Crust-less Deep Dish Pizza

I am without a doubt a pizza guy. In fact, I am not to particular, I like just about every kind of pizza, but one of my favorites is Chicago style deep dish pizza. Being on a Ketogenic (Keto) diet does present some challenges when it comes to making a good pie. There are some good cauliflower, and fat head pizza dough recipes and I have made both, but my favorite is a meat crust pizza that I was inspired to make after reading a blog post from one of Chicago's legendary pizzeria's 'Lou Malnati's'. The article mentioned a new offering of a 'crust-less' pizza for gluten intolerant customers.

In this case the crust was made by a layer of their “lean sausage as the base, then topped with out fresh mozzarellas cheese and zesty tomato sauce.” So I thought, this could be the perfect low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) Keto pizza. Now I do not know what they mean by the term “lean” sausage, but I decided to make the base of my crust-less pizza with a mild Italian sausage and build of from there. The final outcome I believe is my favorite keto style pizza yet. Having said that, it is pretty high in fat, so it is not something you want to eat everyday.

The Recipe

As pizzas go, this recipe is pretty simple if you are using store bought Italian sausage, just keep in mind that commercially prepared sausage may have some carbohydrates from sugar, especially if you are using a sweet mild sausage. Generally you can find Italian sausage in most supermarkets in both bulk 1lb packages or as links. If all your supermarket carries is the links, then simply split the casings and add the sausage to your deep dish pan as if it was bulk processed.

16 ounces Italian sausage, mild or hot

12 slices provolone cheese

2 (1.75 ounces) packages of pepperoni

1 ½ cups mozzarella, shredded

½ cup pizza sauce (see below)

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Take your 12-inch deep dish pizza pan and with your hands, press and spread the Italian sausage across the bottom of the pan until you have an even layer of sausage which will be the basis of your crust.

Next, add the pizza sauce and spread evenly over the sausage layer.

Then add the sliced provolone cheese.

Add the pepperoni or other desired toppings.

Add the final cheese layer and place in your pre-heated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Crust-less Pizza (Total 8 slices)

Calories – 2437, protein 138 grams, fat 198 grams, carbohydrates 20.2 grams

Crust-less Pizza Per Slice

Calories – 305, protein 17.25 grams, fat 24.75 grams, carbohydrates 2.52 grams

Pizza Hut Deep Dish Pepperoni Pizza (Total 8 slices)

Calories – 2960, protein 120 grams, fat 152 grams, carbohydrates 296 grams

Pizza Hut Deep Dish Pepperoni Pizza Per Slice

Calories – 370, protein 15 grams, fat 19 grams, carbohydrates 37 grams

The Sauce

A pizza is only as good as it's sauce. Typically, Malnati's uses crushed tomatoes seasoned with Italian seasoning and spices in place of a traditional tomato sauce. If you choose to go this route, an easy option would be to purchase a can of small petite tomatoes diced with basil, garlic and oregano and simply crush the tomatoes by hand and place as many as you want on top of the sausage layer, or with your additional ingredients before you add the mozzarella. If your prefer a more traditional pizza sauce and you do not have any pasta or pizza sauce on hand, I have included a quick Keto recipe you can whip together.

8 ounces tomato sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon fennel seed, ground (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a plastic container and reserve until ready to use.

Pizza Sauce (1 cup)

Calories – 105.5, protein 1.4 grams, fat 0.05 grams, carbohydrates 16.55 grams

The Sausage Patty

When purchasing Johnsonville Italian sausage for your pizza keep in mind a few things. Mild sweet Italian, and the Hot variety of sausage have sugar added so it is about 3 carbohydrates per link (15 carbs per a 5 link package of 19 ounces), while the bulk varieties of mild Italian and Hot sausage are listed as having 6 carbohydrates per pound. In addition, according to the package, the individual links contain more sugar 2 grams per serving versus 1 gram per serving for the same sausage in bulk form, go figure.

So if you really want to cut down on the carbohydrates by eliminating the sugar you can make your own mild Italian sausage. Guess what it is really quick and easy to do, and you get total control of what goes into the meat. If you are going to use ground beef in place of the sausage, you may want to use a leaner beef as the pepperoni, and cheeses are already high in fat and using 73/27 ground beef generally makes the pie pretty greasy, still tastes great but I did blot off some of the oil before we ate it when I used the fattier ground beef.

1 pound ground pork, beef, or combination

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried basil

¾ teaspoon paprika

¾ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon dried parsley

¼ teaspoon fennel seed, ground

1/8 teaspoon oregano

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands until throughly combined and all the spices are evenly distributed throughout the sausage.

Ground Beef Sausage Patty (16 ounces 73/27)

Calories – 1314, protein 73 grams, fat 112 grams, carbohydrates 5.45 grams

Nutritional Information

The nutritional information for this recipe will vary considerably depending on the ingredients that you choose to use and whether you decide to make your own sausage or use a commercially prepared Italian sausage such as Johnsonville. Personally, I make this pizza with a homemade sausage patty made from ground beef using the spices listed in the recipe. I am listing some of the nutritional values of the items I used so that if you tweak this recipe to suit your needs you can get a general idea of the total nutritional value of the pizza.

