I rarely ever use ground beef, especially 80/20. Besides hamburgers, what are some good things to do with 80/20?

Is it too fatty for meatloaf, meatballs, etc.?

I have 10# of this stuff, might as well use it if I can.

I'd just use it like you would a leaner mix of ground beef, but drain some of the fat.

Chili. Just brown it first and drain off some of the fat. Or roll them into baseball sized balls and boil for 30 minutes then dump the water out with the oil and the fat that's fallen off. Then just break them into your chili as it cooks.

chili, hamburger helper, spaghetti with meat sauce, meatballs with chipotle sauce

Use it for anything, just drain some/most of the fat off when browning it.

Hamburgers made with very lean ground beef suck. They are dry and have poor texture.

Ever had a true Wagyu or Kobe burger? It is probably 70/30. Awesome burger.

As stated in the OP, I am looking for things other than hamburgers.

I am perfectly aware that 80/20 is great for burgers. I'm looking for other uses that will not result in the product swimming in grease.

No seriously...you should try making hamburgers out of it.

It's perfect for meatloaf.

sloppy joes

Cheeseburgers or sliders?

[This message has been edited by BlackLab (edited 12/12/2013 2:22p).]

I'd make it into like a ground beef sandwich, where the beef is molded into sort of a patty shape and then grilled. Maybe use a bun. Top with lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, etc.

Grammercy

good god, should have just asked the GB.

Or you could just laugh it off and focus on the legit answers. It doesn't take more than a few seconds to read the sarcastic ones, none of which are hateful.

it makes really good hamburgers...

Tacos

We will drain the fat and make Mexican food out it. Dripping grease makes you feel like you are at the restaurant. Taco, burritos, enchiladas, ect.

Tacos, meatballs and sloppy joes are about the only things I eat with ground beef.

quote:

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Is it too fatty for meatloaf, meatballs, etc.?

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I wouldn't use anything but 80/20 for meatballs or meatloaf. I bake my meatballs on a rack and free form my meatloaf so neither are greasy.

If you were to make a large batch of meatballs, would you form them and then freeze or cook them through first and then freeze?

This meat is in 5# chubs, so once I thaw it out I'll need to do something with it rather quickly.

I cook then freeze. It makes for easy weeknight meals.

I've never made a large batch of meatballs with the intention of freezing them for later, but I would think it would be better to cook first and then freeze. I would think that uncooked meatballs would loose their form in the thawing out process and would stick together.

I usually make the meatball mix and vacuum seal and freeze the extra bulk mix. Then I thaw and form next time I want to make them. Cooked and frozen meatballs should be frozen fully immersed in sauce or they will not taste right if you go that route.

I use 50/50 beef and pork. I'll do thirds with veal if I can find it cheap enough which isn't often lately.

[This message has been edited by dba fido (edited 12/13/2013 10:15a).]

^ that's a great idea. Didn't even consider freezing the bulk mix.

I hear hamburgers are great with 80/20. ;-)

I just made meatballs last night with 80/20 and they turned out delicious. I baked them on a cookie sheet first and then poured the grease off before I finished them in the sauce.

I'll mix it in with deer meat for chili.

80/20 is all I buy and cook with. Never heard any complaints.

I love putting that stuff in my hamburgers!

Cook it up with chopped onion. If I am really busy, I use the frozen chopped veggie mix that has onion, celery, green pepper. Drain the cooked mix really well. Divide it into 1 lb packages and freeze it. Use it for chili, beef and barley stew, spaghetti sauce, lasagna filling, tacos, haystack salads. Great time saver and tastes fine from the freezer up to three months. I usually do this in the fall right before school starts and so get 10-12 school night meal starters into the freezer. I often mix in 1 lb of ground turkey to 2 lbs of beef. Cannot tell when the turkey is cooked in with the beef, but it lowers the fat and sometimes the cost. And all the frying mess gets done at once, so less mess later in the year.

hamburgers

I use 80/20 for everything I cook.

Considered opinion

80/20 is the "sweet spot" of ground beef. Very versatile and economical. 70/30 is too fat. 90/10 is too difficult to blend (hence expensive). I use 80/20 for most everything. The exception is the ground sirloin burger patties from Costco which are prolly 90/10 or at least 85/15. Even so, if they are overcooked, they are dry and tasteless.

Opinion from the west coast.

Most people think it is 80% lean and 20% fat calories, but it is by weight.
Somewhere over 55% from fat calories.