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)

Increased Beef Oversight: Needed? or Overkill?

When I strolled into the meat shop last Saturday morning, my E-mail inbox had a surprise waiting for me!  I received notification about yet another meat recall.  But this wasn’t just any old meat recall.  My eyes did a little double take. The recall was for a strain of E. coli known as O26. So, what’s the big deal you say?

Without getting too sciency and geeky, here’s the gist of it… Generally, beef recalls are due to the well publicized virulent (bad … yes, there are “good” ones, too) strain of E. coli known as O157:H7.  For my small business, containing this ubiquitous threat can literally mean the difference of being in business or vaporizing our life’s work.  Yep, it’s the kind of stuff that keeps a gal up at night.  The O157:H7 strain of E. coli is an official adulterant under USDA regulations.  So now, what does that mean?

Well, it basically boils down to the fact that E. coli O157:H7 is highly regulated and strictly enforced with a zero tolerance policy.  This in itself is enough to drive a small (even large!) USDA inspected beef slaughter and fabrication plant mad.  Why?  Folks, there is no sterile raw meat product.  YES, you heard it here.  Not even a small slaughter plant can create a sterile raw meat product.  Try as we may, there are no guarantees.  I know, I know…you heard that grass fed beef or small family farms can’t have E. coli, Salmonella, or whatever bug.  You read somewhere that small slaughterhouses somehow create a magical, mystical safe meat.