# Whay Would You Use 70% Ground Beef For?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 4, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353 "2017-03-04T00:43:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/1 "2017-03-04T00:43:45Z")
I was looking for some ground beef at the store and 90% of it was 80/20 (20% fat). That’s good - makes good juicy burgers. I was looking for something leaner and picked up a differently labelled package expecting 90/10 or 93/7. Instead it was 70/30! What the hell do you want with ground meat that is well over a quarter fat?
Unless you’re trying to duplicate Taco Bell filling.
Any ideas/answers?
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/2 "2017-03-04T00:46:21Z")
Meat loaf. Your other meats are likely much leaner cuts, so you want the extra fat in the mixture for texture, taste and general Goodness.
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### Author:  [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/3 "2017-03-04T00:56:25Z")
Gad. I’ve never seen that ratio offered for sale. I certainly wouldn’t buy it. 80/20 is, I agree, the best for burger-making.
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### Author:  [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/4 "2017-03-04T00:58:10Z")
I believe that used to be McDonald’s preferred ratio.
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### Author:  [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/5 "2017-03-04T01:01:53Z")
To cut some extra lean beef. My meatloaf gets enough fat from the pork, and I use a panade.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/6 "2017-03-04T01:02:26Z")
Oh, absolutely for hamburgers! I buy 73-27 (don’t know why those numbers) or 80-20 for hamburgers. Otherwise, you can always cook it down and pour off the fat for any number of ground beef recipes (like spaghetti sauce and things of that nature.) But it makes for a wonderfully juice burger. [Serious Eats](http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/07/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-an-in-n-out-double-double-animal-style.html) estimates an In N Out patty to be 60-40 (!) Fatty burgers are where it’s at!
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/7 "2017-03-04T01:43:28Z")
70/30 or 73/27 are standard around here for low-price grocery stores. 80/20 and higher blends are often so much more expensive that the cost per usable pound is still cheaper for the fatty stuff.
As long as you drain the meat well, it works fine.
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### Author:  [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/8 "2017-03-04T02:37:52Z")
70/30 makes good burgers.
May be a bit much for pan fried, but on the grill it works well and all the flaming fat that drips out gives them a nice char broiled flavor.
Also anything where you might otherwise run the risk of having it dry, like some said meat loaf, depending on how you make it.
I would not recommend duplicating Taco Bell filling for any reason, unless you are doing an independent study of IBS with diarrhea
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/9 "2017-03-04T02:48:21Z")
> [@silenus](#):
>
> Meat loaf. Your other meats are likely much leaner cuts, so you want the extra fat in the mixture for texture, taste and general Goodness.
Yes, I use the Valu-time ubercheap 70/30 beef for meatloaf. It comes in a 3 lb. tube, which is the exact amount needed for my recipe as well.
It makes perfect meatloaf at a very low price.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/10 "2017-03-04T02:51:37Z")
> [@Weisshund](#):
>
> 70/30 makes good burgers.
> May be a bit much for pan fried, but on the grill it works well and all the flaming fat that drips out gives them a nice char broiled flavor.
>
> Also anything where you might otherwise run the risk of having it dry, like some said meat loaf, depending on how you make it.
It works fine for panfried burgers (which is the way I prefer my burgers), but I wouldn’t go too thick on those. I’m talking 1/4 pounders and skinnier. I like mine somewhere on the order of 6 or 8 to a pound.
I find 70-30 a bit much for meatloaf, but YMMV.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/11 "2017-03-04T03:02:26Z")
It’s the go to for moms more interested in feeding hungry kids for cheap instead of winning culinary awards.
70/30 with a big handful of rolled oats to soak up that fat will get you enough meatloaf for 4 for the price of a meatloaf for 2.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/12 "2017-03-04T06:05:16Z")
I’m not a meatloaf maker, so you have all answered my own question. Whenever I’ve purchased it (and not recently, believe me) I swore it was 27% meat and 73% fat.
:rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/13 "2017-03-04T14:54:32Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#):
>
> I was looking for some ground beef at the store and 90% of it was 80/20 (20% fat). That’s good - makes good juicy burgers. I was looking for something leaner and picked up a differently labelled package expecting 90/10 or 93/7. Instead it was 70/30! What the hell do you want with ground meat that is well over a quarter fat?
>
> Unless you’re trying to duplicate Taco Bell filling.
>
> Any ideas/answers?
You clearly have never shopped on a budget. I prefer 80/20, but I buy 70/30, simply and solely because it’s so much cheaper.
Slightly inferior meat is infinitely preferable to not eating meat at all.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/14 "2017-03-04T15:20:49Z")
One of the other things to notice is that the 70-30 and 73-27 stuff is usually (at least around here) labeled “ground beef,” while the 80-20 is “ground chuck.” So the former can be an assortment of cuts and fat, and the latter is specifically chuck.
While I do buy 73-27 because I like fatty meat for certain applications, how much cheaper is it for you guys? At my local supermarket, the difference is about $0.50/lb between the two. Usually, it’s something like $2.49/lb 73-27 beef, $3/lb 80-20 chuck, $3.50-$3.75/lb 85-15 round, $4.25-$4.50/lb 93/7 sirloin. (You might have to add $0.50 to all the prices, as beef has gone up a bit over the last couple of weeks, although I haven’t bought ground in that time.)
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### Author:  [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/15 "2017-03-04T15:40:56Z")
> [@WhyNot](#):
>
> 70/30 with a big handful of rolled oats to soak up that fat will get you enough meatloaf for 4 for the price of a meatloaf for 2.
I used oats for a long time until a good recipe convinced me to go back to my mother’s standby, crushed saltines. It’s not just for cheap extending, but produces a better result.
> [@nearwildheaven](#):
>
> I swore it was 27% meat and 73% fat.
The absurd precision makes me think it’s regulatory or rule driven rather than an arbitrary mix.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/16 "2017-03-04T15:44:22Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#):
>
> The absurd precision makes me think it’s regulatory or rule driven rather than an arbitrary mix.
Yeah, I’ve always wondered where that number comes from. It must be some sort of rule/law/regulation, but all I’ve found was that ground beef can be no more than 30% fat under labeling laws, so I don’t know where the 73/27 comes from.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/17 "2017-03-04T16:34:40Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#):
>
> I used oats for a long time until a good recipe convinced me to go back to my mother’s standby, crushed saltines. It’s not just for cheap extending, but produces a better result.
Yes, but I was raised by an Adelle Davis disciple. Oats have protein and fiber, so I don’t feel quite so guilty using them as filler. 😉 And since I was raised on oatmeatloaf, I like the texture.
(In a related note, I’m quietly chuckling to myself over the current uproar that Subway is using fillers in their “chicken”. Things we do in a home kitchen that cause people to lose their minds when restaurants do them…)
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### Author:  [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/18 "2017-03-04T17:07:30Z")
It makes 1/4 lb. burgers pre-cooking shrink down to 1/8 lb. burgers after.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/19 "2017-03-04T17:29:14Z")
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> It works fine for panfried burgers (which is the way I prefer my burgers), but I wouldn’t go too thick on those. I’m talking 1/4 pounders and skinnier. I like mine somewhere on the order of 6 or 8 to a pound.
>
> I find 70-30 a bit much for meatloaf, but YMMV.
As do I. I use 80/20 and mix with ground lamb and lean ground beef for my meatloaf, then freeform it in a roasting dish. Using really fatty ground in a loaf pan would be pretty disgusting, IMO, as you would just be boiling the meat in grease. 80/20 burgers are just perfect.
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### Author:  [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whay-would-you-use-70-ground-beef-for/781353/20 "2017-03-04T17:33:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> As do I. I use 80/20 and mix with ground lamb and lean ground beef for my meatloaf, then freeform it in a roasting dish. Using really fatty ground in a loaf pan would be pretty disgusting, IMO, as you would just be boiling the meat in grease. 80/20 burgers are just perfect.
Cook meat loaf and the like on a raised platform… like a regular wire rack covered with foil. That way all the fat drains off.
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