I have a recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. I'd like to remove
as much fat as possible before I add other ingredients.

Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir until the meat is
browned, and then pour off all the water. I tried this, and the meat
disintegrates into very tiny pieces, almost like coarse sand. (That
turned my sloppy Joes into sludge.)

Friend #2 said cook the meat as usual, and then add a quart of two of
ice water. The fat solidifies and rises to the top, and then I pour off
all the liquid.

Friend #3 said the advice from Friend #2 was utter nonsense, and that I
should just cook the darn meat, pour off the fat, and proceed with the
recipe.

Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? Friend
#3 also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less fat,
because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.

I'm confused.
dleifker

Dan Leifker > wrote in
:

> I have a recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. I'd like to remove
> as much fat as possible before I add other ingredients.
>
> Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir until the meat
is
> browned, and then pour off all the water. I tried this, and the meat
> disintegrates into very tiny pieces, almost like coarse sand. (That
> turned my sloppy Joes into sludge.)
>
> Friend #2 said cook the meat as usual, and then add a quart of two of
> ice water. The fat solidifies and rises to the top, and then I pour
off
> all the liquid.
>
> Friend #3 said the advice from Friend #2 was utter nonsense, and that I
> should just cook the darn meat, pour off the fat, and proceed with the
> recipe.
>
> Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? Friend
> #3 also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less
fat,
> because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.
>
> I'm confused.
> dleifker
>

Pan fry the ground beef...when cooked to your liking put the beef in a
fine mesh colander and rinse under the tap, drain and drip dry.

Or just wrap it in several layers of paper towels and shake it about a
bit. This method won't remove as much fat...but will leave any
flavourings you added to the beef.

--

The house of the burning beet-Alan

A man in line at the bank kept falling over...when he got to a teller he
asked for his balance.

"Dan Leifker" > wrote
> Friend #3 said the advice from Friend #2 was utter nonsense, and that I
> should just cook the darn meat, pour off the fat, and proceed with the
> recipe.
>
> Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? Friend #3
> also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less fat,
> because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.

Friend #3 is closest, except, you buy leaner meat because you want to pay
for more lean and less fat.

Skimming works fine too, especially if you refrigerate the stew or soup
overnight, then you can essentially lift off the fat.



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"hahabogus" > wrote
> Pan fry the ground beef...when cooked to your liking put the beef in a
> fine mesh colander and rinse under the tap, drain and drip dry.
>

This *is* the best way, and does not negatively affect the taste of the
dish,
either, I don't care what the fat fiends in the group say. :P



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Mar 6, 12:48*am, Dan Leifker > wrote:
> I have a recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. *I'd like to remove
> as much fat as possible before I add other ingredients.
>
> Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir until the meat is
> browned, and then pour off all the water. *I tried this, and the meat
> disintegrates into very tiny pieces, almost like coarse sand. *(That
> turned my sloppy Joes into sludge.)
>
> Friend #2 said cook the meat as usual, and then add a quart of two of
> ice water. *The fat solidifies and rises to the top, and then I pour off
> all the liquid.
>
> Friend #3 said the advice from Friend #2 was utter nonsense, and that I
> should just cook the darn meat, pour off the fat, and proceed with the
> recipe.
>
> Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? *Friend
> #3 also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less fat,
> because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.
>
> I'm confused.
> dleifker

What's so goddamned confusing about draining fat from ****ing ground
beef? Brown the damn ground beef, take your ****ing spoon and move
the beef to one side of the skillet, tilt the goddamn pan and take
another spoon in your other hand and spoon off the fat. Wow, rocket
science!

Do humanity a favor and commit suicide.

In article >,
Dan Leifker > wrote:

> I have a recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. I'd like to remove
> as much fat as possible before I add other ingredients.
>
> Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir until the meat is
> browned, and then pour off all the water. I tried this, and the meat
> disintegrates into very tiny pieces, almost like coarse sand. (That
> turned my sloppy Joes into sludge.)
>
> Friend #2 said cook the meat as usual, and then add a quart of two of
> ice water. The fat solidifies and rises to the top, and then I pour off
> all the liquid.
>
> Friend #3 said the advice from Friend #2 was utter nonsense, and that I
> should just cook the darn meat, pour off the fat, and proceed with the
> recipe.
>
> Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? Friend
> #3 also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less fat,
> because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.

