Draining cooked beef to reduce fat?

[cirquelovers]

I have a turkey baster which I use for getting the fat out of my cooked hamburger. I always have a can next to my sink to pour fats and such in, so they don't clog the drain. I find it much easier than dragging out the colander every time!

 

[grumpy28]

GoogleDietician says that a pound of 90/10 beef produces about 12 ounces of cooked meat, and a pound of 80/20 beef produces about 10 ounces of cooked / blotted / rinsed meat. If you pay 17% more for 90/10, the 80/20 is cheaper. Even if those numbers are really 13 and 9 (more in favor of lean), a 30% price differential means you come out ahead with cheap meat.

The USDA (http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/lm_xb459.txt) says the current (sales within 21 days of 8/3/07) wholesale price for a 10lb chub is:
Ground Beef 73% 99.94
Ground Beef 75% 108.39
Ground Beef 81% 113.55
Ground Beef 85% 140.76
Ground Beef 90% 157.59
Ground Beef 93% 173.49

That makes 90/10 about 38% more expensive than 81/19 is, at the wholesale level. So you'd need a store that was willing to sell 90/10 at a significantly lower profit margin than they get on 80/20 to come out ahead buying 90/10.

WOW! Your my hero with all those stats!

 

[carcam51]

I've stopped using ground meat and have replaced it with ground turkey. It's so much tastier and my kids love it. You can't even tell the difference!

 

[1of6]

I buy 93% fat free and still drain it. I can't imagine not doing so. I pour mine right down the drain and follow with hot water. I've been doing that for 20 years and have never had a clog, but I also don't have a septic, and wouldn't do so if I did.

Anne

This is what I have always done. I also send a squirt of Dawn down before and after the fat.

 

[clh2]

I buy 93% fat free and still drain it. I can't imagine not doing so. I pour mine right down the drain and follow with hot water. I've been doing that for 20 years and have never had a clog, but I also don't have a septic, and wouldn't do so if I did.

Anne

We do have a septic system, and like Ducklite mentioned - we wouldn't dream of draining it down the drain. We always keep our old coolwhip containers, deli containers, butter tubs etc for draining the ground beef into.

 

[jennilouwho]

I have a turkey baster which I use for getting the fat out of my cooked hamburger. I always have a can next to my sink to pour fats and such in, so they don't clog the drain. I find it much easier than dragging out the colander every time!

I never thought of that! Thanks!

 

[grlpwrd]

GoogleDietician says that a pound of 90/10 beef produces about 12 ounces of cooked meat, and a pound of 80/20 beef produces about 10 ounces of cooked / blotted / rinsed meat. If you pay 17% more for 90/10, the 80/20 is cheaper. Even if those numbers are really 13 and 9 (more in favor of lean), a 30% price differential means you come out ahead with cheap meat.

The USDA (http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/lm_xb459.txt) says the current (sales within 21 days of 8/3/07) wholesale price for a 10lb chub is:
Ground Beef 73% 99.94
Ground Beef 75% 108.39
Ground Beef 81% 113.55
Ground Beef 85% 140.76
Ground Beef 90% 157.59
Ground Beef 93% 173.49

That makes 90/10 about 38% more expensive than 81/19 is, at the wholesale level. So you'd need a store that was willing to sell 90/10 at a significantly lower profit margin than they get on 80/20 to come out ahead buying 90/10.

Yes, thanks for those statistics.

We don't eat ground beef, but I know in my circle of online friends who are frugal and health conscious there are many who drain their beef.

Not to be rude, but I don't get it... the residual saturated fat is still bad and yes, the grease is bad for the pipes and septic systems. It just seems counterproductive and impractical, kwim?

 

[Keli]

Wow, until this thread I had no idea there was anyone who did not drain their ground beef after frying it. Seems like it would make every meal greasy.
I have switched to using a lot of ground turkey though because I've found I really like it in several dishes. Not much to drain from ground turkey but I do put it in the collander and rinse it and blot it anyway. Old habits die hard I guess.

 

[RumpleMom]

I always cook ground beef in the microwave.

Pyrex has a round glass dish with a lid that has a collinder insert. It is the best thing!! It is easy to lift out the insert full of meat and dump the grease, put the meat in the glass dish continue cooking a little longer and add spaghetti sauce, then the dish goes straight to the table for serving.

It sure saves getting my stove top splattered with grease too.

 

[DisneyPhD]

I drain ground beef no matter what the percentage. I spoon it into old glass jars (usually spaghetti sauce or jelly jars) and when they get full, put them in the trash. That way, there is no gunking up my drain pipes.

We always drain ours to. It never occurred to me that people don't. We just tip the pan to the side and spoon out most of it, the same way that HM does. Putting it in a colidaner would be too much work and I think putting water on it or boiling it would take away the taste too much. A small amount of fat is fine, just a small amount is all you need.

 

[RangerPooh]

I always drain my meat and wouldn't think of doing anything else. But people not draining their meat might explain why some food is really greasy and makes me sick. We've always drained the grease into an old pie pan, let it cool and either toss it or scrape it out and clean the pan.

 

[grumpy28]

I drain my meat too. Never used a cloander though- usually just put a lid on, pick up pan, and tilt into a can. My original question was whether buying 80/20 cheap meat, then draining/rinsing/blotting ect.., would make it equavalent to 93/7. Many people post on frugal type threads that buying cheap meat (like 80/20) is fine as long as you drain, rinse ect.. I had never heard of rinsing meat before, so I was trying to find out if it made a difference.

 

[RangerPooh]

Maybe it's me, but when I buy a cheaper (fattier) ground beef I can taste a diference in quality. Maybe more of the fat content can be removed by cooking, draining, rinsing, cooking, and draining again?

 

[shortbun]

I recently consulted with a dietician because of a health issue. She said draining highly fatted meat does not change the fat content for your health. She said I should buy the 95% lean then cook and drain. I've been buying 93% anyway and it's hard to find 95% without asking to have it ground on the spot. Thankfully, we rarely eat red meat as it is, let alone ground.