Ground beef is a staple ingredient in many households. From tacos to burgers and meatloaf, it’s affordable, tasty and versatile. But have you ever wondered exactly which part of the cow your ground beef comes from? Let’s take a closer look at the origins of this popular type of beef.
Ground beef is made by taking cuts of beef and grinding or mincing them The resulting ground meat contains both fatty and lean portions Before grinding, the fat and muscle are separated from the whole cuts. Then they are combined again in desired ratios during the grinding process.
This allows the fat content to be controlled. Ground beef usually contains around 15% to 30% fat. The label on the packaging specifies the percentage of lean meat vs fat. Some common ratios are 85/15, 80/20 and 70/30. The first number refers to the percentage of lean meat.
Ground beef can be made from almost any part of the cow. Certain cuts are more commonly used than others. The part of the cow it comes from affects the flavor and fat content. Let’s go through the major sections of the cow and see which ones end up in our ground beef.
Chuck
The chuck comes from the shoulder area of the cow, located at the front. It contains portions of the neck, shoulder blade and upper arm. Chuck is rich in connective tissue, which breaks down into gelatin when cooked slowly. This makes it ideal for stews and braising.
It also contains a fair amount of fat marbled throughout. Chuck is often used for ground beef since it provides good flavor and the right balance of fat Ground chuck specifically refers to ground beef made only from the chuck It has robust beefy taste and can be on the fattier side.
Round
The round primal cut makes up the back leg of the cow. It contains large, well-exercised muscles like the top round, bottom round, eye round and sirloin tip. Since this area gets more movement, the meat is leaner and quite tough.
The round is not used as often for grinding since it lacks the fat content and tenderness of chuck. But when a leaner ground beef is desired, round cuts may be incorporated. This contributes to the lean meat percentage while keeping the cost down compared to using only premium cuts.
Brisket
The brisket comes from the breast section beneath the forelegs. It’s a notoriously tough cut due to its significant connective tissue. When smoked or braised for long periods, brisket becomes fall-apart tender.
The high collagen content gives ground brisket excellent moisture retention. Brisket trimmings are sometimes added to boost the juiciness and flavor of leaner ground beef. But it’s not the most common contributor since brisket is a prized cut for barbecue.
Sirloin
Sirloin is located along the back and hindquarters near the round primal. It’s known for being flavorful yet still fairly lean. The upper portion closest to the loin yields tender steaks like top sirloin. The lower parts are tougher due to more sinew.
Ground sirloin contains meat from the less tender regions. It has a mild beefiness that adapts well to many recipes. Using sirloin trimmings helps achieve a higher percentage of lean meat in ground beef.
Plate
The plate primal sits beneath the ribs and is home to classic short ribs. Comprised of 7 ribs, it contains various thin muscles embedded in fat. Significant connective tissue requires slow cooking to achieve tenderness.
The high level of tough sinew means plate meat often gets relegated to ground beef production. This adds back fat to contribute moisture and beefy taste. Plate cuts closer to the chuck and brisket have slightly more marbling.
Flank
The flank area is located along the cow’s underside behind the plate. Major muscles are the flank steak, skirt steak and hanging tenderloin. Flank meat is prized for fajitas, stir fry and London broil since long fibers make it tender when sliced properly.
But portions too small or irregular for steaks get trimmed into ground beef. Flank adds lean protein and big beef flavor. Just watch out for potential toughness compared to fattier chuck and plate cuts.
Shank
Shank comes from the upper and lower portions of cow legs. It contains many connective tissues that require extensive cooking to break down. Cuts like osso buco come from shank meat.
After the best meat is removed for stewing, the remaining trim and scraps often get ground up. Shank provides a big collagen boost for juiciness along with deep beef taste.
What About Organ Meats?
Contrary to what some may think, organ meats like liver, kidneys and sweetbreads don’t end up in everyday ground beef. Regulations prohibit their inclusion without specific labels indicating organ meats were used.
The only exceptions are heart and tongue, which are allowed though rarely added. At most major ground beef producers like Pre Brands, even heart and tongue are left out completely. So rest assured your burger or taco meat contains just muscle meat unless otherwise noted.
Fat Content and Lean Point
Now that we know what parts of the cow go into ground beef, let’s look at how fat percentage is controlled. The goal is making ground beef with the right proportion of fat to lean meat.
Too little fat creates dry, bland meat. Excess fat means greasy burgers that shrink substantially when cooking. The sweet spot is around 15-30% fat depending on personal preference and the recipe.