I follow method no. 3 given above, on those occasions when I bother.

Miche

--
Electricians do it in three phases

In article >,
Dan Leifker > wrote:

> Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? Friend
> #3 also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less fat,
> because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.

Getting off nearly all the fat and getting off most of the fat are
different propositions. For most of the fat, I use a skillet large
enough that the amount of ground beef doesn't fill it up. After cooking
through the steaming phase where the water boils off the beef, the beef
will enter the fat phase where it's obvious that the beef is frying in
its own fat.
After this happens, you can brown it if you wish. When you want to drain
the fat, tilt the pan toward you and push the ground beef away from the
lowest point. Spoon off the fat from the lowest point into a container
that can handle it.
True browning requires chunks to be done properly in my experience.
Ground beef always steams first, and I'm not about to waste time cooking
little portions of ground beef at a time for browning.
My taco seasoning packet says to brown ground beef first. Yeah, right!
I'm only assuming that you mean loose ground beef. If you mean for a
hamburger, buy lean and *don't boil it*.

leo

"Dan Leifker" > wrote in message
. ..
>I have a recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. I'd like to remove as
>much fat as possible before I add other ingredients.
>
> Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir until the meat is
> browned, and then pour off all the water. I tried this, and the meat
> disintegrates into very tiny pieces, almost like coarse sand. (That
> turned my sloppy Joes into sludge.)
>
> Friend #2 said cook the meat as usual, and then add a quart of two of ice
> water. The fat solidifies and rises to the top, and then I pour off all
> the liquid.
>
> Friend #3 said the advice from Friend #2 was utter nonsense, and that I
> should just cook the darn meat, pour off the fat, and proceed with the
> recipe.
>
> Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? Friend #3
> also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less fat,
> because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.
>
> I'm confused.
>


#3 is closest. Cook it up and drain it in a collander.

Paul

dleifker

"Dan Leifker" > wrote in message
. ..
>I have a recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. I'd like to remove as
>much fat as possible before I add other ingredients.
>
> Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir until the meat is
> browned, and then pour off all the water. I tried this, and the meat
> disintegrates into very tiny pieces, almost like coarse sand. (That
> turned my sloppy Joes into sludge.)

From what I have read, this is how they get it in fine pieces in Mexican
restaurants. I've never tried it.
>
> Friend #2 said cook the meat as usual, and then add a quart of two of ice
> water. The fat solidifies and rises to the top, and then I pour off all
> the liquid.

Never heard of doing that.
>
> Friend #3 said the advice from Friend #2 was utter nonsense, and that I
> should just cook the darn meat, pour off the fat, and proceed with the
> recipe.

Yep.
>
> Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? Friend #3
> also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less fat,
> because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.

You can't pour all the fat off of cheap, fatty beef but you can get most of
it off. I generally don't buy that kind. Once in a while it is all I can
get, or I will have a coupon for some of it for free. Only then do I get
that kind.

I bought some 7% lean, organic beef today. Cooked it up and there was no
excess fat to take off. That's what I generally do.
>
> I'm confused.

cybercat wrote:
> "hahabogus" > wrote
>> Pan fry the ground beef...when cooked to your liking put the beef in a
>> fine mesh colander and rinse under the tap, drain and drip dry.
>>
>
> This *is* the best way, and does not negatively affect the taste of the
> dish,
> either, I don't care what the fat fiends in the group say. :P
>
It is disgusting, IMO.
I truly, TRULY doubt you're improving the taste or lessening the fat
content so much for that horrid rinsing step...and I can't imagine how
gross your sink drain gets.

Paul M. Cook wrote:

>
> #3 is closest. Cook it up and drain it in a collander.
>
> Paul

This is what I do. NO water rinsing needed (ugh!)

"Goomba38" > wrote

> Paul M. Cook wrote:

>> #3 is closest. Cook it up and drain it in a collander.

