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Reducing the Fat
Content of Regular Ground Beef by Draining and Rinsing
Ground Beef is available in many forms these days. The most common forms are Super Lean, Extra Lean, Lean, and Regular old humble Hamburger. Each type has a different percentage of fat added to it. Super Lean is the most expensive; it has the least amount of added fat. Regular ground beef is the most economical; it has the most amount of added fat. There are ways around this extra fat though, so that we can eat the cheapest ground beef, and still consume the least amount of fat possible. Click Here to skip down to the nuts and bolts of a procedure called Draining and Rinsing.
Super Lean:
This type of Extra Lean or Ground Round: Most cookbooks and magazines call for this type of ground beef in their recipes. It contains 15% fat and 85% lean beef. In my area it costs between $3 and $4.50 a pound. A pound of raw ground round becomes about 12-ounces when cooked. Lean or Ground Chuck: This type of ground beef is 80% lean and 20% fat. Usually it is called Ground Chuck on the label. In my area it usually costs between $2.69 and $3.69 per pound. My local warehouse store has it for $1.78 lb, or a dime less than their leanest ground beef. A pound of raw lean ground beef weighs about 11-1/2 -ounces after it is cooked.
Regular or Humble Hamburger:
This is the least
But what about the fat content? When you are trying to reduce the amount of fat and cholesterol in your diet, wouldn't Super Lean Beef be a better deal nutritionally? Well that depends. Regular Hamburger is higher in fat than Super Lean, however most people don't consume the fat that cooks out of their ground beef. Usually people drain it off. For Health & Budget conscious folks like us, there is an even more thorough way to reduce the fat in regular ground beef.
Drain
& Rinse Regular Hamburger to eliminate If you like, you can put a bowl or pot under the strainer to catch the water that drains off of the hamburger. This can be chilled until the fat solidifies on top, and then the remaining broth can be used anywhere beef broth is called for. It can also be frozen for later use. This way any nutrients that wash away with the water are still preserved; a very thrifty and conservative use of resources. I usually don't add onions, garlic or other seasonings until after the hamburger is cooked, drained and rinsed. Some folks fry the onions or garlic along with the meat as they cook it. Do what you feel is best for your circumstances. A 4-ounce raw portion of regular hamburger that has been cooked, drained and rinsed has approximately 155 calories, 9g fat, 4g saturated fat and 46 mg cholesterol. Compared to the values for super-lean ground beef above, drained and rinsed crumbles have 15 fewer calories, 1 more gram total fat, 1 more gram saturated fat and 15 fewer miligrams of cholesterol. Because of this information I am whole-heartedly willing to eat and recommend regular ground beef that has been cooked, drained and rinsed to anyone who is trying to eat a healthier diet. Below you will find a chart detailing the caloric differences between several types of ground beef. You will see that draining and rinsing regular hamburger makes it lower in calories than any other type of ground beef.
NOTE: The information for other ground meats like sausage and turkey is not available. It is reasonable to assume that draining and rinsing these meats would result in similar reductions in fat, cholesterol and calories. Independent Links which confirm the information on this page. Journal of The American Dietetic Association, Vol 92 No. 11 Nov.1992 (PDF document) Canadian Beef Information Centre Canadianized Ground Beef: PDF (adobe acrobat) booklet detailing extensive nutritional information for many different types of ground beef, including regular ground beef that has been cooked, drained and rinsed. Highly Recommended.
1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
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ground
beef usually has between 7% and 10% fat content. At 90% or 93%
lean beef, it is the leanest ground beef you can buy. This also
makes it the most expensive. In my area it is $4 to $5 lb at
most supermarkets, although at a local Warehouse Store (Sam's) it is
a more reasonable $1.88 lb. A 4-ounce portion of raw super-lean
ground beef contains approximately 170 calories, 8g fat, 3g saturated
fat and 61 mg cholesterol. Once cooked a pound of super-lean
ground beef weighs about 12-2/3 ounces. Thus a 4 oz portion of
raw super-lean turns into about a standard 3-ounce portion after it's cooked. 
expensive ground beef and it also has the highest percentage of added
fat. Normally it is 70% lean and 30% fat. Sometimes it is
advertised as 27% fat and 73% lean though, so check the label.
It can still be found on sale for about 99¢ lb but those sales
have become more rare with inflation. Even at it's highest
price it usually costs no more than $2.69 lb. In my area it is
available in 5-pound rolls for about $1.28 lb at our local
Walmart. Walmart and Sam's may be taking over the world, but
they offer so much savings that it's hard to resist. 
as much fat as
possible.
Fry up a pound of regular, cheap Humble Hamburger in the normal
way. Break it up into small pieces, and cook it until all the
pink is gone. Drain as much of the accumulated fat as you can
into a handy vegetable can, or grease catcher. Then dump the
ground beef into a colander or strainer in the sink. Run hot
tap water into the greasy skillet. Pour this water over the
hamburger in the strainer. Do it again. Allow the beef to
drain a few minutes, and then return it to the skillet. Proceed as
directed by the recipe. 