What’s Your Beef? What You Need to Know About Ground Meat

Many times we take for granted the red-headed stepchild of the cow family: ground beef. Everyone’s mouths water over a prime rib or a bacon-wrapped filet mignon, but ground beef is easy on the budget and versatile in the kitchen.

There are several different types of ground beef, and each has its own benefits. These are ground beef, chuck, sirloin and round. We see the packages side by side in the store, but how many people actually know that difference? The main difference is where the beef comes from.

Regular ground beef comes from the underbelly of the cow, which is also where you find brisket. This meat tends to be more grisly and fatty. This is usually the most inexpensive meat, because it’s of lesser quality. Packages usually come in terms of fat content. When a ground beef package says 80/20 ground beef, it means 80 percent meat and 20 percent fat. It doesn’t have the best flavor and isn’t that healthy for you, but it is the least expensive.

Ground chuck is the most popular of the ground beefs, because of its mix of flavor and price. While more expensive than regular ground beef, it comes from the shoulder and neck area of the cow. Ground chuck also tends to have a lot of fat, but also a lot of flavor. It basically blows regular ground beef out of the water. It’s more expensive than ground beef, but not by much. You may end up paying an extra couple of dollars, but your burgers and meatloaf will taste ten times better than with ground beef.

Ground round comes from the rump of the cow and is some of the leanest meat around. It has a great flavor, but because it is so lean, it doesn’t work well for meatloaves and burgers. It’s the fat that causes the meat to stick together well, and lean meat tends to fall apart. Round is perfect for taco meat, lasagna and other recipes that call for browned meat. It also doesn’t require much draining because the fat content is so much lower than chuck and beef.

Ground sirloin is the Cadillac of ground beef and comes from the hip, like filet mignon and tenderloin. You might as well just call it ground steak because that’s what you’re eating. It’s the perfect mix of fat and flavor, making it a favorite for burgers. It’s also the most expensive of the ground beefs. You can’t really go wrong with ground sirloin in any ground beef recipe, but you’re going to pay for it.

Next time you head to the store and see the different ground beefs, you’ll know exactly the kind you want and need for your recipe. I definitely suggest trying out the ground sirloin every now and then if you can afford it.

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