What on Earth is Walmart Ground Beef Made From?

(Joey) #9

I’ve found the occasional bargain in the meat cooler at Walmart… e.g., a choice rib-eye or NY steak that is “best by” tomorrow’s date for $3 to $5 off per lb… the butcher there is probably nervous it won’t sell in time and they’ll soon get nothing for it.

So I pick it up and - surprise - for the price of hamburger of unspecified pedigree we have a nice slab of steak for dinner that night on short notice. :cut_of_meat:

Of course it’s hard to tinker with a slab of unprocessed beef like that. Their ground beef can be more of a challenge.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #10

I saw @dlc96_darren post some bargain hamburger that had soy added recently. Ground beef used to be just that. Apparently you need to read the label now for ground beef. :rage:

#11

I got duped a few times in my stores, as well, who knows what they put in those pre-packaged grinds. Now I just go the butcher’s part (when I buy from the store) and ask him to grind it fresh in front of me.

I was so disappointed a few days ago…kajmak is a delicious Balkan spread made from cream and salt. A very well-known local and respected dairy company makes it and I usually went for theirs. My MiL brought it home for dinner and I don’t know what made me look at the ingredients - butter, milk, milk protein and corn starch!! They shouldn’t call that kajmak!

(Full Metal KETO AF) #12

I had a chance to look up the allowable margin of error on food labeling in the USA. 20% is the standard. So I’m guessing a fat percentage of 20% could be anywhere from 16-24%? :cowboy_hat_face:

(Murphy Kismet) #13

Ahh, so make it easier for the machinery but fuck the people’s “ease”. Figures, industry would think of itself first. Hmm, almost like it’s sentient…:thinking:

(Jack Bennett) #14

Gotta get some engine oil on those grinder gears :frowning::cow::gear:

#15

We have to order ground beef and pork sausage from a food supplier for work and it comes in those 3 or 5lb chubs…I always mentally gag when I have to prepare it for clients because it is definitely not something I would make for them if I had a choice. Seems to be so much added water in it, and there’s no real flavor and just doesn’t look good at all…

#16

I never noticed that, used to buy the chubs of Wally meat all the time, never bought the (normal) stuff in the foam/plastic wrap but didn’t catch it doing that. Wife’s a die hard Wegmans person now and literally won’t walk into Walmart anymore. I’ll have to go grab one and do a side to side in the name of science of course.

(Ken) #17

To offer a generalization about beef packing, when you buy a pre made chub of ground beef it has come from a plant that processes cows and other older animals. Ground beef is not graded, so older animal are OK to use. It’s just a matter of fat content. This is not offered as a detraction, as the meat from more mature animals can be more flavorfull, so fine for ground beef. Chances are the meat came from dairy cows or cows from cow-calf operations and were never sent to a feedlot. That means they’ve probably not been fattened before slaughter. That’s where the question of additions comes in as far as fats and fillers, you have to read the label. However, binders and fillers are usually a very small amount, but can be much higher in products made for commercial and institutional use, rather than sale direct to the consumer.

Some stores make their own ground beef. The local Iowa Fareway chain does that, and since they only handle Choice Grade, including the cuts used for ground beef, the quality is higher.

(Windmill Tilter) #18

This is a good point. My 3lb chub (I just learned that term I’ve been dying to use it) has nearly a pint of pure fat. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where a pint of fat isn’t going to leave a good sized pool of fat in my dutch oven.

Another variable worth considering is the amount of water present. The lean portion of the meat is still 90% water. I know with chicken that they inject salt and water up to something like 10% by weight to increase profitability. It’s possible the same thing can be done to ground beef.

When I was meticulously tracking calories, I used to cook the hamburger, drain the liquid and separate the liquid in a gravy boat. There was a ton of broth. I’d then weigh out the fat on a food scale and add the same number of fat grams to each portion.

I’d be curious to cook 1lb walmart vs 1lb whole foods hamburger in a sealed container so no liquid could boil off to compare the difference in residual broth and fat.

My guess is that the walmart ground beef woukd have a higher fat content and a higher broth content. It’s hard to imagine walmart could sell 73% hamburger for $2.00/lb without adding extra fat and water.

(Failed) #19

I hear what people are saying about excess fat, but this was different texture- and colo(u)r-wise. Fat rendered out of ground beef is usually not clear and is definitely not as oily as this was.

I’ll be making a batch with Wegman’s 80/20 later this evening and post the results.

(Joey) #20

All new improved Walmart Family Beef® … basted with Mobile1® synthetic W30/5 for patented SMOOOOTH Digestion™!

(Failed) #21

So this is what it looks like when I cook 80/20 Wegmans ground beef.

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It has just as much liquid, but the liquid is yellowish and has particulate matter in it, and is bubbling right along. And when I mix it back in with the meat and actually sticks to the meat.

Unlike the Walmart which kind of slithered out of the meat and just lay there inert and was clear.

Now I’m going to add cheese and stir it all up Yum Yum Yum.

(Susan) #22

I was buying the tubes of meat (for easier storage in the fridge) but I found them to be really gross like this, as well. Our Walmart sells them for $4.50 for the 1 pound tubes and $13 for the 3 pound. I still have some in the freezer that I will use up for the family (but not for me) because I think they must have something in them, as you have all been mentioning above.

I have been eating the rest of my beef from our last meat order (2017). My kids refuse to eat this (as they say it is expired) but to me it tastes great, and there is nothing wrong with it. That meat is grain fed, from beef that were never injected with any steroids, (our friends are strict about this). It is very delicious meat, but I cannot afford to buy it anymore, unfortunately (as they only sell it in quarters or halves). They used to sell me large chickens and eggs back then as well, all amazing tasting, superb quality.

(Failed) #23

I ended up draining off the excess fat anyway, because it wouldn’t mix in with the burger and melted cheese. Next time I’ll buy 9/10 and depend on the cheese for the fat.

Breaking 20 hr fast with this.

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(Susan) #24

I think if we buy the ground beef that is in the packages that the butchers make up instead of the tubes, that that might be okay. I checked the prices of meat at Costco on Friday night, and everything was really expensive. Maybe Costco in the States has better deals on it then our Costco’s in Canada do? I am not sure, but I didn’t find any deals.

(Jack Bennett) #25

At Costco (US), the sealed organic ground beef packs are $20 for 4 lb ($5 / lb). Those are the ones that come in 3 separate packs of 1 1/3 lbs. The frozen 1 lb “chubs” are $2.65 / lb I think. Those prices have been stable for a few years.

(PSackmann) #26

Our local Kroger adds rosemary and other additives to their tray ground beef packages, and nothing to their chubs, so I buy the chubs. It pays to read the labels for anything we buy.

(Bunny) #27

OMG! :scream: That’s the best part, I would have saved it to cook with and eat later!

I always get the fattiest meat I can get and it’s cheaper and the best meat of any meat.

(John) #28

I buy ground beef from a supermarket where it is fresh ground by the butcher shop there on premises. I don’t shop at Wal-Mart myself.