The Bible NETWork ~ Impacting the World for Christ one post at a time!

I am new to the forums here and don't know where to post my home & garden questions, so posting it here.

When you buy ground beef, do you buy regular, lean or extra lean? Which do you think is the better value for your money? Years ago I bought regular, and always drained it. Now I buy lean, and still drain it. Just wondering if the extra cost of buying lean or even extra lean is worth it.

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http://flowercents.blogspot.com/

I can honestly say that I don't think I've purchased ground beef in well over a decade. That being said, I have a number of frugal friends who don't buy the leanest, they buy a higher fat content and then rinse it under boiling water.

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PROUD MILITARY WIFE ❤ PLEASE KEEP MY WONDERFUL DH IN YOUR PRAYERS

"Masterchef" is very popular in Australia at the moment, and the advice from the 'experts' is that you need ground beef with a little fat in it or when you cook it, it becomes too "dry" and tasteless.

WeightWatchers advice was to always grill (or bake on a rack) etc ... so that as you cook the fat drains away ... and only then to add other ingredients.
Must say, I used to make meatballs and grill them before simmering in a tomato sauce, and they tasted just fine. .... The other thing with any meat dish was to leave it in the fridge overnight and then remove the fat which would have solidified on top.

But looking at local prices, in Australia, it is often possible to buy meat on special cheaper than the leaner mince (or ground) .... so it could pay to grind it yourself.

I would be interested to hear how it compares in America

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Only lean here please...although when husband passes the grocery store he will buy medium
with the request it be turned into chilli...two wks in a row...next wk it's gonna be meatloaf

About the meat being too dry....I add an egg to meatloaf, hamburger....things like that...and
some oatmeal....don't like soup in the meat either...and that really helps...but I like lots
of herbs and spices as well...if you are eating here, you had better be prepared for TASTY!

I was also thinking of possibly getting a meat grinder and grinding my own....sometimes you buy
a package of the ground beef and the inside is older than the outside...sheesh



Just saw this after I posted...sounds like a good idea all over the world! BTW, I have ALWAYS wanted
to visit down under...maybe even move there...I'm the only one in the family tho...I think I'm a
bit of gypsy LOL!

it is very nice here .... mainly if you like space

but leaving family and friends is very hard

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I always go with lean hamburger - I figure it may cost a little more but then again I'm not throwing anything away. The best is organic hamburger, a little more expensive, but there is no fat in the stuff we buy - so no waste at all - and it tastes fantastic!

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Formerly NWgardengal

You can get it much cheaper if you can find 1) a farmer who will sell you half a cow and 2) a place that will cool it, cut it and wrap it for you. Find someone who doesn't use growth hormones, grain, or antibiotics and will keep them on pasture or hay (when no grass is growing) and you'll pay more but you'll get superior meat.

Want to be really radical? Get 2-3 acres of good grass (you can rent a field for a year), buy a couple bull calves from a dairy, bottle feed them, put them on grass, and when the grass goes, butcher them at ten months. Get a book on how to do this, some good knives, a Sawsall and a rope to hang it on a tree branch, and DIY. It's not hard, just tedious. Freeze and vacuum seal your steaks and roasts, and find someone to grind the tough cuts into hamburger. You'll pay a lot less and know where your beef came from.

LOL! I'm all about space

I do like time in the city too....but gotta have my space and see lots of stars at night.

Maybe one day I'll get down there

You can get it much cheaper if you can find 1) a farmer who will sell you half a cow and 2) a place that will cool it, cut it and wrap it for you. Find someone who doesn't use growth hormones, grain, or antibiotics and will keep them on pasture or hay (when no grass is growing) and you'll pay more but you'll get superior meat.

Yeah...we do know of a farmer who would do that for us.....they also have the local lumber mill where we have bought
wood for flooring (nice wide plank and thick too) and also wood for the wood stove...they raise cattle and will butcher them
and they are on pasture all summer and these guys prob never heard of growth hormones

Want to be really radical? Get 2-3 acres of good grass (you can rent a field for a year), buy a couple bull calves from a dairy, bottle feed them, put them on grass, and when the grass goes, butcher them at ten months. Get a book on how to do this, some good knives, a Sawsall and a rope to hang it on a tree branch, and DIY. It's not hard, just tedious. Freeze and vacuum seal your steaks and roasts, and find someone to grind the tough cuts into hamburger. You'll pay a lot less and know where your beef came from.

I could never ever do that...we toyed with the idea, but one look in the eyes and I'd be a goner and we'd have another pet

I guess that makes my hyprocritcal tho, cause I do like a good burger

Same here!

We won a 1/4 cow once, and fit that into our small freezer, but don't think we have room for a half.

The lean I usually buy doesn't have much fat in it, but I was just wondering since I drained it anyway, if the regular would be a better deal, money wise. Been trying to find ways to stretch our food budget further, with all the price increases and no increase in our grocery budget, not to mention two teen boys!

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Wow, Deermousie, I'm so impressed by your pioneer spirit!

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Formerly NWgardengal

raise our own cows?