Apr 232015
 

Compare Meat Prices

Which Type of Ground Beef Is The Best Buy?

All ground beef is simply beef that has been put through a grinder to chop it up into small pieces. Originally it was a way to make inexpensive, tough cuts of beef more tender, easier to chew and easier to cook. It saves time too. Tough cuts of meat such as chuck or round, must be boiled or steamed until tender. That can take a couple of hours. Ground beef can be fried in about ten minutes, and is tender enough to eat as soon as it’s done cooking.

A hundred years ago the fat content of ground beef was gauged by the trustworthiness of one’s butcher. Eventually the USDA created standards which require ground beef to have a minimum of 70% lean meat and a maximum of 30% fat. In practice, most markets in the USA have set their own standard of 73% lean and 27% fat. This is usually the most affordable ground beef you can buy. At the time of this writing (April 2015) it costs around $4 per pound in the continental USA.

Over time, health-conscious consumers have requested leaner meats, so leaner types of ground beef have become widely available. As the ratio of fat to lean diminishes, the price of ground beef increases. This is because lean meat costs more than fat. Ground chuck is 80% lean and 20% fat. It costs more than regular ground beef and is ground primarily from beef chuck. Ground round is 85% lean and 15% fat. It’s ground primarily from beef round. Ground sirloin is 90% lean and 10% fat. You can even find ground beef with as little as 5% fat, making it 95% lean. I don’t think it has a special name.

Legally speaking, any ground beef labeled Lean, must have no more than 22% fat. Ground beef labeled Extra Lean must have no more than 15% fat. At the time of this writing, extra lean ground beef costs an average of about $6 per pound in the continental USA. This is $2 (50%) more per pound than regular ground beef. Beef that is even leaner, 10% to 5% fat, averages between $6.50 and $7 per pound. At $3 (75%) more per pound, 95/5 ground beef is the leanest you can buy.

As a consumer I want to know which type of ground beef is the best use of my money. Which is the better buy? Regular ground beef has more fat, but costs less. Lean and extra lean ground beef costs more, but has more lean meat and less fat. Is the extra meat worth the higher cost? Is $2 or $3 more per pound an economy or an extravagance?

Several years ago, in an effort to answer this question, I performed a kitchen experiment. I bought several pounds of ground beef, of varying fat content. Over a period of weeks I cooked, drained and weighed each pound of beef, then recorded it’s weight. At the end of my experiment I compared the cooked, drained weight of each type of beef to determine which version provided the most amount of edible meat for the dollar.

After being cooked and drained, each pound of ground beef weighed the following.

  • Ground Sirloin (93/7) weighed 12-2/3 ounces
  • Ground Round (85/15) weighed 12-ounces
  • Ground Chuck (80/20) weighed 11-1/2 ounces
  • Ground Beef (73/27) weighed 10-2/3 ounces

The difference between the most expensive, 93% lean beef and the most affordable, 73% lean beef, was only 2-ounces! Assuming 4-servings per pound, this is merely half an ounce difference per serving. My question became, is 1/2-ounce more meat per serving worth an extra $3-per pound?

For me and my family, it most decidedly is not. Half an ounce of meat does not make or break my dinner table. I will choose the lower priced option every time when the only thing at stake is half an ounce per serving. For us regular ground beef, with 70/30 or 73/27 lean to fat ratio, is the most economical choice.

Ground Beef

“But Miss Maggie!” You may be thinking. “What about all of that fat! You can’t expect me to feed my family all of that fat. It will give them  heart disease and obesity.”

Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered.

The truth is, most of us do not eat the fat that cooks out of ground beef. If we grill, the fat drains off while it cooks. If we fry it in a skillet, we routinely drain that fat off, into a handy coffee can, and dispose of it responsibly. Most of that fat does not get eaten.

drainingmeat

Even after draining off the fat, regular cooked ground beef may still be fattier than you prefer. In this case you will want to take the time to rinse the ground beef in hot water, to remove even more of the fat. The vitamins and minerals are unaffected for the most part. Only the calories and fat content are changed.