Ground Beef Sausage (16 ounces 73/27)

Calories – 1314, protein 73 grams, fat 112 grams, carbohydrates 5.45 grams

Ground Beef Sausage (16 ounces 80/20)

Calories – 1186, protein 79 grams, fat 91 grams, carbohydrates 5.45 grams

Ground Beef Sausage (16 ounces 93/7)

Calories – 713, protein 93 grams, fat 32 grams, carbohydrates 5.45 grams

Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage (16 ounces)

Calories – 1020 , protein 60 grams, fat 78 grams, carbohydrates 6 grams

Hormel Pepperoni (1.75oz package)

Calories – 280, protein 10 grams, fat 26 grams, carbohydrates 0 grams

Provolone Cheese (Per 19 gram slice)

Calories – 70, protein 5 grams, fat 5 grams, carbohydrates 0 grams

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (Per Cup)

Calories – 336, protein 25 grams, fat 25 grams, carbohydrates 2 grams

Conclusion

Making your own deep dish crust-less pizza is pretty simple and quick to do, and the end result is quite delicious. The pie that I made for this article contained a sausage patty made from 73/27 ground beef and that is what was used to determine the nutritional information for this article. You can increase or decrease the fat and protein content by changing your choice of meat to be used for the 'meat crust' layer. When compared to a traditional Pizza Hut deep dish pepperoni pizza of the same size, the caloric, fat, and protein contents are very similar. However the Pizza Hut deep dish pizza contains 296 grams of carbohydrates for the whole pie, or 37 grams per slice. Our homemade Malnati's style crust-less pizza contains only 20.2 carbohydrates for the entire pie, and a measly 2.52 grams of carbohydrates per slice. That's 88% less carbohydrates just in case you were wondering.

So how does this recipe stack up against other keto pizza recipes? I am not sure and maybe that is another article waiting to be written, but if you have a craving for deep dish style pizza, this recipe is hard to beat. Still with it's 305 calories and 24 grams of fat per slice, it is not something that you can eat everyday and still lose weight, but if you get the craving for a great deep dish pizza, this recipe definitley satisfies. As always, I hope that you have found this article informative and beneficial for you and your family, if so please take the time to share it with your friends so that they can benefit as well. Don't forget to follow our blog, or check us out on our Facebook page 'CulinaryYouLCHF' or add us to your circle on 'Google+' to continue to receive our latest LCHF and Keto recipes.

References:

Calorie Count, There's Strength In Numbers, accessed December 18, 2016

Fat Secret, accessed December 21, 2016

Self Nutrition Data,Know What You Eat, accessed November 19, 2016

Lou Malnati's Crust-Less Pizza
 

Salisbury Steak

Although the two recipes are slightly different, where I come from the terms 'Salisbury Steak' and 'Hamburger Steak' are used interchangeably. Now I am not talking about the pseudo mystery meat product that you get in a TV dinner, rather I am talking about a fresh made Salisbury steak pan fried and served with an onion or mushroom gravy. Back in the 60's and 70's when I was growing up Salisbury steak was a regular in our household meal rotation. Cheap and easy to make, it was one of those meals that was very popular. I still remember my mother cooking Salisbury steak in her electric skillet, then sautéing the onions in the grease, adding a little flour and milk to make the gravy and before you could say “Bob's your uncle” it was on the table.

Fast forward 40 years and as I began my low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) eating regimen, I began to think about Salisbury steak as I was eating a bun-less hamburger from a local eatery that was well, dry and not very good. So I decided to dig out the old family recipe to see if I could update it the match my new LCHF lifestyle. The funny thing is, other than substituting my own LCHF ketchup for store bought, there was nothing left to do as far as the patties (Salisbury Steaks) were concerned. I did however, have to make some changes to the gravy to make it more carbohydrate friendly.

In this article I am going to show you how to make a great tasting Salisbury Steak with two delicious gravies. Both the onion, and mushroom gravies are not only great with the Salisbury Steak, they are both low carbohydrate options.

The Patties

Because we are not generally concerned with the fat content of meats when eating LCHF, I use the cheapest ground hamburger I can get on sale. This week it was 73/27, that's 73% meat, 27% fat fro $1.29 per pound. Now you can use any percentage of ground hamburger you want, but I like to keep it simple. Now there are a lot of recipes out there for Salisbury Steak that include bread crumbs and eggs as binders, but that's not how momma made them and you do not need either of these for these delicious patties, especially if you want to keep them low carb.

1 pound ground beef (73/27)
1 tablespoon LCHF ketchup
1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon beef bouillon
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Combine all the ingredients into a medium sized bowl and with your hands, knead the spices with the ground hamburger until it is throughly combined. Form into 5 to 6 ounce oval patties.

Form into 5 to 6 ounce oval patties. Fry the patties in a skillet with 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat on both sides until they are no longer pink in the middle. Remove the patties from the skillet and reserve 1 – 2 tablespoons of the pan dripping for making the onion gravy.

