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wrote:

> Ellie C wrote:
>
>>I cooked up some American Chop Suey for lunch today, using hamburger
>>from the local market. I've now come to the conclusion that this
>
> ground
>
>>beef is just weird. It's 15% fat, so I generally add a small amount
>
> of
>
>>olive oil to the pan before I start to brown the meat. But, as is
>
> usual
>
>>with this ground beef, it never browns. Here's the sequence of
>
> events: I
>
>>heat the olive oil in the frying pan, then I add the beef. For a few
>>seconds it sizzles normally and then it starts releasing water,
>
> enough
>
>>so that it's actually boiling and it never browns again. Does this
>
> mean
>
>>the meat has been watered? If I cook it for a really long time the
>>"water" boils off, but the meat by this time has turned into little
>>crumbles and never becomes browned - the crumbles just get harder.
>
>
> I'd say that water is being added to the ground meat, either
> deliberately or as a "side effect" of its handling. I'd urge you to
> find another source for your meat, esp for ground meat.
>
> I had an experience similar to yours a number of years ago. The ground
> beef bought at a nation-wide chain store oozed a lot of water when
> fried...and what was oozing was clearly water and not fat. Not at all
> natural and I never again bought meat (or much of anything else) from
> that chain.
>
> Mac
>
I'll have to try some hamburger from the other store in town, see if
it's as bad. I have to say that all the ground beef I find here (in
France) is a bit strange. But then so is the beef before it's ground. If
I ever get back to the US, first thing I'm going to have is a steak that
tastes good! The best steaks I've had here are worse than the worst
steaks I've ever had in the US. French beef is horrible. Ditto French
pork. French chicken, on the other hand, is heaven compared to US chicken.