> This is what I do. NO water rinsing needed (ugh!)

I don't even want to think what that does to the texture.
There is nothing appealing about the thought of washing
ground beef.

nancy

Dan wrote on Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:48:32 -0800:

DL> Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir
DL> until the meat is browned, and then pour off all the water.
DL> I tried this, and the meat disintegrates into very tiny
DL> pieces, almost like coarse sand. (That turned my sloppy
DL> Joes into sludge.)

If you really want to do that, brown the meat slightly and then
boil with water. Strain off the meat and then use a fat
separator on the juice. Add the separated stock to the meat and
repeat the process and the amount of fat will be small. The
strained stock should be reduced and added to the meat or else a
lot of flavor will be lost.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"Nancy Young" wrote:
> "Goomba38" wrote
>
> > Paul M. Cook wrote:
> >> #3 is closest. �Cook it up and drain it in a collander.
> > This is what I do. NO water rinsing needed (ugh!)
>
> I don't even want to think what that does to the texture.
> There is nothing appealing about the thought of washing
> ground beef.


What a hilariously grotesque thread... GRIND YOUR OWN --- NO EXTRA
FAT TO DRAIN... and fat is the least of it, how are you going to rinse
the cockroaches, mouse turds, and worse from preground mystery meat.

Anyways, folks who actually know how to cook simply ladle the fat that
rises to the top of their meat sauces... only imbeciles wash ground
meat, then yoose may as well use tofu instead.

Moroon thread...

"Dan Leifker" > wrote in message
. ..
> I have a recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. I'd like to remove
> as much fat as possible before I add other ingredients.
>
> Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir until the meat is
> browned, and then pour off all the water. I tried this, and the meat
> disintegrates into very tiny pieces, almost like coarse sand. (That
> turned my sloppy Joes into sludge.)
>
> Friend #2 said cook the meat as usual, and then add a quart of two of
> ice water. The fat solidifies and rises to the top, and then I pour off
> all the liquid.
>
> Friend #3 said the advice from Friend #2 was utter nonsense, and that I
> should just cook the darn meat, pour off the fat, and proceed with the
> recipe.
>
> Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? Friend
> #3 also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less fat,
> because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.
>
> I'm confused.
> dleifker
When the meat is cooked, I take the pan off the heat and tip it so the
meat is away from one side of the pan. I then put paper towel(s) in the
empty spot and let it absorb the fat. I change the paper towel as it is
saturated, and when it's mostly drained, I wipe the pan with a clean towel.
Works every time. .........Sharon

On Mar 6, 12:48*am, Dan Leifker > wrote:
> I have a recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. *I'd like to remove
> as much fat as possible before I add other ingredients.
>
> Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir until the meat is
> browned, and then pour off all the water. *I tried this, and the meat
> disintegrates into very tiny pieces, almost like coarse sand. *(That
> turned my sloppy Joes into sludge.)
>
> Friend #2 said cook the meat as usual, and then add a quart of two of
> ice water. *The fat solidifies and rises to the top, and then I pour off
> all the liquid.
>
> Friend #3 said the advice from Friend #2 was utter nonsense, and that I
> should just cook the darn meat, pour off the fat, and proceed with the
> recipe.
>
> Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? *Friend
> #3 also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less fat,
> because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.
>
> I'm confused.
> dleifker

Friend # 3 has it right.

N.

hahabogus wrote:
> Dan Leifker > wrote in
> :
>
>> I have a recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. I'd like to remove
>> as much fat as possible before I add other ingredients.
>>
>> Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir until the meat
> is
>> browned, and then pour off all the water. I tried this, and the meat
>> disintegrates into very tiny pieces, almost like coarse sand. (That
>> turned my sloppy Joes into sludge.)
>>
>> Friend #2 said cook the meat as usual, and then add a quart of two of
>> ice water. The fat solidifies and rises to the top, and then I pour
> off
>> all the liquid.
>>
>> Friend #3 said the advice from Friend #2 was utter nonsense, and that I
>> should just cook the darn meat, pour off the fat, and proceed with the
>> recipe.
>>
>> Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? Friend
>> #3 also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less
> fat,
>> because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.
>>
>> I'm confused.
>> dleifker
>>
>
> Pan fry the ground beef...when cooked to your liking put the beef in a
> fine mesh colander and rinse under the tap, drain and drip dry.
>


