Save Money on Groceries with this Hamburger Tip

For some time now I have been doing something that seemed odd to me at first: rinsing my browned ground beef. After cooking, I put it in a colander and run hot water over it for a minute or so. Then I return it to the skillet, cook off any remaining water, and go on making my spaghetti sauce, taco meat, sloppy joes, etc.

I decided to do a google search to see how effective that method really is. According to beeftips.com, rinsing 3 ounces of 73% lean/27% fat hamburger results in 6 grams of fat, which is significantly less than the 11 grams of fat that 3 ounces of 80% lean/20% fat hamburger that has been blotted only will have.

And Hillbilly Housewife points out that 4 ounces of 70/30 or 73/27 hamburger that has been cooked, drained, and rinsed will have 15 fewer calories, and only one more gram of fat than 90/10 or 93/7 ground beef cooked the standard way. She also notes that a pound of the leaner version of hamburger only nets you about 2 ounces more of cooked meat than the fattier version and the leaner version often costs more than twice as much.

Got all that?

Since the leaner versions of ground beef are quite a bit more expensive than the others (one of my grocery fliers this week is advertising 73/27 for $1.19/pound), that can amount to quite a grocery savings. I'll save the more expensive, leaner versions for things like meatloaf and meatballs, in which the beef can't be rinsed.

Of course you get the most healthy version by buying lean ground beef and rinsing it, but beef needs a little fat in it to taste good!