Often during a recipe I post, I will include an ingredient that I will just label “ground meat”.
Its very broad, since if you are new to cooking, and for some reason dared to follow one of these recipes it may have left you scratching your head. Truth be told, I leave the selection entirely up to you for a reason…
When I was on my own for the first time, just some kid working two minimum wage jobs and playing gigs in various hole in the wall bars, I was pretty much broke. So I learned to just go for the cheapest meat. In my younger days as long as I was eating meat that wasn’t coming from a can, I was gold. But I understand that some of you our there may not have that much sense of adventure, so let’s take a look at some ground meat choices and what they mean to you.
Ground Beef and Hamburger Meat- This is almost the same thing. It’s pretty much made up of various parts of the rest of the primal cuts of beef. Some people will tell you this is the “scrap” or leftovers from the butcher, but let’s be honest. We’ve been grilling hamburgers for a pretty long time now, the idea that you are eating “scraps” is a perception that I personally choose not to cling to. Especially since I have always been on a budget. If you respect your food, nothing is “scrap”.
Now ground beef and hamburger are basically the same thing except that beef cannot have extra fat added to it but hamburger (being the eternal party animal) can have added fat up to 30%. Don’t let today’s magazine headlines and diet pill commercials fool you, the fat content and leaness of your meat come in handy depending on how you use it. When you understand the concept of food, ingredients, and all that jazz, you take a step into larger worlds. Trust me, there are many uses for cheap fatty meats
Ground Round and Ground Chuck- If the package is labeled round or chuck, it comes from a specific part of the animal and is not a rolling stone like ground beef is. Round comes from behind the back leg, near the tail. Chuck comes from the other end of the cow, the shoulder near the head. Ground chuck is fatty, it’s juicy, and pretty much everything you ever wanted in a ground meat for a hamburger. Ground round however is NOT a good choice for hamburgers (not to say it’s not good for other things) It dries out if you cook it above medium rare, and you’ll want to do that to kill bacteria.
Ground Sirloin- Sirloin comes from the sirloin area more famously known for steaks. Personally I think that’s where it should remain. It’s more expensive than the other ground meats, and it dries out easily. So not a good choice when it comes to burgers.
Ground Pork- I use ground pork A LOT. In all the recipes of ground meat I have made on this blog so far, I have used ground pork. It’s not great for hamburgers, but it is great when skillet or pan meals, casseroles, spaghetti sauce or meatballs call for it. Basically a lot of the easy starter meals I have displayed on here, pork is great for. It’s not beef (duh) it cooks lighter, but it holds seasoning well, I personally think it has a great taste and when used as a filler meat with everything to chalupas to sloppy joes I love it.
Fork the World 