I've tried that once or twice; The meat has no taste left afterwards :-P

Brown the meat until all the exuded liquid is boiled away and the meat
is obviously frying in its own fat. Pour into a metal screen colander
and let it drip. Do not rinse with hot water unless you actually *want*
to remove most of the flavor.

Bob

On Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:48:32 -0800, Dan Leifker > wrote:

>I have a recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. I'd like to remove
>as much fat as possible before I add other ingredients.
>
>Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir until the meat is
>browned, and then pour off all the water. I tried this, and the meat
>disintegrates into very tiny pieces, almost like coarse sand. (That
>turned my sloppy Joes into sludge.)
>
>Friend #2 said cook the meat as usual, and then add a quart of two of
>ice water. The fat solidifies and rises to the top, and then I pour off
>all the liquid.
>
>Friend #3 said the advice from Friend #2 was utter nonsense, and that I
>should just cook the darn meat, pour off the fat, and proceed with the
>recipe.
>
>Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? Friend
>#3 also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less fat,
>because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.
>
>I'm confused.
>dleifker


Tell friends 1 & 2 don't be a such a tightass, number 3 is what I do and works fine.
If fat is such an issue that simply draining the excess leaves too much, maybe you
should consider skinless chicken or turkey.

Dan Leifker wrote:
> I have a recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. I'd like to remove
> as much fat as possible before I add other ingredients.
>
> Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? Friend
> #3 also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less fat,
> because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.
>
> I'm confused.


The reason your beef turns to sand is that you are using the
cheap beef that has lots of fat in it. Dies it make sense,
are you saving money to buy beef that's 20% fat and pour
20% of it away?

I would just drain the meat well after cooking, but I have
friends who pour hot water over it in a sieve to get every
last bit of the fat off. DO NOT pour this fat or water
down the drain. That's asking for expensive plumbing problems.

Save jars with lids to dispose of fat in the trash.

gloria p

Sheldon wrote

> What a hilariously grotesque thread... GRIND YOUR OWN --- NO EXTRA
> FAT TO DRAIN... and fat is the least of it, how are you going to
rinse
> the cockroaches, mouse turds, and worse from preground mystery meat.
>
> Anyways, folks who actually know how to cook simply ladle the fat
that
> rises to the top of their meat sauces... only imbeciles wash ground
> meat, then yoose may as well use tofu instead.
>
> Moroon thread...

I have to agree, here.
--
Vilco
Think pink, drink rose'

On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 07:59:06 -0800 (PST), Nancy2
> wrote:

>On Mar 6, 12:48*am, Dan Leifker > wrote:
>> I have a recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. *I'd like to remove
>> as much fat as possible before I add other ingredients.
>>
>> Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir until the meat is
>> browned, and then pour off all the water. *I tried this, and the meat
>> disintegrates into very tiny pieces, almost like coarse sand. *(That
>> turned my sloppy Joes into sludge.)
>>
>> Friend #2 said cook the meat as usual, and then add a quart of two of
>> ice water. *The fat solidifies and rises to the top, and then I pour off
>> all the liquid.
>>
>> Friend #3 said the advice from Friend #2 was utter nonsense, and that I
>> should just cook the darn meat, pour off the fat, and proceed with the
>> recipe.
>>
>> Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? *Friend
>> #3 also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less fat,
>> because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.
>>
>> I'm confused.
>> dleifker
>
>Friend # 3 has it right.
>
>N.

i also choose the friend behind door number three. any kind of
rinsing would rob flavor, besides seeming intrinsically gross.

your pal,
blake

On Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:48:32 -0800, Dan Leifker >
wrote:

>
>Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir until the meat is
>browned, and then pour off all the water.

Funny.... when I boil beef, it doesn't really brown. How is this
trick accomplished?

