All Topics  
Ground beef

 
Ground Beef

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Ground beef
 
 
  Topics Ground beef Topic Home

Ground beef, beef mince or hamburger meat (in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
), or mince(d) meat (in the rest of the English speaking world) is a ground meat
Ground meat

Ground meat is meat mincing by a meat grinder. It is called mince or mince meat outside North America.A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other meats are prepared ground in a similar fashion, including pork, Lamb and mutton, chicken, and domesticated turkey....
 product, made of beef
Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle . Beef is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of Australia, European cuisine and the Americas, and is also important in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia....
 finely chopped by a meat grinder
Meat grinder

A meat grinder or meat mincer is a kitchen appliance for grinding, fine mincing or mixing raw or cooked meat, fish, vegetables or similar food....
. It is used in many recipes including hamburger
Hamburger

A hamburger consists of a cooked ground meat patty, usually beef, placed in a sliced bun or between pieces of bread or toast. Hamburgers are often served with various condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish etc....
s and cottage pie.

any countries, food laws define specific categories of ground beef and what they can contain. For example, in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, beef fat may be added to hamburger, but not to ground beef if the meat is ground and packaged at a USDA
United States Department of Agriculture

The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive departments responsible for developing and executing Federal government of the United States policy on farming, agriculture, and food....
-inspected plant.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Ground beef'
Start a new discussion about 'Ground beef'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Ground beef, beef mince or hamburger meat (in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
), or mince(d) meat (in the rest of the English speaking world) is a ground meat
Ground meat

Ground meat is meat mincing by a meat grinder. It is called mince or mince meat outside North America.A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other meats are prepared ground in a similar fashion, including pork, Lamb and mutton, chicken, and domesticated turkey....
 product, made of beef
Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle . Beef is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of Australia, European cuisine and the Americas, and is also important in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia....
 finely chopped by a meat grinder
Meat grinder

A meat grinder or meat mincer is a kitchen appliance for grinding, fine mincing or mixing raw or cooked meat, fish, vegetables or similar food....
. It is used in many recipes including hamburger
Hamburger

A hamburger consists of a cooked ground meat patty, usually beef, placed in a sliced bun or between pieces of bread or toast. Hamburgers are often served with various condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish etc....
s and cottage pie.

Contents

In many countries, food laws define specific categories of ground beef and what they can contain. For example, in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, beef fat may be added to hamburger, but not to ground beef if the meat is ground and packaged at a USDA
United States Department of Agriculture

The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive departments responsible for developing and executing Federal government of the United States policy on farming, agriculture, and food....
-inspected plant. A maximum of 30% fat by weight is allowed in either hamburger or ground beef. Both hamburger and ground beef can have seasonings, but no water, phosphate
Phosphate

A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a Salt of phosphoric acid. Inorganic phosphates are mining to obtain phosphorus for use in agriculture and industry....
s, extenders, or binders added. Ground beef is often marketed in a range of different fat contents, to match the preferences of different customers.

Ground beef is usually made from tougher meat and leftover meat created when the sides of beef are carved into steaks and roasts. About 17-18% of US ground beef comes from dairy cows.

Cuts of beef

Although any cut of beef may be used, chuck steak
Chuck steak

Chuck steak is a cut of beef and is part of the primal cut known as the chuck. The typical chuck steak is a rectangular cut, about 1" thick and containing parts of the shoulder bones, and is often known as a "7-bone steak"....
 is one of the most popular choices, due to its richness of flavor and balance of meat and fat. Round steak
Round steak

A round steak is a steak from the round section of a steer or heifer, known as a rump steak in the United Kingdom and Australia. Specifically, a round steak is the eye round, bottom round, and top round still connected together....
 is also frequently used.

