What % lean do you request for your hamburger?

[mrad]

I have a full beef that will be cut up late next week. The butcher told me they usually make the hamburger 90% lean. I'm not sure this is what I want. I think I would prefer 75%-70% lean. My thought is that fat adds flavor. Especially for burgers which is what I will make about half of the hamburger into. For the meat, I want tacos and spaghetti and other such items I can cook the fat out. For those of you that have purchase quarters, halves or fulls, what are your thoughts???

 

[Nodak21]

I wouldn’t go less than 80/20 and usually ask for 85/15 as a happy medium when ordering 1/2 beef

 

[801driver]

I definitely like the 70-75% for burgers where I am melting the fat out and dripping on the grill for flavor my self, tried some burgers with 85% lean one time, never again. As you said, I would go with what is best for your burger meat and work the rest how ever you need with what ever you are making. Enjoy.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

75%-80% lean at the most, 90% is just too lean for me and turns out dry.

 

[chef jimmyj]

80/20 here. Got a good deal on 75/25.
It caused flare-ups on the Chargrill and any other cook, Pan fried Burgers, Meatloaf, Tacos...Just left a Huge puddle of fat in the pan with MAJOR Shrinkage! Never again...JJ

 

[mike243]

75-80 % ,when buying I get 80% most of the time, you are not losing meat by having more fat in, you are just adding fat flavoring to it, shrinkage is a part of any ground meat as the moisture is cooked out of it. its all personal preference , fat can be added back if you do have it ground very lean, you can probably ask for some fat to be saved , half frozen and ran thru the Kitchenaid grinder works well when its time to build your meal.

 

[mcokevin]

Grilling burgers for 20 today. Picked up 10lbs of 73/27 yesterday. I normally like 70/30 but I won’t complain about 80/20. Anything leaner than 20% I don’t want to use for burgers.

 

[Inscrutable]

When plain usually 80/20, but have used several grades.
Sometimes mix in some ground chicken or Turkey, and then I use 73/27.
When I mix in some pork/sausage I’d prefer 85/15 or even 90/10.

 

[wbf610]

I have a full beef that will be cut up late next week. The butcher told me they usually make the hamburger 90% lean. I'm not sure this is what I want. I think I would prefer 75%-70% lean. My thought is that fat adds flavor. Especially for burgers which is what I will make about half of the hamburger into. For the meat, I want tacos and spaghetti and other such items I can cook the fat out. For those of you that have purchase quarters, halves or fulls, what are your thoughts???

I got a 1/4 back in February. My buddy has a shop, we did everything start to finish. The steer we got was 1280 lbs. It wasn’t lean, but wasn’t overly fat. Our burger ended up around 90/10 only trimming lightly. The butcher can certainly add fat if it’s available, but if your steer is lean, you may have to add it from another animal. Talk to the butcher and let them know what you’d prefer ahead of time so they can plan accordingly.

 

[SmokinAl]

I grind my own burgers out of a full packer brisket. I don’t know the fat ratio, but just go by what looks good. I have to admit I probably put too much fat in them, But we use them for smash burgers on the flat top, so most of the grease melts out & the burgers are juicy for sure! I take the leaner parts & grind them up & put them in 1 lb vac bags for tacos, spaghetti, lasagna, chili, etc.
Al

 

[SmokyMose]

For most things, including burgers,I like 80/20, but I've found that 75/25 and 70/30 works well for sausage.

 

[noboundaries]

My wife always wanted the leanest burger grind available. I had to add fat of any kind so it didn't taste like eating sand. 85/15 was marginal at best.

I brought home 80/20 once and didn't tell her. She raved about how juicy they were. Tried 75/25, even better.

 

[pushok2018]

Usually I grind my own burgers using chucky or brisket if I have one at the time.... Sometimes I buy already ground beef from my local supermarket when they have a good deal on that... 20/80 or 25/75 - otherwise it will be dry and tasteless....

 

[mrad]

I grind my own burgers out of a full packer brisket. I don’t know the fat ratio, but just go by what looks good. I have to admit I probably put too much fat in them, But we use them for smash burgers on the flat top, so most of the grease melts out & the burgers are juicy for sure! I take the leaner parts & grind them up & put them in 1 lb vac bags for tacos, spaghetti, lasagna, chili, etc.
Al

Al,
I used to do the exact same thing. We loved the brisket burgers. However, brisket is now $5.29 a pound in our area for a packer. I can't justify grinding it into burger.

 

[Bearcarver]

My favorite is 50% Deer, 25% Beef, and 25% Pork, but I just ran out of that, so I generally shoot for 80/20.

Bear