A-

>> Pan fry the ground beef...when cooked to your liking put the beef in a
>> fine mesh colander and rinse under the tap, drain and drip dry.
>>
>
> This *is* the best way, and does not negatively affect the taste of the
> dish,
> either, I don't care what the fat fiends in the group say. :P
>


ick
fookin' double ick
hell, fookin' triple ick

if you don't want meat, then don't use meat. buy some tvp.

ick

joe

Dan Leifker wrote:


> Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef?
> Friend #3 also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with
> less fat, because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.

I'm the opposite. I buy the extra-lean (90%) ground beef. On sale (the
only time I buy it) it's been $1.99 per pound. That works out to be
$2.21 per pound for the "lean" portion. Regular ground beef (70%) is
$1.49, or about $2.12 for the lean. The extra-lean requires no draining
for me, so any minor cost difference is more than made up for by not
hassling with drainage. I can always add more fat in the form of olive
or canola oil for recipes that need it.




Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

hahabogus wrote:
>
> Pan fry the ground beef...when cooked to your liking put the beef in a
> fine mesh colander and rinse under the tap, drain and drip dry.


Just be sure to rinse it with HOT water so it doesn't make the grease
solidify.

arthur alexander wrote:


> Here's a top secret method developed by NASA for use
> in the space shuttles.. put the ground beef in a micro-
> wave safe colander. Put in in your microwave, over a
> microwave-safe bowl. (See where we're going with
> this?). Nuke it. If gravity continues to function in the
> manner for which was designed, the fat will drip into
> the bowl!

Total pain in the ass, plus you dirtied up two extra dishes.



Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

Samantha Hill - take out TRASH to reply wrote:

> hahabogus wrote:
> >
> > Pan fry the ground beef...when cooked to your liking put the beef in a
> > fine mesh colander and rinse under the tap, drain and drip dry.
>
> Just be sure to rinse it with HOT water so it doesn't make the grease
> solidify.

Until it gets further down into you pipes.

On Mar 6, 7:05 am, "Nancy Young" > wrote:
> "Goomba38" > wrote
>
> > Paul M. Cook wrote:
> >> #3 is closest. Cook it up and drain it in a collander.
> > This is what I do. NO water rinsing needed (ugh!)
>
> I don't even want to think what that does to the texture.
> There is nothing appealing about the thought of washing
> ground beef.
>
> nancy

Here's what you said in a similar thread a while back: "Use Dawn
dishwasher detergent, it does cut grease."
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.f...80524325ca329d

-bwg

Thanks to all the nice people who shared their thoughts with me about
this. It was a serious question written for health reasons, despite the
very strange comments and flames from a few hostile readers. Hope they
have a better day tomorrow.

dleifker

biig wrote:
> When the meat is cooked, I take the pan off the heat and tip it so the
> meat is away from one side of the pan. I then put paper towel(s) in the
> empty spot and let it absorb the fat. I change the paper towel as it is
> saturated, and when it's mostly drained, I wipe the pan with a clean towel.
> Works every time. .........Sharon

Utterly brilliant! Yours is the winning answer.

thanks
dleifker

"Dan Leifker" > wrote in message
. ..
> Thanks to all the nice people who shared their thoughts with me about
> this. It was a serious question written for health reasons, despite the
> very strange comments and flames from a few hostile readers. Hope they
> have a better day tomorrow.
>

Dan, I understand that there are times when getting the most fat out of a
dish
is the most important thing, particularly for those who have coronary heart
disease, who would rather sacrifice a bit of "mouthfeel" than have another
heart attack or stroke.

On Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:48:32 -0800, Dan Leifker >
wrote:

>I have a recipe that calls for cooked ground beef. I'd like to remove
>as much fat as possible before I add other ingredients.
>
>Friend #1 told me to boil (!) the ground beef and stir until the meat is
>browned, and then pour off all the water. I tried this, and the meat
>disintegrates into very tiny pieces, almost like coarse sand. (That
>turned my sloppy Joes into sludge.)
>
>Friend #2 said cook the meat as usual, and then add a quart of two of
>ice water. The fat solidifies and rises to the top, and then I pour off
>all the liquid.
>
>Friend #3 said the advice from Friend #2 was utter nonsense, and that I
>should just cook the darn meat, pour off the fat, and proceed with the
>recipe.
>
>Any suggestions for the best way to drain fat from ground beef? Friend
>#3 also said not to waste money on high-grade ground beef with less fat,
>because you can pour off all the fat after cooking.
>
>I'm confused.
>dleifker

Hi Dan,

If the idea is "drain fat from the meat", there have already been some
good suggestions. All of those methods will unfortunately leave a
fair bit of saturated fat within the pieces of meat.

If the idea is instead "get rid of SATURATED fat" for heart healt, one
suggestion made some time ago by the American Heart Association (I
think) was to fry the meat in a good bit of cooking oil, such as
canola oil. Then drain off that oil. It will carry off a good bit of
the saturated fat and leave behind mostly unsaturated fat.

It's a pain in the buns to do, but worthwhile, especially if one is
cooking large amounts of ground beef to be frozen for later use.

Best -- Terry

On Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:17:27 -0800, Samantha Hill - take out TRASH to
reply > wrote:

>hahabogus wrote:
>>
>> Pan fry the ground beef...when cooked to your liking put the beef in a
>> fine mesh colander and rinse under the tap, drain and drip dry.
>
>
>Just be sure to rinse it with HOT water so it doesn't make the grease
>solidify.

Don't ever pour fat into the sink. It solidifies almost instantly and
the fat layer grows like sclerosis. I went to help a friend to
roto-snake his stuck kitchen sink. We ended up having to saw open the
ABS drain pipe running from the sink under the basement to the waste
water floor connector. That 2 inch pipe was plugged solid with fat
for more than a foot run and of course we had to scrape out the rest
of the pipe where the fat had not formed a solid plug yet. I think we
finally just tossed out the old pipe and put in a new 8 ft. length
where that helped.

To remove fat from ground beef I'd fry the beef until it is slightly
brown. By then most of the fat would have melted. I'd pour the molten
fat into a can. The ground meat in the pan is held back by a fork or
a slotted spatula. The fat I leave for the birds in the yard. Don't
add salt to the meat if you are going to feed the waste fat to the
birds. It makes them drink a lot of water to get rid of the salt, not
a healthy thing to do. In winter it is fatal for them as they have to
eat snow to get water. Their body mass is too small to handle eating
much snow. That's why never feed bacon fat (salty) to birds.

Don't wash cooked ground beef with water. It washes away the flavor.
If the residual fat bothers you put a paper towel onto a dish and pour
the fried ground beef on it. The paper will soak up the excess fat.
Sometimes I'd fry a large batch of ground beef and freeze the excess
for preparing later meals.

Terry wrote:
> If the idea is instead "get rid of SATURATED fat" for heart healt, one
> suggestion made some time ago by the American Heart Association (I
> think) was to fry the meat in a good bit of cooking oil, such as
> canola oil. Then drain off that oil. It will carry off a good bit of
> the saturated fat and leave behind mostly unsaturated fat.

Reminds me of the process by which coffee is decaffeinated! Great
idea... thanks.

PaPaPeng wrote on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:42:31 GMT:

??>> hahabogus wrote:
??>>>
??>>> Pan fry the ground beef...when cooked to your liking put
??>>> the beef in a fine mesh colander and rinse under the tap,
??>>> drain and drip dry.
??>>
??>> Just be sure to rinse it with HOT water so it doesn't make
??>> the grease solidify.

P> Don't ever pour fat into the sink. It solidifies almost
P> instantly and the fat layer grows like sclerosis. I went to
P> help a friend to roto-snake his stuck kitchen sink. We
P> ended up having to saw open the ABS drain pipe running from
P> the sink under the basement to the waste water floor
P> connector. That 2 inch pipe was plugged solid with fat for
P> more than a foot run and of course we had to scrape out the
P> rest of the pipe where the fat had not formed a solid plug
P> yet. I think we finally just tossed out the old pipe and put
P> in a new 8 ft. length where that helped.