To achieve this, fat and muscle meats are first separated after initial trimming of whole cuts like chuck and round. Then they are recombined to hit the desired ratios. The point at which the fat visually disappears into the lean meat is known as the lean point.
Blending continues until the fat is incorporated smoothly at the lean point for optimal texture and moisture. Pre-ground beef is generally ground 3 times to reach the lean point. Home grinding may take 5-6 passes to achieve the same fine consistency.
Common Ratios
Here are some typical ground beef fat ratios and what they are best used for:
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70/30 – This relatively high fat content provides excellent juiciness and beefy flavor. Best for burgers, meatloaf and tacos.
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80/20 – With slightly less fat, this versatile option works for most recipes including chili, pasta sauce and shepherd’s pie. Often labeled as just ground beef.
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85/15 – As a leaner choice that is still tender and moist, 85/15 is good for dishes with sauce or additional fat like pizza toppings and sloppy Joes.
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90/10 – Very lean yet can dry out if overcooked. Best for frequently stirred dishes like chili or bolstered with plenty of seasoning and oil when browning.
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95/5 – Ultra-lean. Once cooked, will crumble easily so best used for recipes with a great deal of moisture like tacos with lots of juicy toppings.
Grind Size
The coarseness of the grind also affects the texture and cooking properties of ground beef. Finer grinding essentially has more surface area for browning reactions to occur. Here are typical sizes:
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Fine grind – Smaller than 1/8 inch for fast, even cooking. Works well for sliders, meatballs and sausage.
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Medium grind – Around 1/4 inch for great all-purpose ground beef with a good browning crust and juicy interior. Ideal for most uses from burgers to tacos.
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Coarse grind – Up to 3/8 inch for prominent meaty texture. Provides a nice chew but can leave a gritty mouthfeel if too large. Good for chili and boldly seasoned meat sauces.
Buying Quality Ground Beef
When purchasing ground beef, look for bright red color without brown or gray spots indicating oxidation. Enough visible fat should be marbled throughout the lean meat. The meat should feel soft and moist but not excessively sticky or mushy.
For the best results, buy freshly ground beef from a trusted butcher. Otherwise choose well-wrapped chub-packed options rather than pre-formed patties which tend to have more surface area for deterioration.
Check the use or freeze by date and plan to freeze in one to two days if not using immediately. Thaw frozen ground beef in the refrigerator, never on the counter.
We’ve covered a lot of ground on ground beef (pun intended)! To summarize, ground beef contains a mix of trimmings from various primal cuts. Chuck and plate provide fat and collagen for flavor and moisture. Leaner round, sirloin and flank contribute protein.
Fat percentage can be controlled by separating fat and lean components then recombining at the ideal ratios. This allows getting just the right amount of fat for the intended cooking application.
Always look for freshly ground beef without discoloration for the best results. Understand what part of the cow is used so you can choose the right fat content. Then get ready to cook up delicious burgers, tacos, meatloaf and so much more using this versatile staple.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ground Beef
No, mincemeat and ground beef are not the same. Ground beef is simply beef that has been finely chopped or ground. It consists purely of meat, sometimes with added fat. Our friends across the pond call it “beef mince,” which probably explains the confusion.
Traditional British mincemeat, on the other hand, refers to a mixture containing chopped meat (often beef or venison), suet, fruits, spices, and sometimes alcohol. This mixture is traditionally used in mince pies, a popular Christmas dish in the UK. Many modern recipes for mincemeat don’t actually include meat, rather focus more on fruits, nuts, spices, and alcohol.
The Grinding Process That Goes into Making Ground Beef
The transformation of beef cuts into ground beef is a process that combines traditional butchery with modern technology. Throughout this process, Acabonac Farms employs state-of-the-art machinery to maintain the highest standards of food safety and quality.
Our meticulous approach to the grinding process ensures that each package of our ground beef delivers exceptional flavor and texture while also adhering to our ethos of stewardship and sustainability. Heres an overview of how Acabonac Farms’ ground beef is made:
Step 1: Meat Selection. The journey begins with the selection of specific cuts of beef. These cuts are chosen based on the desired fat content and the flavor profile needed.
Step 2: Trimming. Once selected, the beef is meticulously trimmed of excess fat, sinew, and other unwanted parts.
Step 3: Cutting. The trimmed beef is then cut into smaller, more manageable pieces. This is necessary to ensure a smooth feed into the grinder without clogging. It also helps prevent uneven grinding.
