Fat Fun

80/20, 85/15, 90/10, 97/3....How do they do that? Options are numerous at the meat counter. There's a range of choices to suit different lifestyles and recipes. For me, I choose my grinds based on what type of dish I'm whipping up.  Anywho, more to my point. Where do those lean to fat percentages come from on the ground beef packages? This is how we do it.

Fairly basic really.  All you need is a good gizmo gadget, some handy doohickies, a couple thingamabobbers, and a lug 'o beef.

First I need a gadget.  We meat processors love gadgets! 

Gizmo  Gadget  Whatchamacallit 

This is a fat analyzer used to measure fat & lean ratio in ground meats. Handy lil contraction it is.

Next, we need Doohickies and Thingamabobbers.

Gizmo Gadget's Doohickies & Thingamabobbers.

The circley contraption is used to measure the portion of ground to be analyzed.  The mini pancake maker thingy holds the ground while it is being cooked, and the tube holds the juices and fat to be measured.  Exciting stuff right here folks. :D

Now we need something to test.  Moving on to the BEEF!

This is the lug I'm testing from.  It is about 70 lbs or so.

Let's start analyzing.

Circley Doohickey ~ Measuring the portion for sampling

Perfectly measured mini tube 'o beef.

Mini tube 'o beef in the pancake maker doohickey.

Beef pancake!

Mini Pancake doohickey inserted into Gizmo Gadget...waiting.

Working...

Done! Yes, I totally ate it afterwards. ;)

The results. Oh the anticipation!

Sampling results. Note my super professional note taking abilities. Woot!  Yup. That's my daughter's crayon.
Use what's available. :-)   

I did three random samples based on the size of my batch. Sample #1 tested out at 18% fat (thus 82% lean). Samples #2 & #3 tested out as 21% fat to 79% lean. Taking an average leaves us with a batch of  80/20 or 80% lean to a 20% fat ratio.   

There you have it.  Fun with fat ~ Meat Processor style.  Oh, one more thing.

Workin girl meat coat.

I noticed I could really use a new meat coat.  Donations may be sent to the "Amy needs a new meat coat fund" at 5180 Hydro Pondsville Road, Smiths Grove KY.  Thank you! :o)