Percent/Amounts of fat in ground beef?

[daisymommy]

Is the percentile of fat in 100% grass-fed beef always the same across the board? (well, close to it anyway?). And if so, what is it?

For right now, I shop at Whole Foods, and even that is 30 minutes away, through traffic, with 3 kids. I'm doing the best I can here. We have NOTHING around me. I'm investigating into possible co-ops where I can order directly from farmers, but that won't be for awhile.

So, for now, I shop for everything from Whole Foods. Thankfully there are little signs telling where all the chicken, beef, and pork are coming from, and it's pretty local. It also says that the beef and pork are grass-fed/pasture raised for a minimum of 75% of the time, no hormones or antibiotics, etc.

I normally buy the 80/20% ground beef, because it is on sale every single time I go to the store. And because as my mantra goes "I am not afraid of the fat from healthy, naturally raised animals." This is what I repeat to DH and friends when they ask about our eating habits (butter, non-skim milk, etc.).

But when a friend asked about if 80/20 was too fatty, for just a second I questioned it. Is 100% grass-fed beef more like 93/7% ? And should I be concerned by a higher fat content? My gut still says no, that fat is fat, no matter the cut of beef. If it was beef fat coming off of a roast, or ribs, it would still be fat. And fat from healthy animals contains nutrients. Right?

I want to put together a little write-up of the health benefits of grass-fed beef fat for my friend, but I don't want to be wrong in what I am saying, if the benefits don't apply to the type of beef I am buying. I'd be really sad if that was the case And especially if I actually should be afraid of it.

Thanks all!

[bri276]

If I had to guess, I'd say 100% grassfed ground beef is more like 10% fat or less (at least, from the several farms we go to). It contains a higher ratio of omega 3s so it is healthier than fat from cattle that get any type of grain/soy feed. However, you want SOME fat. I only wish grassfed beef would come in an 80/20 option It tastes better! I think the beef you're getting definitely contains more omega 3s than typical factory farmed beef.

[CrunchyChristianMama]

I buy grass-fed ground beef from a few different farmers. I have found it to be anywhere from 7-20% fat. I think it really depends on what cut of meat they are grinding. I have a bunch of 80/20 in my freezer because my farmer had it on sale last weekend. We love the taste and since I'm not afraid of the fat - in fact I'm trying to get more in my diet right now, and it's grass-fed, I don't feel any need to be concerned about it.

[Arduinna]

It depends on the cut you are grinding. We grind our own and generally use chuck and short rib meat and purposely choose the ones with the most fat.

[JaneS]

We get 75/25 from US Wellness Meats and love it.

[laohaire]

It's all about which cut. Different parts of the animal have different fat content.

I ate fatty (pastured) hamburger this last winter and it was deeeeelicious! I pan fried it (in its own fat) and poured off the excess fat just like bacon fat, and cooked other stuff with it. Terrific. I don't remember the percentage but the farmer told me he was having a harder time moving it because it was higher fat. I told him "great, all the more for me."

[daisymommy]

Cool, thanks! For some reason I wasn't thinking about the fact that "ground beef" wasn't a certain section of the cow, but rather ground meat from various portions.

I was thinking that perhaps if it was 80/20, then by virtue of the fact that it was fattier than somewhere else, it truly wasn't grass-grazed. But if Wellness meats can be 75/25, then I guess that blows my theory out of the water! LOL! (that's not at all to say that Wellness Meats isn't leaps and bounds better than what I am buying, not saying that at all though!--just talking about the amount of fat here, not the quality).

FWIW...At Whole Foods I am paying $3.49 per lb. of ground beef, and around $7 a lb. for steaks and roasts. I wish that I could find something even remotely comparable in price.

[JaneS]

Lucky you, at my whole foods its more like $7 lb for grass fed ground!

[crunchy_mama]

Most of the grassfed ground beef I have had has seemed to be somewhere ranging between that 80-90%. I buy beef by the side though and the exact amount isn't given(just my guestimation based on comparing w/ grocery store meat that I knew the fat levels).

[laohaire]

I pay $5.50 a pound for grassfed ground, and other cuts vary from $7-12 a pound.

I don't eat a lot of meat. (Can't afford much).

[CherryBomb]

Echoing that's it's more about what cuts are ground than what the cow has been fed. The grassfed beef I get is probably about 93/7, which is pretty lean, so I just don't drain the fat. Keeps it moist and flavorful but it's not greasy at all.

3.49 is a fantastic price for grassfed ground beef! I think I pay like 5 or 6 bucks a pound. Other cuts are around 8 or 9 a lb. I'll have to check next time I go in and buy, I don't pay a lot of attention (not because I'm rich, I'm just lucky the health food store takes food stamps so I can buy without too much worry over price!)

[Narmowen]

And I pay less than $3 for a pound of grass fed ground beef. I buy from a slaughterhouse, though. I stopped buying pork & beef from shopping markets & grocery stores a long time ago.

[daisymommy]

Just wanted to come back and add that I was looking at the product list from Polyface Farms (home of Joel Salatin) as we've ordered from them before, and their ground beef is 80/20 too.