’d be in a better spot going for leaner grinds. Typically grab 75% lean, however I end up soaking a lot of the grease up from the skillet with a paper towel because the patty just swims in it. Even when plated I end up with a nice puddle. I’m feeling like since all that is going to get rendered off anyway, why not go for a leaner grind? 85%? 90%? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
What fat content do you go for in ground beef?
jeremystorie
(Jeremy Storie)
#2
The lower the fat content the drier the burger. My wife tends to buy the leaner meat and I’ll only use it for taco meat. If I use it for a patty it’s just not juicy enough.
Teresa_Driver
(Teresa Driver)
#3
I like 80/20 hamburger. Enough fat for flavor, not so much that it’s floating on top.
dukeman
#5
I just find it funny people pay more money for less fat, to me it’s a scam, although you have to factor in CAFO meat having more toxin stored in the fat.
I just go for grassfed ground beef and sometimes bison, higher fat percentage the better.
collaroygal
(KCKO, KCFO)
#7
I prefer bison to beef burgers. So I get the 90% fat free that is readily available near me. I put bacon grease in the pan to cook the burgers if cooking indoors. If outside. I like to put a nub of cheese and an egg with some onion and spices inside the burger before it is grilled up makes for a very juicy and tasty burger.
jamestorie
(James storie)
#10
It depends, I like to mix 73/27 raw with raw eggs and cook like regular ground beef. The eggs soak up most of the fat. You can’t even tell the final product has egg, it just looks like extra fluffy beef!
Dread1840
(Chris)
#11
I appreciate all the responses, folks. Thanks!
James I think I like your solution the best, I’ll start adding eggs. I love fat, I don’t love eating grease excessively though. Eggs are in, thanks!
jamestorie
(James storie)
#12
I did a meal prep, 5# ground beef and 18 eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper. Made 5 hearty meals!
kreb
(jay)
#13
I go 70/30 it comes in big nasty extruded plastic tubes and it is very cheap, a factor which always gives me a warm happy feeling inside. 
Sardelle
(Sardelle)
#14
I prefer the 75/25 ground beef from the US Wellness guys, but if I haven’t got any in the freezer, I get whatever grass-fed stuff is at the store – it’s usually 85/15.
I’m not sure why the fat would be rendered off and not used. Make that into a sauce! 
I usually throw some taco seasoning (careful if you get the packets as some have a silly amount of carbs from rice flour or maltodextrin) or a small amount of olive-oil based spaghetti sauce (also watch carbs from the tomatoes and avoid kinds with sugar) into my hamburger, so it’s easy to just keep the fat mixed in. I’ve also dumped some bone broth into the fat and sautéed it with veggies. As long as it’s grass-fed meat, that’s some good fat to use. 
Jodi
(Jodi)
#15
I need to try this for my son, trying to find ways to sneak in some eggs for choline!
Emacfarland
(Erin Macfarland )
#18
I work for a local food co op and I get all my pasture raised meat for free (!) I love the belted Galloway beef one of our farmers raises but it’s a bit leaner than I like so I add tallow to it to up the flavor and fat content.
jamestorie
(James storie)
#19
I got the idea from a zero carb video I saw on YouTube. It was a casserole that used the same method. I just tried it a different way to see if it worked and loved it!
Ketoteak
(Kate)
#20
We buy 2 star mince from Aldi (in Australia). So it is very fatty and so much cheaper than the leaner. My mum picked up a leaner one the other day by mistake and you could tell the difference in taste. It was much blander. Maybe my family is just so used to the fattier kind’s taste but we all noticed the difference.