Does Fattier Ground Beef Taste Better

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01-09-2014, 03:44 PM

Location: Chicago 1,802 posts, read 1,954,816 times Reputation: 4482

I'm getting into cooking more and was wondering if more expensive ground beef really does taste better. I'm used to buying store brand ground beef. I bought some ground beef from Jewel today and it said it was 96 percent lean, but it still didn't taste quite right to me. Do I have to buy grass fed beef from Whole Foods in order for it to taste good? Is there any way to get good quality meat without spending a fortune?

01-09-2014, 04:18 PM

Dirt Grinder Location: Heart of Dixie 12,442 posts, read 13,336,297 times Reputation: 28361

I prefer the taste of ground turkey with a bit of Marmite added to make it more savory and add "umami."

01-09-2014, 04:22 PM

19,600 posts, read 27,501,354 times Reputation: 38581

here's the beef...on burger the leaner it is,,,the dryer it is,,,you need a little fat for flavor 85% lean in the best selling burger in the country,,, ground beef -what you buy , depends where you buy it,,,i repeat, what you buy for "ground beef" depends where you buy it.. for example,, go back 40 years ago,,,all grocery stores would grind trimming (from steaks and roasts - and call it , ground round, for the leanest (approx. 90% (some places may have displayed ground sirloin, but not many) ground chuck (approx 85% lean ) and then the fattiest-ground beef,,,the most economical grade (around 75-80% lean) now years ago,,,sides of beef of rails were delivered to the stores, so alot more trim was generated.. so a burger was on sale every week, and it was cheap (comparably) about 30 years ago,,,,the wind changed- the usda wanted the supermarkets to display lean-ness percentages and not descriptions like ground round and ground chuck (because some chuck trimmings were in ground round,, so the supermarkets was required to buy a "fat analyzer" or burger tester- a contraption that would essentially cook 1 oz of the raw burger- the juice and fat would drip in a test tube,,then you measure the fat on the top,,and this would show you the lean ness of this batch of burger well, this was wayyy too much labor for the supermarkets..so they started buying "tube" burger, these were/are pre-processed 10lb tube stock that the fat content is pre-determined) so the store only had to grind it twice and package it-didnt have to test the lean-ness.. most supermarkets still do this- sell pre-determined tube burger,,,thats why when there is a recall, the batches are huge, places like wal-mart has no butchers on site,,so there burger comes in gas-flushed- you dont know where it comes from. a traditional sipermarket today that may have 4-5 different %'s like 75/25 80/20 85/15/ 90/10 95/5 usually only one of those %'s is made from real bench trimmings (85%) the best place to buy burger is from a butcher shop, or independent iga store,,, those stores intentionally do NOT use gas flushed or tube burger-they still call it ground chuck or ground round.. the other option you have is ,,,when a chuck roast or bottom round roast goes on sale,, ring the bell and ask them to grind it for you,,if they dont,,, then dont shop them anymore if you want LEAN burger, then buy a top round steak, eye round steak, round tip steak, and again,,ask them to grind it,,,when on sale,,it will be cheaper,, the other suggestion is to buy the 2000 watt electric grinders on ebay (around 100.00) and grind it yourself,,, i have one of these grinders and do this,,,also when bnls chicken breasts come on sale for 1.89lb,,ill buy some for ground chicken and chicken meatloaf.. and chicken sausage.. simply put,,,, the leaner you buy,,,the dryer it is more fatty burger has more flavor... also , say you bought some burger yesterday , and today you went to make some patties and noticed it is dark in the middle,,,,,your mind starts going,,thinking it is spoiled,,,why is it dark in the middle?? the reason for this is called oxidation,,,, its red (bloomed) on the outside because oxygen has hit the surface area- inside there's no oxygen so the burger reverts back to its natural color,, so it is NOT spoiled in the least same as pricking a vein in your wrist...the blood comes out purple,,then turns red,,,when the oxygen hits it.. also,,beware of "grass fed burger" if you are not use to grass fed beef, it will have a strange odor and taste to you,,,much more gamey... sour flavor most all cattle has been grass-fed, then fed corn/grain for the last 2-3 months) to marble it up for flavor "grass fed" means ...straight grass, no corn/grain (it actually should say "grass-finished") also be aware that just because it is ground turkey, doesnt mean it is leaner,,,,look for the % i buy boneless turkey breast and tenders for 2.50lb and grind it myself,,, ground turkey breast in the stores are over 5.00