Grilling Options

Of course you could always grill the patties just like you would any hamburger patty. When I cook them on the gas grill, I use indirect heat. That is I heat the grill with all the burners lit, then once the grill is hot, place the patties on the grill and turn the burner off that is directly under them. Then after 6 minutes, flip the patties to the other side of the grill and re-lit the burner on the side in which they were, and turn off the burner on the side to which they were flipped and cook another 6 minutes. The primary reason to do this is to keep the patties from burning due to flareups from the fat that will drip down onto the burners while they are cooking. You can then serve them with a small amount of regular or compound butter brushed on top or your favorite LCHF condiment such as ketchup or barbecue sauce if you do not want to make one of the accompanying gravies.

Chef's Note: As with a lot of our food, we make Salisbury Steaks in 4 to 5lb batches and then vacuum seal them in the freezer so that we can just grab a package and thaw them out the night before we cook them. This is a great way to maximize your time and ensure that you always have a great LCHF entree ready whenever you need one.

Onion Gravy

1 medium onion thinly sliced
2 cups beef or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon LCHF ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cornstarch, optional

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

After making the patties and removing them from the skillet, reduce the heat of the skillet to medium (reserving 1 – 2 tablespoons of the grease) and add the sliced onions. Cook the onions until golden brown and somewhat soft, stirring often to keep them from burning. Add the remaining ingredients to the skillet and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook the sauce until it is reduced by half (about 13 minutes). Then return the patties to the gravy. Spoon the gravy over the top and let them simmer and heat back up for a couple of minutes.

If the sauce is to thick for your liking, add more broth to thin it out. Then return the patties to the gravy. Spoon the gravy over the top and let them simmer and heat back up for a couple of minutes.

Mushroom Gravy

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned stems removed, and sliced

2 medium shallot, minced
1 ½ cups beef or vegetable stock

½ cup dry red wine (optional)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon minced garlic

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

After making the patties and removing them from the skillet, reduce the heat of the skillet to medium (reserving 1 – 2 tablespoons of the grease) and add the sliced mushrooms and shallots. Cook the mushrooms and shallots until the mushrooms are slightly browned and somewhat soft (about 4 minutes).

Add the remaining ingredients to the skillet and bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and cook the sauce until it is reduced by half (about 13 minutes). Then return the patties to the gravy. Spoon the gravy over the top and let them simmer and heat back up for a couple of minutes.

Conclusion

So there you have it, a quick, easy and delicious all beef Salisbury Steak recipe that has no added carbohydrates. As you can see from the pictures that accompany this article, we make them in 4 to 5 pound batches, vacuum seal them and freeze them for later use. They are not quite as convenient as a TV dinner, but their nutritional value and taste places them in a league of their own. So say goodbye to the mystery meat patties that call themselves Salisbury Steak, you know the ones with added bread, eggs, and other fillers. The ones that you find in the frozen food section of your local grocery store. As always, if you have found this article interesting and valuable, we ask that you share it with your friends. Don't forget to send us a friend request on Facebook, or add us to your circles on Google+.

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Taco Bell Style Taco Sauce

Now that you have made your All-American Tacos (see link below), you need some of that fast food taco sauce to go with them. You know the kind, the sauce that comes in the small foil packets that are littering the floor board of your car, the ones served at Taco Bell, Taco Bueno, and Taco John's just to name a few.

Now, I have been making this taco sauce for a long time and use it not only on tacos but it is pretty good on enchiladas and burritos. The base recipe for this taco sauce actually came from Todd Wilbur who does a series on 'clone' type recipes on his website 'Top Secret Recipes' (see link below). I happen to have added a few additional spices that I think rounds out the recipe quite nicely, but I cannot take the initial credit for this sauce. The great thing about this taco sauce recipe is that it is quick, easy, cheap to make, and tastes just like the Taco Bell sauce..

Cost Analysis

I do not want you to get the wrong idea here, I am not beating up on Taco Bell, they just happen to be the most common and or popular Mexican fast food restaurant here in the United States. To be honest, I like their crispy tacos and their mild taco sauce, so I am only going to compare prices on my homemade taco sauce versus that of the Taco Bell brand sold at my local Walmart. The price for the Taco Bell brand of 'Mild' taco sauce is $1.28 for a 7.5oz bottle (17.4 cents per ounce). Total cost of my homemade taco sauce is 68.7 cents for 30 ounces (2.29 cents per ounce). That means ounce for ounce, it is 87% cheaper to make your own Taco Bell style sauce at home than it is to buy it at your local grocery store. That is pretty amazing!

The Ingredients

No surprises here as you can imagine, making your own taco sauce gives you creative license on the ingredients that you use. Not a lot of difference in the main ingredients, but as always, the commercial preparation contains the necessary preservatives to keep it shelf stable. Looking at the ingredient list below, I know which one I would rather feed my family.

Taco Bell Sauce – Water, Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Vinegar, Contains Less Than 2% of Salt, Chili Pepper, Spices, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Benzoate As A Preservative, Potassium Chloride Maltodextrin, Yeast Extract, Datem, Natural Flavor.

