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Hot take: Premium ground beef doesn't matter

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  • Red Man
    commented on 's reply
    I kinda doubt the tube is what’s causing the off taste in $1.88/lb beef.

  • Mosca
    commented on 's reply
    I ate Wagyu cheeseburgers 5 days in a row last week. The first one was dressed with LTOP and thousand island. Next one I skipped the pickle, the next one was LT and grilled mushrooms and onions... the best one was the last one. Cheeseburger on a bun with grilled mushrooms. The less I put on it, the better it was.

    Again, I didn’t compare. Over my life I’ve eaten regular supermarket & fast food burgers over premium burgers by a ratio of about 3000:1. No complaints with any of ‘em.

  • Mosca
    commented on 's reply
    Shoot, around here 95/5 is common.

  • Spinaker
    replied
    I just buy the cheapest 70/30 out there and smash the heck out of them on the flat top. For me, burgers are supposed to be cheap.

    I'll spend good money on steaks and brisket.

    Leave a comment:


  • JoeSousa
    commented on 's reply
    One of the barbecue restaurants here saves their good brisket trimmings, grinds them up, smokes the patties, and then sears them off when they are ordered. One of the best burgers I have ever tried. I talked to the pitmaster and he said they are probably end up around a 60/40 blend.

    It is also a great way for the restaurant to use up some of the trimmings that they might normally throw away.

  • JeffJ
    replied
    When it comes to grinding meat it isn't just about controlling the fat content. Grocery-store ground meat is tightly packed. It's dense. When I grind it myself, especially for burgers, I form the patties as loose as possible. The texture of a loosely formed burger is fantastic. Plus, if you want to mix partially rendered bacon bits into your burgers it's much easier to do so with consistency when the grind is really loose.

    Leave a comment:


  • klflowers
    replied
    Every Tuesday the local Fresh Market has choice chuck ground that day ( or so they say) for 2.99/lb. Not sure what the fat content is, but that is what I buy. Cheaper and easier than buying my own roast and grinding it up. I have taken some homemade bacon and ground it up and added it, man was that good.

    Leave a comment:


  • Santamarina
    replied
    100% agree! I’ve had a few Kobe burgers over the years, and they’re honestly nothing to write home about. Proper fat content, toasted bun, and quality condiments and veggies make a great burger!

    Leave a comment:


  • Troutman
    replied
    I agree with most of you, other than a textural difference, good old 80/20 ground chuck or even better, ground brisket, is my go to. A couple of months back I did a stuffed meat loaf out of Mishima Reserve American Wagyu ground beef and actually really liked it, so unless you tell me what's in it I'm not too sure I could tell you. So I guess I agree with the original premise, may not be worth the extra cost.

    One thing to remember, and I know I do harp on this a lot, wagyu is genetically disposed to produce a monounsaturated fat (Oletic) that is better for you . The downside is controlling the fat content because it renders into liquid much easier than convention beef fat found in our cattle. Just sayin', if eating a little healthier is of concern, that's one reason to buy wagyu ground.

    Leave a comment:


  • rickgregory
    replied
    Yeah, I think we have to control for fat percentage (and we have to assume the labels are roughly accurate as to that) or we have two factors changing, the quality of the meat and the fat content.

    Leave a comment:


  • rickgregory
    commented on 's reply
    tube... meat. I'll refrain from the obvious jokes.

    When I say it doesnt make a difference I'm comparing to reasonable supermarket stuff. If you go very lean (not 80/20 but 93/7 and yes, I've seen that) or probably with very cheap stuff I imagine there's a difference.

  • jumbo7676
    replied
    Wagyu chuck has more marbling than choice chuck so ground wagyu chuck would have more fat and flavor than ground choice chuck (I know that is obvious, but stay with me). But I don't think ground beef is usually sold by the cut of beef in a standard grocery store, as it is marketed based on the fat ratio. If different cuts of wagyu are blended to achieve 80/20 and the same is done for choice beef, then both have the same amount of fat and should be much more similar in taste. So I would think if you buy something specifically marked as 80/20 that it shouldn't make much difference what you buy, whereas buying ground wagyu chuck that may be closer to 70/30 (totally made this up for the example) vs ground choice chuck that is 80/20 would be much more noticeable.

    Leave a comment:


  • DeusDingo
    replied
    i normally would agree but i have been buying a lot of hamburger in 1lb tubes and i find that they have a weird taste that goes along with them. they are fine for tacos but for hamburgers i can always taste a lingering flavor of whatever they seal in those tubes to keep he meat from going bad. i am hoping to find a tube meat that doesn't have this issue.

    i have had a lot of tube meat (shush!) so it's not some one off thing. maybe i should start getting it from the normal meat trays like i used to but it's hard to turn down $1.88/lb for hamburger!

    Leave a comment:


  • JoeSousa
    replied
    I have done some side by side tests with standard grocery store 80/20, some Porter Road ground beef, and SRF American Wagyu ground beef. There were definite differences in all three but beyond that it is just a preference issue.

    The SRF ground beef had a smoother "silkier" texture in the mouth which wasn't bad at all and I can see how some people could like that. The grocery store beef tasted just like what it should taste like. In my mind the Porter Road beef was the best of the bunch. It had a beefier flavor and had a bit coarser grind than the others which made for a more pleasing texture.

    When I see the SRF stuff on sale for $5 a pound (and sometimes there is a $1 or $2 off sticker on the packs) I buy it. And when I order Porter Road and need a few more bucks in the cart to get free shipping or something I will throw in a pack or two of ground beef. But I have no aversion to the grocery store beef. If I really want a good burger or am cooking for other people I would usually just grind my own though.

    Leave a comment:


  • Mosca
    replied
    I haven't done the experiment, so I can't say. But I WILL say that I made Wagyu burgers last week, and Mrs Mosca commented that they were really good, which is something she doesn't say often about burgers.

    I'd put the sweet spot somewhere above the supermarket pack, and somewhere below Wagyu. The Wagyu I used was 30% off at D'Artagnan, putting it at $7.69/lb, a solid price for a premium product. I wouldn't pay $10.99/lb for it, but chuck/brisket blend is $7.99 locally from the butchers case.

    Leave a comment:

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