01-09-2014, 04:28 PM

Location: Middle America 37,414 posts, read 49,310,672 times Reputation: 52891

Depends on your tastes, which are probably going to be more dependent upon fat content than price point, which can vary. 96% lean is going to lack a lot of the flavorful fat and juices. As for ground turkey, I do NOT like the flavor of that, AT ALL, thankyouverymuch. Nor the texture. I will use it, but generally only in contexts where the flavor and texture are going to be superceded by other ingredients (in chili, mixed in with beef when making meatloaf or meatballs). Ground turkey is decent enough for stretching more costly beef.

01-09-2014, 04:37 PM

Dirt Grinder Location: Heart of Dixie 12,442 posts, read 13,336,297 times Reputation: 28361

Quote: Originally Posted by TabulaRasa ...As for ground turkey, I do NOT like the flavor of that, AT ALL, thankyouverymuch. Nor the texture... We use ground turkey exclusively, but not the lean ground. When folks come over to eat and we serve tacos, lasagna, cottage pie, chili, etc. - no one can tell that it's turkey, you just have to know what you're doing (Marmite) . As for ground beef, I do NOT like the flavor AT ALL.

01-09-2014, 04:38 PM

brienzi Location: Northeast 1,886 posts, read 2,040,507 times Reputation: 3757

Agree you have to have some fat in the burger for the flavor. The supermarket i always go to does butcher on site for yeah. I'm always on the lookout for deals and frequently buy a chuck roast (i inspect to make sure it has some fat, most chuck roast do) on sale and have em grind it into ground beef. I then make 10-15 burgers and put them in the freezer in zip lock bags. I save a few bucks, and get a tasty burger made to the size i want.. So no, expensive ground beef doesn't taste better..

01-09-2014, 04:40 PM

Location: Middle America 37,414 posts, read 49,310,672 times Reputation: 52891

I also find both Marmite and Vegemite repellent, so there's that, too, unfortunately. I'm using turkey for taco meat tonight, and it'll do, but I can't abide turkey burgers, etc. It requires some other flavoring to mask the turkey-ness.

