Why is some ground beef more chewy than other? Is it the brand?

Question

It seems like the ground beef I eat at restaurants is way more pleasant in texture than the kind I cook at home.

I didnt know there were than many kind of ground ...stuff...

Answer 1

It's probably not brand but a combination of other things. Now granted I'm sure that some brands would have very bad meat, but like most brand items meat is usually very similar.

Age of the meat can be a factor. Many good resturaunts use very fresh meat cut the same or next day while at the market some meat can be weeks old. It also can be how it is cooked and what cut of meat it is. Some resturaunts add ingredients to meat to change taste and texture. You could add meat tenderizer to your beef or change the way you cook it. Try to buy meat with sell by date as far away as possible, or go to a butcher if you can find one so that you can be sure the meat is fresh. Then try to change up the way you cook the meat. Overcooking will produce chewy meat.

Answer 2

it depends on the grade of the beef and what kind of ground beef it is. for example there is ground sirloin, ground round, ground chuck, ground beef, ect.... Also you have to keep in mind how the beef cows are brought up and how they were fed. you can get a ton more info an foodnetwork.com

Answer 3

There are many grades of ground turkey. This turkey may have a very high level of fat. Sometimes used in fast food places to make cheap chili and tacos. This may be made with what is called "white slime" which is similar to the pink slime that people have been all upset about recently. The lowest grade of ground turkey that I buy is 7% fat and almost always I buy 1% fat, 99% lean meat. I am wondering where your relative came up with lots of packages of cheap ground turkey?

Answer 4

first of all steer clear of "ground beef". you may already know this but "beef" could mean anything. go with at least "chuck" that ensures what part it is from. The chewy texture is probably fat tissues. go with ground sirloin or ground chuck or even ground round if you so desire. That should fix that. as for restaurants, they are probably serving the beef variety that you speak of, but their methods are probably far different than yours hence the difference in taste.

Answer 5

The chewier the beef is in direct inverse relation to the number of dogs missing from the neighborhood.

Answer 6

I think it is because of the level of fat content in the ground beef

Answer 7

It'a a low grade of beef.

Answer 8

The cut, fat content, how well it is aged, how it is tenderized and prepared, and how it is cooked. The better cut and lower the fat, the less chewy. Marinating also heps greatly. Also, the longer meat is cooked, the tougher and smaller it becomes.

Answer 9

all ground beef is not the same, its the cut of meat that is used before it is ground

Answer 10

Because it is a low grade of beef.