Homemade Taco Bell Sauce – Water, Tomato Paste, Vinegar, Cornstarch, Chili Pepper, Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and red (cayenne) pepper.

Homemade Taco Sauce

3 cups water

2 teaspoons cornstarch (0.2oz = 1.8 cents)

1 6oz can tomato paste (6oz = 46 cents)

3 tablespoons white vinegar (1.5oz = 3 cents)

4 teaspoons chili powder (0.4oz = 9.2 cents)

2 teaspoons salt (0.2oz = ½ penny)

½ teaspoon onion powder (0.05oz = 1.2 cents)

½ teaspoon garlic powder (0.05oz = 1.4 cents)

½ teaspoon red pepper (mild) (0.05oz = 5.6 cents)

In a small saucepan, dissolve the cornstarch in water. Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks or place in small jelly jars and process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.

NoteL If you like your taco sauce hot, then use 1 teaspoon red pepper (cayenne), for fiery hot sauce use 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons. As always, adjust the ingredients to suit your taste, what is hot for me may be mild for you and your family.

Conclusion

Making you own taco sauce to go with your All-American Tacos (see link below) is simple and easy and it is 87% cheaper than buying it at your local Walmart. Can I say that again 87% cheaper, heck I do not think we have made any recipe on this blog that saves you as much over the commercial brand as this one does. After looking at the price breakdown and tasting the sauce, I cannot imagine anyone wanting to buy the pre-made Taco Bell sauce ever again. As always, if you have enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends and don't forget to send us on friend request on Facebook and Google+ so that you will not miss out on any of our new articles.

References:

Tacos: The All-American Mexican Food http://culinaryyou.blogspot.com/search/label/Tacos

Todd Wilbur's Top Secret Recipes http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/Taco-Bell-Mild-Border-Sauce-Copycat-Recipe.html

Tacos, The All-American Mexican Food

That's right, you read the opening graphic correctly, tacos as we know them made with ground beef is an all-American version of the Mexican sandwich. While tacos made with ground beef share a Mexican heritage with carne asada (shredded beef) and al pastor (shredded pork) the seasoned ground beef filling is uniquely American in origin. During the 1960's several small Mexican fast food restaurants began serving American 'style' tacos made with seasoned ground beef. These included Taco Bell (1962), Del Taco (1964) both in California, Taco Bueno (1967) in Texas, Taco John's (1969) in Wyoming, and Taco Casa (1974) in Alabama. Many others have followed suit over the years, but these companies were the ones that helped make tacos famous in America.

In America the term 'taco' has become known by most people as a spicy chili powder based ground beef mixture served on a flour tortilla or crunchy taco shell with shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, and diced tomatoes. Only hamburgers and pizza are more popular fast food choices than tacos. In fact, according to the website 'How Things Work', the Taco Bell taco is listed as the third most famous American fast in the United States. In addition, according to the research obtained from The Daily Meal website, Taco bell's “Crunchy Beef Taco remains its current best-seller, with over 2 billion sold in the past year alone”.

Whether Taco Bell is famous or infamous is a matter of personal opinion. In this article, I am going to teach you how you can make better tasting, less expansive tacos than those from Taco Bell, Del Taco, Taco Bueno, Taco Casa or the any number of fast food TexMex or Mexican restaurants. In addition, I will share with you my recipe for taco seasoning that tastes better than any prepackaged taco seasoning you can buy, and it is a whole cheaper to boot!

Ingredients

Taco seasoning mixes are pretty straight forward with all of the ingredients being essentially the same, with only Old El Paso containing monosodium glutamate (MSG). All except for the homemade taco seasoning contain some form of preservative. Most of them are gluten free except for Lawry's and Old El Paso which use flour alone or in addition to cornstarch as a thickening agent. As always, making your spice mix, in this case taco seasoning, gives you the most control over the additives in the food that you serve your family.

In this article I have included to versions of my taco seasoning, one which includes beef bouillon which contains monosodium glutamate (MSG), and one without. Personally, I prefer the flavor of the taco seasoning made with beef bouillon so this is the one I use most often. If you have concerns about MSG, then the non-MSG recipe is the one for you. I have supplied the following information so that you can examine the ingredients of each of the prepackaged taco seasonings as well as the homemade version so that you can make a well informed decision regarding any future purchases.

French's Taco Seasoning – Cornstarch, Chili Pepper And Other Spices, Maltodextrin, Salt, Dehydrated Onion, Dehydrated Garlic, Paprika (As Color), Red Pepper, Disodium Inosinate, Paprika Extractives (As Color).

Great Value Taco Seasoning – Spices, Onion, Whey Solids (Milk), Salt, Sugar, Paprika, Garlic, Potato Starch, Citric Acid.

Lawry's Taco Seasoning – Spices (Including Paprika And Chili Peppers), Onion, Salt, Lactose (Milk), Sugar, Garlic, Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Cocoa Powder, Citric Acid, And Natural Flavor.