01-09-2014, 05:03 PM

Location: Chicago 1,802 posts, read 1,954,816 times Reputation: 4482

Quote: Originally Posted by mainebrokerman here's the beef...on burger the leaner it is,,,the dryer it is,,,you need a little fat for flavor 85% lean in the best selling burger in the country,,, ground beef -what you buy , depends where you buy it,,,i repeat, what you buy for "ground beef" depends where you buy it.. for example,, go back 40 years ago,,,all grocery stores would grind trimming (from steaks and roasts - and call it , ground round, for the leanest (approx. 90% (some places may have displayed ground sirloin, but not many) ground chuck (approx 85% lean ) and then the fattiest-ground beef,,,the most economical grade (around 75-80% lean) now years ago,,,sides of beef of rails were delivered to the stores, so alot more trim was generated.. so a burger was on sale every week, and it was cheap (comparably) about 30 years ago,,,,the wind changed- the usda wanted the supermarkets to display lean-ness percentages and not descriptions like ground round and ground chuck (because some chuck trimmings were in ground round,, so the supermarkets was required to buy a "fat analyzer" or burger tester- a contraption that would essentially cook 1 oz of the raw burger- the juice and fat would drip in a test tube,,then you measure the fat on the top,,and this would show you the lean ness of this batch of burger well, this was wayyy too much labor for the supermarkets..so they started buying "tube" burger, these were/are pre-processed 10lb tube stock that the fat content is pre-determined) so the store only had to grind it twice and package it-didnt have to test the lean-ness.. most supermarkets still do this- sell pre-determined tube burger,,,thats why when there is a recall, the batches are huge, places like wal-mart has no butchers on site,,so there burger comes in gas-flushed- you dont know where it comes from. a traditional sipermarket today that may have 4-5 different %'s like 75/25 80/20 85/15/ 90/10 95/5 usually only one of those %'s is made from real bench trimmings (85%) the best place to buy burger is from a butcher shop, or independent iga store,,, those stores intentionally do NOT use gas flushed or tube burger-they still call it ground chuck or ground round.. the other option you have is ,,,when a chuck roast or bottom round roast goes on sale,, ring the bell and ask them to grind it for you,,if they dont,,, then dont shop them anymore if you want LEAN burger, then buy a top round steak, eye round steak, round tip steak, and again,,ask them to grind it,,,when on sale,,it will be cheaper,, the other suggestion is to buy the 2000 watt electric grinders on ebay (around 100.00) and grind it yourself,,, i have one of these grinders and do this,,,also when bnls chicken breasts come on sale for 1.89lb,,ill buy some for ground chicken and chicken meatloaf.. and chicken sausage.. simply put,,,, the leaner you buy,,,the dryer it is more fatty burger has more flavor... also , say you bought some burger yesterday , and today you went to make some patties and noticed it is dark in the middle,,,,,your mind starts going,,thinking it is spoiled,,,why is it dark in the middle?? the reason for this is called oxidation,,,, its red (bloomed) on the outside because oxygen has hit the surface area- inside there's no oxygen so the burger reverts back to its natural color,, so it is NOT spoiled in the least same as pricking a vein in your wrist...the blood comes out purple,,then turns red,,,when the oxygen hits it.. also,,beware of "grass fed burger" if you are not use to grass fed beef, it will have a strange odor and taste to you,,,much more gamey... sour flavor most all cattle has been grass-fed, then fed corn/grain for the last 2-3 months) to marble it up for flavor "grass fed" means ...straight grass, no corn/grain (it actually should say "grass-finished") also be aware that just because it is ground turkey, doesnt mean it is leaner,,,,look for the % i buy boneless turkey breast and tenders for 2.50lb and grind it myself,,, ground turkey breast in the stores are over 5.00 Thanks for all the information. I didn't realize that really lean beef lacks flavor.. I thought it was the other way around. I'm just concerned about the hormones and antibiotics in meats.

01-09-2014, 05:08 PM

Location: Chicago 1,802 posts, read 1,954,816 times Reputation: 4482

Quote: Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder We use ground turkey exclusively, but not the lean ground. When folks come over to eat and we serve tacos, lasagna, cottage pie, chili, etc. - no one can tell that it's turkey, you just have to know what you're doing (Marmite) . As for ground beef, I do NOT like the flavor AT ALL. That's interesting.. so you think ground turkey tastes similar to beef? Do you find that it's cheaper?

01-09-2014, 05:18 PM

lubby Location: Islip,NY 19,812 posts, read 25,206,820 times Reputation: 22326

Quote: Originally Posted by TabulaRasa Depends on your tastes, which are probably going to be more dependent upon fat content than price point, which can vary. 96% lean is going to lack a lot of the flavorful fat and juices. As for ground turkey, I do NOT like the flavor of that, AT ALL, thankyouverymuch. Nor the texture. I will use it, but generally only in contexts where the flavor and texture are going to be superceded by other ingredients (in chili, mixed in with beef when making meatloaf or meatballs). Ground turkey is decent enough for stretching more costly beef. Neither do I. I like roasted Turkey but not ground. I only use 80/20 ground beef and there is a difference to me between the ones in the store and the kind you get from a really good butcher shop.

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