It’s a simple process. First fry up a pound of ground beef the way you normally do. Break it up into small bits as it fries. When it’s evenly browned, pour off the excess fat into a handy can. Do not drain it into the sink or it will clog your pipes. Plumbers cost more than empty coffee cans, so dispose of your fat responsibly.

After pouring off the fat place your ground beef into a colander or strainer in your sink. Run hot water over the beef, rising off any remaining fat. Rinse out your skillet too. Allow the beef to drain briefly and then return it to the skillet. Add any onions and seasonings at this time. Continue on as you normally do.

Balanced Budget

According to the Canadian based Beef Information Centre, and their document Canadianized Ground Beef, the nutritional information for 100-grams (about 3.5-ounces) of raw ground beef that has been fried and drained is as follows.

  • 90% Lean/10% Fat: 149 calories, 6.9 grams of fat
  • 83% Lean/17% Fat: 168 calories, 9.9 grams of fat
  • 77% Lean/23% Fat: 184 calories, 11.6 grams of fat
  • 70% Lean/30% Fat: 189 calories, 13.1 grams of Fat
  • 70% Lean/30% Fat which has been drained and rinsed: 155 calories, 9.4 grams of fat

As you can see from these numbers, 70/30 ground beef, after draining and rinsing, has a nutritional profile quite similar to 90/10 ground beef. Drained and rinsed ground beef has 6 more calories and 2.5 more grams of fat per serving. It’s even superior to lean ground round.

I live in southwestern Virginia, in an area often noted for it’s moderate cost of living. In my area, in April of 2015, I can buy 5 pound tubes of 73/27 ground beef for $17.67. This works out to be $3.53 per pound. According to my weight data above, an ounce of cooked regular ground beef costs me about 33¢.

Extra lean, 93/7 ground beef costs $6.19 per pound. An ounce of cooked extra lean ground beef costs me about 49¢.

Clearly, regular ground beef is the winner, providing more lean meat for the money, even with its initially higher fat content.

If you are willing to drain and rinse your ground beef, there is no reason to spend more for leaner cuts. You can purchase the most affordable ground beef and still maintain all of your dietary needs, while keeping a firm grip on your food budget.

After reading this article, take a little while to digest the information. At first it’s kind of hard to believe. We’ve been indoctrinated to believe that if we want to be healthy, or lose weight that we must buy the leanest and most expensive ground beef available. If you are not willing to take the time to drain and rinse your ground beef, this may be true. True tightwads among us though, understand that doing a little bit of work ourselves, greatly reduces the cost of many consumer goods. In many cases, it improves the quality too. Ground beef is simply another tally on the long list of things we can do to save our hard earned cash, if we’re willing to put in a little extra effort. The process of rinsing ground beef, and then washing the strainer in hot soapy water, literally adds about 1-minute of prep-time to making dinner. Seeing as it saves me $2 to $3, I am more than willing to take the extra time to drain and rinse my ground beef so it can be as health-giving as possible for my family.

Tightwad

  14 Responses to “Ground Beef–What’s the Best Buy?”

  1. Leave a little bit of the fat in the meat by not rinsing it. The fat is where most of the flavor comes from. If you are going to rinse off every speck of fat, then cook tofu instead.

  2. Lol Muriel. I am dearly fond of tofu, but admit it’s not quite the same texture as ground beef. Thanks for the tip. Fat does indeed add flavor. Too much of a good thing, however, just adds to my waistline. *shakes head sadly at belly* 😉

    • *sighs at her own big belly,* an entire tablespoon of fat is still only 100 calories though, and I seriously doubt there would be even that much still clinging to the meat after draining it carefully… and it will be divided between servings as well. Frankly, I would rather spend some time on my exercycle or in the pool than give up that flavor.

      • I have heard from other readers in the past who share the same sentiments, so you’re not alone in your preferences. The lovely thing about home cooking is that we can each take the measures that work best for our own circumstances and tastes.

