Beef - fatty vs lean

[dgaddis]

When we buy ground beef we either buy grassfed from a local-Ish ranch or the leanest stuff available. Last week when I went to the grocery store they had mixed up pricing and had the grassfed stuff for $17/lbs, which is WAY high. Right next to it was some American Kobe for $9/lbs. okay, let's try it.

Lately I've been cooking burgers on the grill on a half-moon cast iron griddle and doing them "smash burger" style. The griddle has a little lip around the edge.

That Kobe beef was so fatty it filled up the griddle and basically turned it into a frying pan. It also spattered grease all over the deck. It was a mess and a serious grease fire risk!

That said...the burgers were freaking GOOD. But not so good I'll use that stuff again.

Fast forward a few nights and we ran across a Tri-Tip at the grocery store - always wanted to try them, but never seen them around here. It's a lean cut, very lean. And delicious. Did a reverse sear and it was great.

I know people say "fat is flavor" but you can also get great flavor without a ton of fat.

[BSUdude]

I think 80/20 ground beef is generally accepted as the standard for burgers. The "smashburger" method by its very nature expels juices/fat, which is probably why you were shocked by the difference from your usual lean meat. A traditional pub style burger, when formed and cooked correctly, keeps most fat/juices inside. I'd imagine if you were to do an experiment and cook a pub style burger with 80/20 and lean, and a smashburger with 80/20 and lean, you'd notice a much greater difference in flavor/texture in the pub burger.

Also, tri tip is often served with chimichurri as a sauce. Not sure if you did this or not, but that adds some fat back into the mix to make up for the leaner cut of beef. Agree tri tip is delicious!

[joosttx]

80/20 is what I have found to be best ratio for burgers. We use organic, grassfed and local beef. It sounds werid but crap that is what we were basically eating growing up.


The first with waygu beef is that the fat is evenly distributed in the beef where say a ribeye is not. Thats why waygu is so good because you are getting little bits of fatty goodness with every bite.

[mg2ride]

$9 or $17 a pound for ground beef???? I could have my local Teeter grind tenderloin in that range?

It better have been good. Reminds me of a "$5 Milkshake"

[maunahaole]

Tri tip is a west coast/California thing. It’s a nice cut with great flavor but needs a marinade. Because of the shape, it can be tricky to cook properly.

[guido]

My brother who lives in Santa Barbara loves tri tip. He has made it for me when I go out and it is pretty amazing. I have gotten it in the boston area WF and it was pretty nice but i really prefer Skirt for day to day grilling and good Rib Eye for a special occasion...

85/15 is how I take my Grassfed Ground Beef...

[dgaddis]

I think 80/20 ground beef is generally accepted as the standard for burgers. The "smashburger" method by its very nature expels juices/fat, which is probably why you were shocked by the difference from your usual lean meat. A traditional pub style burger, when formed and cooked correctly, keeps most fat/juices inside. I'd imagine if you were to do an experiment and cook a pub style burger with 80/20 and lean, and a smashburger with 80/20 and lean, you'd notice a much greater difference in flavor/texture in the pub burger.

Also, tri tip is often served with chimichurri as a sauce. Not sure if you did this or not, but that adds some fat back into the mix to make up for the leaner cut of beef. Agree tri tip is delicious!

Smashburgers (at least the way I do them) doesn't push out any juices. I take a ball of meat, drop it on a screaming hot griddle and as soon as it's on I press it down for about 5 seconds, then take the press off, and it doesn't get smashed again. But that five seconds of pressure gives it a great sear, which holds in juices and makes the patty maintain it's shape - it doesn't shrink in diameter while getting fatter like a 'pub' style patty. Now if you put pressure on a partially cooked patty, yeah, you'll push out all the juices, but not if you do it first thing. It's definitely my favorite way to make burgers.

I will say, after the kobe beef, my griddle is better seasoned than it's ever been before LOL.