McCormick Taco Seasoning – Spices (Including Chili Pepper, Cumin, Oregano, And Red Peppers), Onion, Whey Solids (Milk), Salt, Sugar, Paprika, Garlic, Potato Starch And Citric Acid.

Old El Paso – Salt, Maltodextrin, Chili Pepper, Onion Powder, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Corn Starch, Yellow Corn Flour, Spice. Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Silicon Dioxide (Anticaking Agent), Natural Flavor, Ethoxyquin (Preservative).

Homemade Taco Seasoning – Chili Pepper, Cumin. Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Cornstarch, Paprika, Beef Bouillon* (optional).

*Beef bouillon contains quite a few additives including monosodium glutamate (MSG). For further reading on the ingredients of powdered bouillons, see my previous article: 'Restaurants Use Them, So Should You?' http://culinaryyou.blogspot.com/search/label/Bullion.

Cost Analysis of Pre-packaged Versus Homemade Taco Seasoning

Prepackaged taco seasoning mixes are one of the few prepackaged items that you can buy that are almost as cheap as making them yourself, however, ounce for ounce making your own is 30% cheaper than the cheapest prepackaged mix (Great Value at 40 cents per ounce). Occasionally you can even find them on sale for half of their original retail price. On those occasions it makes sense to purchase these mixes and keep a few on hand in your pantry, especially if you can get them for less than 35 cents per package. If you do not have a decent sized pantry or stocked spice rack it may actually be cheaper to buy the prepackaged mixes as opposed to making your own, however, most of you should have the ingredients to make your own mixes on your shelves right now.

French's Taco Seasoning $1.12 for a 1.25oz packet (90 cents per ounce)

Great Value Taco Seasoning $0.50 for a 1.25oz packet (40 cents per ounce)

Homemade Mild Taco Seasoning $0.38 for 1.3oz (29 cents per ounce)

Homemade Spicy Taco Seasoning $0.44 for 1.3oz (34 cents per ounce)

Lawry's Taco Seasoning $0.58 for a 1oz packet (58 cents per ounce)

McCormick Original and Hot Taco Seasoning $0.58 for a 1.25oz packet (46.4 cents per ounce)

Old El Paso Original Taco Seasoning $0.78 for a 1oz packet (78 cents per ounce)

The individual costs of the spices used my our homemade taco seasoning mix are based on those found in my local Walmart. You may find that there is some variation in price based on your location, but generally the cost should be about the same. The following is a cost breakdown of the individual spices that I used in this recipe. Bandia Chile Powder $2.92 for a 9oz container (32.4 cents per ounce), Bandia Ground Cumin $2.38 for a 7oz container (33.8 cents per ounce), Knorr Beef Bouillon $4.48 for a 35oz container (12.8 cents per ounce), Argo Corn Starch $1.48 for 16oz container (9.25 cents per ounce), Great Value Iodized salt $0.54 for a 26oz container (2.1 cents per ounce), 5^th Season Garlic Powder $0.88 for 3.62oz container (24 cents per ounce), 5^th Season Onion Powder $0.88 for 3.25oz container (27 cents per ounce), Badia Smoked Paprika $1.42 for a 2oz container (71 cents per ounce), McCormick Red Pepper Flakes $3.24 for a 2.62oz container ($1.24 per ounce). Total cost for your homemade taco seasoning per the recipe below is 38 cents for mild seasoning (without the red pepper flakes) and 44 cents for medium heat (with the red pepper flakes).

Cost Analysis of Fast Food Tacos Versus Homemade Tacos

So making your own taco seasoning can save you 30 to 70% over the prepackaged taco seasoning mixes depending on the brand you purchase. However, if you want to see the real cost savings associated with making tacos at home, we have to look at the total picture.

Ground Beef 1lb, $1.88 on sale, 11.75 cents per ounce

Homemade taco seasoning $0.38 cents for one recipe

Mission Crunchy Taco Shells 12ct $1.28 (10.6 cents per shell)

Great Value Fiesta Blend Shredded Cheese $7.94 for 32oz (24.8 cents per ounce)

Marketside shredded Lettuce $2.98 for 16oz package (18.6 cents per ounce)

To make one taco similar in weight and ingredients found in the original Taco Bell Crunchy taco it costs us approximately $0.67 (3oz ground beef (1/3 cup) with seasoning $0.38, $0.11 for the taco shell, $0.12 cents for ½ ounce cheddar cheese, and $0.05 for ¼ cup shredded lettuce). The original Taco Bell crunchy taco costs $1.31 plus tax. That means that the taco you just bought at the drive through cost you 51% more than if you made it yourself. Let's look at it in one more way. If you bought 12 tacos from Taco Bell it would cost you $15.72 (with our local 1.08% sales tax), to make those same 12 tacos at home it only costs you $8.03. That is a 51% savings by making your own tacos at home.

Because in this section we are comparing our homemade tacos versus the original Taco Bell 'Crunchy Taco' I thought you would like to see exactly what Taco Bell lists as the ingredients for the seasoned beef they use on their tacos compared to the recipe here. I know which one I would rather serve my family.