It's not a good thing to do but the old instructions were to
pour it down the sink with the disposer running with cold
water.I that solidified the fat and broke the solid into small
particles.


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Fri, 07 Mar 2008 04:52:04 GMT, "James Silverton"
> wrote:

> PaPaPeng wrote on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:42:31 GMT:
>
> ??>> hahabogus wrote:
> ??>>>
> ??>>> Pan fry the ground beef...when cooked to your liking put
> ??>>> the beef in a fine mesh colander and rinse under the tap,
> ??>>> drain and drip dry.
> ??>>
> ??>> Just be sure to rinse it with HOT water so it doesn't make
> ??>> the grease solidify.
>
> P> Don't ever pour fat into the sink. It solidifies almost
> P> instantly and the fat layer grows like sclerosis. I went to
> P> help a friend to roto-snake his stuck kitchen sink. We
> P> ended up having to saw open the ABS drain pipe running from
> P> the sink under the basement to the waste water floor
> P> connector. That 2 inch pipe was plugged solid with fat for
> P> more than a foot run and of course we had to scrape out the
> P> rest of the pipe where the fat had not formed a solid plug
> P> yet. I think we finally just tossed out the old pipe and put
> P> in a new 8 ft. length where that helped.
>
> It's not a good thing to do but the old instructions were to
>pour it down the sink with the disposer running with cold
>water.I that solidified the fat and broke the solid into small
>particles.
>
Still not a good idea. Someone just posted about a clogged drain that
was "sludge" somewhere out in the line. What do you suppose that
sludge is? Fat and other greasy buildup.

--
See return address to reply by email
remove the smile first

On Mar 6, 8:21*pm, Dan Leifker > wrote:
> Thanks to all the nice people who shared their thoughts with me about
> this. *It was a serious question written for health reasons, despite the
> very strange comments and flames from a few hostile readers. *Hope they
> have a better day tomorrow.
>

Oh yeah, big ****in' A whoopie ding, asswipe.

On Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:10:55 -0800, sf wrote:

>On Fri, 07 Mar 2008 04:52:04 GMT, "James Silverton"
> wrote:
>
>> PaPaPeng wrote on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:42:31 GMT:
>>
>> ??>> hahabogus wrote:
>> ??>>>
>> ??>>> Pan fry the ground beef...when cooked to your liking put
>> ??>>> the beef in a fine mesh colander and rinse under the tap,
>> ??>>> drain and drip dry.
>> ??>>
>> ??>> Just be sure to rinse it with HOT water so it doesn't make
>> ??>> the grease solidify.
>>
>> P> Don't ever pour fat into the sink. It solidifies almost
>> P> instantly and the fat layer grows like sclerosis. I went to
>> P> help a friend to roto-snake his stuck kitchen sink. We
>> P> ended up having to saw open the ABS drain pipe running from
>> P> the sink under the basement to the waste water floor
>> P> connector. That 2 inch pipe was plugged solid with fat for
>> P> more than a foot run and of course we had to scrape out the
>> P> rest of the pipe where the fat had not formed a solid plug
>> P> yet. I think we finally just tossed out the old pipe and put
>> P> in a new 8 ft. length where that helped.
>>
>> It's not a good thing to do but the old instructions were to
>>pour it down the sink with the disposer running with cold
>>water.I that solidified the fat and broke the solid into small
>>particles.
>>
>Still not a good idea. Someone just posted about a clogged drain that
>was "sludge" somewhere out in the line. What do you suppose that
>sludge is? Fat and other greasy buildup.


The details are coming back now. The rental snake would only go 6
feet and that was it. So it wasn't hard to decide where to cut the
pipe. The stoppage would be at the first 90 deg elbow and we cut the
the pipe a foot from the elbow. One look at the solid plug of fat we
didn't even bother to examine it further. Fortunately that 12 foot
downstream straight run was easily accessible and we cut off 8 feet so
that we could put in a new length. We had bought a pair of 2 inch x 6
inch plumbing rubber hose connectors made for just this purpose. It
was secured by hose clamps and therefore the new pipe would be
removeable for future blockage problems. Digging the solidified fat
out was upstream of the cut. The goob filled a litre in a fast food
bucket.

