Ground beef vs. chuck vs. round

  • So we eat beef. I prefer turkey or chicken, but sometimes I cave and the hubby gets his beef.

    Our local grocery store offers no options labeled "lean" or "extra lean," so we're not sure what is actually better, calorie- and fat-wise.

    They offer ground beef, ground chuck and ground round.

    What would you pick?
  • When I use to eat beef, I always would get the ground chuck.

    Ground beef is way fatty, and the round too lean.
  • If I remember correctly, GB is 75% fat, GC is 25% fat and GR is 15% fat.

    I never use GB unless I'm cooking burgers for a lot of people, since it's cheaper. If we eat burgers at home on the very rare occasion I will use GC. But for general purpose cooking if I want it in spaghetti, chili, meatloaf or something else I use GR. I mostly use ground turkey only because when you dress it up it tastes good and is lower in calories.
  • We'll use Extra Lean Ground Beef (96/4) for stuff sometimes, after we've shopped out of town and have it, but it's not good for burgers and things. Our store doesn't label using fat/lean content, or things would be way easier!!
  • If you have a butcher, he should be able to order extra lean or whatever for you.
  • No butcher. We're way way waaaaaay out in the boonies.
  • I buy 85/15 and drain it really good. It is the cheapest stuff (2.50 a pound at aldi) and taste best. I've read that really 80/20 is best for burgers and cooking for taste and consistancy but I like 85 just fine. When I get to 90+ lean I dont drain because it dries out if I do, but I realize that is healthier. If it was cheaper I would probably go leaner.