Taco Bell Seasoned Beef – Beef, water, seasoning [cellulose, chili pepper, onion powder, salt, oats (contains wheat), maltodextrin, soy lecithin, tomato powder, sugar, soybean oil, spices, garlic powder, citric acid, caramel color (C), disodium inosinate & guanylate, cocoa powder, natural and artificial flavors (contains gluten), trehalose, modified corn starch, lactic acid, torula yeast], salt, phosphates. Contains: Soy, Wheat

Homemade Taco Seasoned Beef – Ground beef, Chili Pepper, Cumin. Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Cornstarch, Paprika, Beef Bouillon* (optional).

Taco Seasoning Mix Recipes

Because I know some people do not like to use monosodium glutamate (MSG) I have included to recipes for homemade taco seasoning in this article. In addition each taco seasoning mix can be made as either mild (no red pepper flakes) or spicy (with red pepper flakes). Included with these recipes is the individual weight of the spices and the cost of each to make the taco seasoning mix. In making thes mixes all spices were individually weighed to ensure the most possibly accuracy.

Homemade Taco Seasoning (With MSG)

2 tablespoons chili powder (0.6oz = 19.4 cents)

2 teaspoons cornstarch (0.2oz = 1.85 cents)

2 teaspoons beef bouillon (0.1oz = 1.28 cents)

1 teaspoon ground cumin (0.1oz = 3.38 cents)

1 teaspoon onion powder (0.1oz = 2.7 cents)

1 teaspoon garlic powder (0.1oz = 2.4 cents)

1 teaspoon paprika (0.1oz = 7.1 cents)

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional), (0.05oz = 6.2 cents)

Total Cost: Mild $0.38, Spicy $0.44

Mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Omit the red pepper flakes if you want a mild taco seasoning, or plan to add diced jalapenos or a can of Rotel Tomatoes and Green chilies to your meat mixture.

Homemade Taco Seasoning (No MSG) Total Cost $0.43

2 tablespoons chili powder (0.6oz = 19.4 cents)

2 teaspoons cornstarch (0.2oz = 1.85 cents)

1 teaspoon ground cumin (0.1oz = 3.38 cents)

1 teaspoon iodized salt (less than ¼ of a penny)

1 teaspoon onion powder (0.1oz = 2.7 cents)

1 teaspoon garlic powder (0.1oz = 2.4 cents)

1 teaspoon paprika (0.1oz = 7.1 cents)

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional), (0.05oz = 6.2 cents)

Total Cost: Mild $0.37, Spicy $0.43

Mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Omit the red pepper flakes if you want a mild taco seasoning, or plan to add diced jalapenos or a can of Rotel Tomatoes and Green chilies to your meat mixture.

Homemade Tacos (Serving Size 6 tacos)

1 pound ground beef (73/27)

1 recipe taco seasoning

¾ cup of water

1 large onion, diced (optional)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Add oil to medium skillet pan and put on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the diced onion and sauté' until translucent. Remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon.

Add the ground beef to the skillet and brown, then drain in wire mesh strainer in the sink, rinsing with hot water to remove the unwanted grease, rinse out the skillet as well. Once the ground beef and the skillet have been rinsed, return the skillet and ground beef to the stove and add the sautéed onion.

Add the dry taco seasoning mix, and the ¾ cup of water. Bring the ingredients to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes making sure to break up any clumps of ground beef. Then remove the lid and continue to simmer as necessary until the meat mixture has absorbed almost all of the liquid. Serve with crunchy taco shells or flour tortillas, shredded lettuce, and cheddar cheese.

Taco Tip – My wife and I often purchase 3 to 5lb packages of ground beef (73/27) on sale for $1.88 to $1.99 a lb (a 50% savings from regular price) and cook it in batches with sautéed onions. We rinse the meat thoroughly in a mesh strainer with hot water and set aside to allow it to dry as much as possible. We then weigh the cooked ground beef and store it in 1lb packages in zip lock bags and pace it in the freezer. Now when we want to make tacos we simply set it in the fridge the night before, or thaw it out in the microwave (just takes a few minutes). And we can have tacos ready faster than you can drive to the local fast food Mexican restaurant and back. To see why we rinse our ground beef check out the article on our blog 'Cheap Ground Beef Can Be Just As Healthy As Lean' http://culinaryyou.blogspot.com/search/label/Healthy%20Beef

Additions

Tomatoes and Green Chilies - Drain them thoroughly and reserve the liquid, then combine that liquid with any additional water as needed to make ¾ cup of liquid.

Pinto Beans – Adding a rinsed and drained can of pinto beans to your taco meat with the rest of your ingredients is a good way to almost double the yield of your taco meat mixture. It is even cheaper if you have left over pinto beans from a previous meal, or if you cook dried pintos just as an addition. Pinto beans are not only rich in protein, but help to lower the overall cost of your meal, while allowing you to feed more hungry mouths.

Conclusion

This bottom line, making tacos at home can save you up to 59% versus fast food tacos, and the best thing is that you can make them start to finish in just about the same amount of time as it takes you to drive through your local fast food Mexican restaurant. And as always, you have total control over the ingredients you use. The great thing about making tacos at home is that it is a quick and easy dish, and it is one of the few dishes I never had to beg the kids or grandkids to eat. In fact, I get requests for my homemade tacos on a regular basis. The great thing about tacos, is you can setup a taco bar and let everyone can help themselves.