The wife had been complaing about the sink draining too slowly for the
few years they had lived in the house. I can imagine the buckets of
boiling water and drano they must have poured into it. But all that
would do was to move the fat plug further down the pipe. The house had
at least one previous owner. So the fat was not their doing.

Since the friend got me to help he also wanted help to fix his kitchen
faucet. From my own faucet I was already convinced that his fixture
too would have a heroic lime build-up and not worth repairing. So a
new faucet. In taking out the old faucet the wood in the laminate
countertop was already breaking apart due to wet rot. Fortunately
there was enough body left not to need a complete kitchen countertop
replacement. All the countertops would have to match eh! The wood
rot would be from the leaky faucet as well as from the overflowing
sink.

The moral of this story is the kitchen sink is for wastewater only.

Don't pour or wash fat into the sink and flush as little food scraps
down it as possible. The the food scraps adhere to the solidified fat
in the drainpipe. If your cooking generates a lot of waste fat have
an empty food can handy and pour into that. For smaller amounts pour
the fat into paper towels or old newspapers. Wrap it in a plastic bag
and toss that out in the garbage. Same thing with food scraps.
Collect them in a plastic bag and dispose with the solids garbage. I
have a plastic tabletop waste can with a lid. I line it with the
veggie plastic bag that we tear off from a roll at the grocers.
Therefore my main kitchen garbage can has all these little 2 litre
balls of garbage in knotted plastic bags that don't leak and don't
smell. Up here in the Great White North we don't have crocoach and
creepy crawly inside house pests. In warmer climes mini bagging your
garbage should help keep the pests at bay. Housekeeping is a breeze.

sf wrote on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:10:55 -0800:

??>> It's not a good thing to do but the old instructions were
??>> to pour it down the sink with the disposer running with
??>> cold water.I that solidified the fat and broke the solid
??>> into small particles.
??>>
s> Still not a good idea. Someone just posted about a clogged
s> drain that was "sludge" somewhere out in the line. What do
s> you suppose that sludge is? Fat and other greasy buildup.

I said that's not a good thing to do meaning that it's not even
responsible to send grease to the sewage plants. But I wonder if
*solid* grease particles are any different from the rest of the
output of a disposer?

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

<sf> wrote in message ...
> On Fri, 07 Mar 2008 04:52:04 GMT, "James Silverton"
> > wrote:
>
>> PaPaPeng wrote on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:42:31 GMT:
>>
>> ??>> hahabogus wrote:
>> ??>>>
>> ??>>> Pan fry the ground beef...when cooked to your liking put
>> ??>>> the beef in a fine mesh colander and rinse under the tap,
>> ??>>> drain and drip dry.
>> ??>>
>> ??>> Just be sure to rinse it with HOT water so it doesn't make
>> ??>> the grease solidify.
>>
>> P> Don't ever pour fat into the sink. It solidifies almost
>> P> instantly and the fat layer grows like sclerosis. I went to
>> P> help a friend to roto-snake his stuck kitchen sink. We
>> P> ended up having to saw open the ABS drain pipe running from
>> P> the sink under the basement to the waste water floor
>> P> connector. That 2 inch pipe was plugged solid with fat for
>> P> more than a foot run and of course we had to scrape out the
>> P> rest of the pipe where the fat had not formed a solid plug
>> P> yet. I think we finally just tossed out the old pipe and put
>> P> in a new 8 ft. length where that helped.
>>
>> It's not a good thing to do but the old instructions were to
>>pour it down the sink with the disposer running with cold
>>water.I that solidified the fat and broke the solid into small
>>particles.
>>
> Still not a good idea. Someone just posted about a clogged drain that
> was "sludge" somewhere out in the line. What do you suppose that
> sludge is? Fat and other greasy buildup.
>

As I have said too many times, I drain mine in a collander over
a larger pot and dispose of the grease in the garbage.