I like 85% lean for most everything; anything leaner than that is useless for culinary purposes, and while 80% isn't too alarmingly greasy, below that you lose too much of the weight you're paying for in meltoff. (IMO, of course.)

Oh, and here's a butcher-counter tip: Some markets, rather than labeling by percentage of lean, will identify their grade of ground beef by cut (ground round, ground chuck and so on). Chuck is naturally around or a little bit less than 85% lean, and it's a tasty cut as well; as it such makes pretty much ideal ground beef - but, for reasons I don't really understand, some places will label anything with around an 85% lean content "ground chuck", regardless of whether it actually is chuck.

If you're in any doubt, you can always just grab a chuck steak of around the weight you want, take it to the counter, and ask them to grind it for you. Unless you're me, and you always seem to get to your local supermarket 10 minutes after the butcher has finished cleaning the meat grinder for the evening, they should be happy to do that for you, and then you'll know what you have really is ground chuck and not, say, ground round with some extra fat thrown in to balance it out. The latter has the right fat content but never quite tastes as good.

--G.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.