I must admit this article was way longer than I expected it to be, but there just so much information to share with you to help you make better informed food purchases for you and your family. If you have enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends. Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Google+

References

How Stuff Works: 10 Most Famous American Fast Foods http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/10-american-fast-food-menu-items.htm#page=8

The Daily Meal: America's 10 Most Popular Fast Food Items http://my.xfinity.com/slideshow/news-popularfastfood/

Taco Bell Website: Nutrition and Ingredients http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/ingredientstatement

Homemade Rice-A-Roni

As my wife and I have really started living on a budget and paying attention to where our food dollars go I have really been surprised at the amount of money we used to waste on convenience foods. Having worked in restaurants for more than 18 years, I learned to make most things form scratch. It is far cheaper to make your own soups, sauces, skillet dinners, and casseroles that it is to buy the pre-made at the local grocery store. The downside to such is that it does take a small amount of planning and time to cook from scratch as opposed to using convenience foods. If you are struggling to make ends meet and feed your family, learning to make some of those convenience or comfort foods at home can really help you to stretch your food dollar.

Last week my wife and I were doing our shopping at our local supermarket when I noticed a young woman who had three kids that were on the rice and beans isle looking at the vast variety of per-packaged box dinners. I was on the isle to grab a 20lb bag of rice when I watched her start loading her shopping cart with a variety of selections of Rice-A-Roni, Hamburger Helper, and Zatarain's rice and pasta dinners. As I stood there with my 20lb bag of rice that cost me $8.98, I watched as she put 22 boxes of these dinners in her cart and moved onto the next isle. After I found my wife and put the 20lbs of rice in our cart, I went back to the boxed dinner isle to look at the prices of these items, because well...I am nosy. Anyway, the current prices (8/4/2015) for some of the items she had in her cart are as follows: Rice-a-Roni 6.4 ounce box all varieties $1,00, Hamburger Helper 5.1 ounce box all varieties $1.25, and Zatarain's 8 ounce box all varieties $2.36. Lets just say that she had an equal amount of each of these pre-packaged box dinner dinners her total estimated cost of this purchase = $33.66 just for a little rice, pasta and some dried spices.

Now, I am not lambasting her in anyway, I do not know anything about this young lady, but I really felt compelled to help her. The thing is, I did not know if she would have even been interested in my help and I definitely did not want to embarrass her in anyway, so I let her walk away. On the inside, I dying to ask her what she would think if I could show her away to purchase all those items she just picked up for half the price. Maybe I couldn't help her, but if you are reading this article, I can definitely help you!

Cost Analysis

I have already listed the prices of the various boxed dinners earlier. In this article I am going to focus on the rice based boxed dinners, and will do another article on how to make your own hamburger helper style dinners at a later date. Most of the Rice-A-Roni brand packages contain rice, vermicelli, dried spices, and occasionally dehydrated vegetables, while the Zatarain's do not have any vermicelli, rather they are all rice based. All of which you can purchase separately, if you cannot find dehydrated vegetables you can substitute fresh vegetables. To make it easier to see the potential savings your could reap, I am going to break the cost of each of these items into the basic unit of ounces. 

Rice-A-Roni ($1.00 per 6.4oz box) costs 15.6 cents per ounce, while Zatarain's ($2.36 per 8oz box) costs 29.5 cents per ounce. Plain long grain rice cost 3.1 cents per ounce when purchased in a 5lb bag or larger, at my local Walmart. Vermicelli costs $1.27 per pound or 7.8 cents per ounce. So to make our own recipe of Rice-A-Roni, we will use by weight 4oz long grain rice (4 x 3.1 = 12.4 cents) and 3oz of vermicelli by weight (7.8 x 3 = 23.4 cents) combined with the dry spices. Now the amount and therefore the cost of the dry spices used are so small that the cost is less than 10 cents per recipe. So to make a homemade recipe of Rice-A-Roni, plain chicken or beef flavor would be 45.8 cents (12.4 + 23.4 + 10 = 45.8 cents). I allocated 10 cents for the dried spices, but the cost is actually lower.

So we see that our homemade Rice-A-Roni costs 54.2% less than the name brand (45.8 cents versus $1.00). That is a huge cost savings! Thin pastas such as angel hair, or thin spaghetti can be substituted for the vermicelli reducing the cost even more. In my area, several times a year dried pastas can be purchased on sale for as low 88 cents for a 16oz box (5.5 cents per ounce) reducing the cost by another 31%.

So I ask you, would you rather make your own Rice-A-Roni for 38.9 cents (when pasta bought on sale for 88 cents a box) to 45.8 cents per meal or spend $1.00 if it took you the same time to prepare it? So if you want to reduce your food budget by at least 50%, then lets get started!