        Simply draining the fat does indeed reduce some calories, you’re correct. Rinsing the beef in water saves an additional 34 calories and just under 4 grams of fat, or about the equivalent of a teaspoon of fat per serving. For many people, that teaspoon of fat is more than worth the calories because of what it adds in flavor.

        For some people an extra teaspoon of fat won’t matter a great deal. Indeed, now that I’ve done the math, I’m not certain it matters so much to me. Still, it’s an option for those who need their ground beef to be as lean as possible and cannot afford the more expensive, leaner grinds.

        • Sincerely pissed off at my butcher , I have never had to drain the fat off of my own home grown hamburger, always had a great steak flavor to it , this last animal I had butchered is more like 60 – 40 GROSS , I can’t even take it back because it was my beef?

  3. I am so excited to find this post. I have been debating back and forth with myself on which ground beef to buy. Because I’m about to purchase 40 lb of ground beef from Zaycon fresh… I have ordered from them before and loved it… It is Super Fresh and a lot cheaper than the grocery stores. And even though the prices have changed since your post thankfully they’ve dropped… The science behind the fat content has not changed. 80/20 is my go too when I can get it for $2.99 in the store on sale… I grew up with the cheapest…fattiest kind….73/27…but we ALWAYS drained the fat…never rinsed though. All my friends seemed to always get the “better beef” and even now as an adult it seems the same still… They say there is no need to drain….but me my self… Even with lean beef I still find myself draining….if it separated from the meat…I just pour it off! Anyhow….there seems to be some debating on others that the 93/7 is to dry… But I think for my family I may just order the 80/20 at $2.49 lb (with a special code) instead of the 93/7 @ 3.12 lb (lease are some of their lowest prices… Which is one reason why I thought to get the leaner pick because it is cheaper then the usual $3.99…).

    Anyhow….thanks a million! I love saving money!

    • When I did the math I was shocked at how much better a buy the fatty ground beef was, as far as edible meat goes. There is absolutely no reason, either health or economy, to buy the higher priced lean stuff. I’m happy you got the info you needed.

    • That’s funny. I got on this page for the exact same reason as you, Ashley. I was about to place a Zaycon Fresh order, and was trying to decide whether I should pay the extra for the leaner ground beef, or save the money, and go with the 80/20. After reading this, I’ve decided to get the 80/20. Thanks so much for such a great and informative post, Miss Maggie!

  4. Hello from the future! This page still comes up as a top result when searching for answers to the actual ratio of lean meat for the cheaper grind! Actual weights and everything! So thank you! This is just what I was looking for.

    73/27 is quite often on sale for under $3. I just picked up a 3# package for under $2. Too good to pass up. Now that I see the actual math, I should have filled the freezer full!

    • What a great buy! Once I did the actual math it floored me to see how much savings could be had. Leaner beef, especially the super expensive, super lean stuff, is just a way for the manufacturers and stores to profit from our ignorance. Especially if you are willing to drain and rinse your ground beef, the lean stuff is just an excuse to give your money away. I’m glad you enjoyed the article.

  5. I just bought 16 oz (raw) 73% ground beef for $2.99. After I cooked it, it appeared to have greatly reduced in amount so I weighed it and after cooking and draining it came to 8.3 oz. I feel ripped off. That’s like $5.75 per pound cooked. It makes me wonder if it would have been more economical to spend a little for for a lower fat grind and gotten more cooked meat.

    • Well that really stinks. I would take that as evidence that the store or brand of that meat was untrustworthy. Did it weigh a full pound before cooking? When I do testing I weigh before and after cooking so I know exactly the parameters I’m working with.

  6. Mother was a home ec teacher. While she herself bought moderately lean beef, she encouraged folks to pour off some of the largest amount of grease, and then extend it with oats. She thought it made it healthier. But she said the fat made it taste better, so she never bought super lean ground beef…referred to it as tough.

    • Interesting Joy. My grandmother poured off some of the fat, but like your mother, preferred to leave some in for the flavor. For myself calories are the main concern, so I usually drain and rinse.

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