Culinary use

Ground beef is popular as a relatively cheap and quick-cooking form of beef. One of its most well known uses is in American hamburger
Hamburger

A hamburger consists of a cooked ground meat patty, usually beef, placed in a sliced bun or between pieces of bread or toast. Hamburgers are often served with various condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish etc....
s. It is an important ingredient in meatloaf
Meatloaf

Meatloaf is a meat dish consisting of seasoning ground meat , which is formed into a loaf shape and baked or smoked. The loaf shape is formed by either cooking it in a Bread pan, or forming it by hand on a flat baking pan....
, sloppy joe
Sloppy joe

A sloppy joe is an Cuisine of the United States of ground beef, onions, sweetened tomato sauce or ketchup and other seasonings, served on a hamburger bun....
s, taco
Taco

A taco is a traditional Mexican cuisine composed of a maize or wheat tortilla folded or rolled around a filling....
, and Midwestern cuisine. Italians use it to make meat sauces for, for example, lasagna
Lasagna

Lasagna is both a form of pasta in sheets and also a dish, sometimes named lasagne al forno made with alternate layers of pasta, cheese, and often rag? or tomato sauce....
 and spaghetti bolognese. In the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
 it is used to make spicy kofta
Kofta

Kofta is a family of meatball or dumpling dishes in Middle Eastern cuisine, South Asian cuisine, and Balkan cuisine cuisines.In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced or ground meat ? usually beef or Lamb and mutton ? mixed with spices and/or onions....
 and meatball
Meatball

A meatball is a ball of ground beef meat and other ingredients, such as bread or breadcrumbs, minced onion, various spices, and possibly egg , rolled together by hand, and cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce....
s. The Scottish dish mince and tatties
Mince and tatties

Mince and tatties is a popular Scottish cuisine dish, consisting of minced beef and mashed potato....
 uses it along with mashed or boiled potatoes. In Lancashire
Lancashire

Lancashire is a Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in the North West England of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea....
, particularly Oldham
Oldham

Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk and River Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester....
, minced meat is a common filling for Rag Puddings
Rag Pudding

Rag Pudding is an old fashioned savoury dish originated in Oldham, popular in Lancashire , England. A traditional Rag Pudding broadly consists of minced meat and onions wrapped in a suet pastry which is then boiled or steamed ....
.

Raw lean ground beef is used to make steak tartare
Steak tartare

Steak tartare is a meat dish made from finely chopped or ground raw food beef or horse meat. Tartare can also be made by thinly slicing a high grade of meat such as strip steak, marinating it in wine or other spirits and spicing it to taste, and then chilling it....
, a French dish. More finely diced and differently seasoned, it is popular as a main course and as a dressing in Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
, where it is known as filet américain ("American fillet").

Food safety


Food safety of ground meat
Ground meat

Ground meat is meat mincing by a meat grinder. It is called mince or mince meat outside North America.A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other meats are prepared ground in a similar fashion, including pork, Lamb and mutton, chicken, and domesticated turkey....
 issues are due to possible bacterial contamination. Undercooked Jack in the Box
Jack in the Box

| company_slogan = We don't make it, 'till you order it.| foundation = May 29, 1951 | location = San Diego, CA| key_people = Linda Lang, CEO & ChairwomanRobert Oscar Peterson, founderJack , Fictional CEO|...
 hamburgers contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 were responsible for four deaths and the illness of hundreds of people in 1993. Ground beef must be cooked to 160°F to ensure that all bacterial contamination, whether it be endogenous to the product or contaminated after purchasing by the consumer, is killed. Cooked color is not always indicative of ground beef the the beef has reached the required temperature as beef can brown before reaching 160°F. Thus, a thermometer
Thermometer

The thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles; it comes from the Greek language roots thermo, heat, and meter, to measure....
 should be used to verify the required temperature has been reached.

Due to these concerns, some ground beef is now irradiated
Food irradiation

Food irradiation is the process of exposing food to very high-energy ionizing radiation to destroy microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, or insects that might be present in the food....
. This practice has received mixed reactions from consumers .

External links