Step 4: Chilling. Before grinding, the cut pieces are chilled to near-freezing temperatures, around 32-34°F (0-1°C). This step is vital as cold meat grinds more cleanly, ensuring that the fat and lean components are evenly distributed within the ground product. This facilitates a more uniform texture in the final product.
→ PRO TIP: If you ever want to break down a larger cut into smaller pieces (e.g. for stews, kebabs, or tartare) try this method at home! Pop the meat into the freezer for approximately 15-20 minutes to help firm it up, then use your sharpest chef’s knife to cut it into your desired shape.
Step 5: Grinding. After chilling until firm, the beef is then fed into a meat grinder equipped with a rotating auger that forces the meat through a perforated plate. The size of these perforations can be adjusted to produce coarser or finer ground beef, depending on the intended use. At Acabonac Farms, we employ multiple grinding stages with progressively finer plates to achieve the perfect, exceptionally tender texture. It’s kind of like how pasta is made, rolling the dough through the machine in stages to achieve the ideal thickness.
Step 6: Mixing (Optional). If the final product requires a blend of different cuts (like in our Paleo mix) or the addition of fat or seasonings (like in our meatball mix), this is the point in the process where it happens. The ground beef is mixed thoroughly to ensure that the fat and flavors are evenly distributed throughout the batch for consistency.
Step 7: Packaging. Finally, the ground beef is carefully portioned, packaged, and labeled before heading to the flash freezer. The packaging is designed to maintain freshness and to provide clear information regarding the contents and nutrition. When you order ground beef (or any meat) from Acabonac Farms, it will arrive frozen. This is done intentionally to ensure you get the absolute freshest product — like you came and got it off the production line yourself.
Everything A Beginner Needs To Know About Beef In 9 Minutes!
FAQ
What part of the cow is in ground beef?
… else to indicate what type of beef is used, it indicates that the beef that was ground came from different parts of the cow, largely, chuck, sirloin and roundSep 23, 2024
What cut of meat is used for ground beef?
Although any cut of beef can be used to produce ground beef, chuck steak is a popular choice because of its rich flavor and meat-to-fat ratio. Round steak is also often used. In the United States, ground beef is usually categorized based on the cut and fat percentage: Chuck: 78–84% lean.
Is cow tongue in ground beef?
In fact, ground beef cannot be sold with organ meats, unless it’s specifically labeled as containing organ meat. The only exception to this is heart and tongue, which are allowed in ground beef under USDA guidance. But at Pre, we never use heart or tongue in our ground beef.
Which part of beef is good for ground?
The chuck and the flank are used for grinding. That’s the neck (chuck) and the rear part of the belly (flank).
What is ground beef?
These consist of both lean meat and fat, and are wholesome and just as good as any other part of the cow. Ground beef is a way to use these trimmings. We remove and seperate the leftover lean meat and fat.
What is ground beef made of?
Ground beef typically consists of the muscular parts of the cow, including the chuck, round, and sirloin. The meat is ground up into small pieces, resulting in a mixture that may contain fat and lean meat from various parts of the cow. Ground beef is a staple in many households, often used to create delicious and versatile meals.
What kind of cow is used to make ground beef?
There are multiple parts of the cow used to make ground beef. Therefore ground beef could be any large muscle of the cow. However, the most popular cuts of beef for ground beef include chuck, round, brisket, and sirloin. The flank cut sits on the bottom section of the cow’s belly beneath the loin.
Where does ground beef come from?
Ground beef comes from a variety of cuts on a cow, primarily the chuck, sirloin, and round. These cuts are known for their rich flavor, tenderness, and ideal fat-to-lean ratio, making them perfect for grinding into fine mince. Now that we’ve revealed the answer, let’s address some other frequently asked questions related to ground beef: 1.
Is ground beef a Chuck?
Ground beef typically includes a mix of beef cuts, most commonly the chuck, round, and sirloin, as well as other beef trimmings that don’t make for good steaks or roasts. These cuts are chosen for their balance of meat and fat, which can vary to produce different fat content ratios in the final product. Is ground beef and hamburger the same thing?
Is ground beef lean?
Generally, ground beef is made from cuts with a good balance of fat and lean meat. While other parts can be used, the quality may vary. 3. Which cut of beef is the leanest for grinding? The round cut, found in the hindquarters, is typically the leanest option for ground beef. 4. Does ground beef contain connective tissues?