Since I want to reduce the fat in my cooking, do I need to switch to ground chicken or turkey? Is ground chicken leaner than ground beef?
Whether you choose to buy Extra Lean, Lean, Medium or Regular Ground Beef, the same guidelines for maximum fat content apply to ALL ground meats. So, lean and extra lean ground beef have THE SAME maximum fat content as lean and extra lean ground chicken, turkey, pork, lamb or veal.
Here are two simple steps you can take to reduce the fat content of ground beef even further:
- Cook burger patties by grilling. Grilling a burger can lower the fat content by about one-third compared to the fat content found in the raw beef patty.
- When making recipes like pasta sauce, tacos or chili, drain pan-fried ground beef in a colander to lower the fat on average by one-third.