The Ingredients

While saving you money on your food budget is one of the goals of this blog, helping you to make more informed and healthy choices for your family is another. As always we want to look at the list of ingredients of recipes in which we are creating as opposed to the commercial versions. The following is a list of the most popular commercially prepared rice box dinners (Chicken and Beef) as well as our homemade version. Most of the time, the homemade version is not only a healthier alternative, but is cheaper as well, but this is not always the case.

Rice-A-Roni Chicken Flavor – Rice, durum wheat semolina, salt, sugar, autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed soy protein, onions, monosodium glutamate, natural flavor, parsley, garlic, chicken broth*, chicken fat, turmeric spice (for color), hydrolyzed corn gluten, niacin, disodium guanylate, disodium inosate, ferric orthophosphate, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, turmeric extract, folic acid, riboflavin.

Rice-A-Roni Beef Flavor – Rice, durum wheat semolina, salt, sugar, autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed protein (corn, soy, and wheat), potassium chloride, maltodextrin, salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, carrots, caramel color, beef broth*, garlic, hydrolyzed gluten (wheat and corn), niacin, disodium guanylate, disodium inosate, ferric orthophosphate, ferrous sulfate, milk, thiamin mononitrate, turmeric extract, folic acid, riboflavin.

Homemade Rice-A-Roni – Rice, vermicelli noodles (durum semolina, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), onions, garlic powder, parsley, turmeric (for color), butter, sugar, and powdered chicken bouillon*.

*Chicken and Beef bouillon contain quite a few additives including monosodium glutamate (MSG). For further reading on the ingredients of powdered bouillons, see my previous article: 'Restaurants Use Them, So Should You?' http://culinaryyou.blogspot.com/search/label/Bullion.

If you are concerned about the amount of additives in the homemade version of these rice box dinners, you can reduce the number by using canned or homemade chicken broth. Of course using a commercially prepared broth increases the cost of the meal significantly. In fact, using a canned broth actually makes if cost more to prepare your Rice-A-Roni from scratch, however you must weigh the costs of the meal versus any health concerns you have regarding the ingredients.

Prepackaging Your Ingredients

Once you have bought your pasta and rice, the first this you have to do is take your pasta (vermicelli, angel hair or thin spaghetti) and break it into ½ to 1-inch pieces. I do this by hand, you do not have to be super accurate with this but one cup of pasta should way about 3 ounces. Make the pieces large if you wish, it just increases the cost a small amount. Once you have all of your pasta broken into small pieces, it is time combine it with your rice and spices and make your Rice-A-Roni mixes. The easy or quick way is to combine the rice, pasta and dry ingredients into zip lock sandwich bags. The original way is to separate your rice and noodles from the dried spices and flavorings and add the dried spices and flavorings after sauteing the rice and pasta. To cook either version of your homemade Rice-A-Roni, simply follow the directions as listed below.

In the 'Original Version' the spices are placed in separate plastic bag and placed in the bag with the rice and pasta.

Chicken Flavor (Package Mix)

¾ cup long grain rice

1 cup vermicelli pasta

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Beef Flavor (Dry Package Mix)

¾ cup long grain rice

1 cup vermicelli pasta

1 tablespoon beef bouillon

1 teaspoon dried carrots

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon dried parsley

1/8 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Mexican Style (Dry Package Mix)

¾ cup long grain rice

1 cup vermicelli pasta

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried bell pepper

1 teaspoon dried parsley

¼ teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon sugar (optional)

 

Cajun Style (Dry Package Mix)

¾ cup long grain rice

1 cup vermicelli pasta

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon

2 teaspoons creole seasoning

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Asian Style (Dry Package Mix)

¾ cup long grain rice

1 cup vermicelli pasta

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon

1 teaspoon dried carrots

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried parsley

½ teaspoon sesame seeds

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon brown sugar

Now, there are a vast quantity of different flavors offered by McCormick who owns the Rice-A-Roni brand of rice and pasta dishes on your grocers shelves. I have only listed the most popular ones and the varities that my family likes best, but I have a few other recipes I make such as 'Chicken Briyani',and 'Dirty Rice-A-Roni'. These homemade mixes are easily customizable and can be made to suit you and your families individual tastes and preferences, so experiment and have fun with them.

Homemade Rice-A-Roni (Easy Version)

1 package dry Rice-A-Roni mix

2 cups water

½ onion, minced

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon soy sauce (Only for Asian Style Flavor)

Saute the onion in the butter over low heat just until it starts to become translucent, add the dry mixture to the pan with the two cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork and serve.

Homemade Rice-A-Roni (Original Version)

1 package dry Rice-A-Roni mix

2 cups water

½ onion, minced

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon soy sauce (Only for Asian Style Flavor)

Saute the onion in the butter over low heat just until it starts to become translucent, add the pasta and rice to the pan and saute, stirring often, until the vermicelli is golden brown. Then add the water and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork and serve.

From Side Dish to Complete Meal

Originally developed as side dish, your homemade Rice-A-Roni can become a complete meal by adding cooked meats to the dish after sauteing the vegetable and pasta just before adding the water. Diced or cubed chicken and ground beef are some of the most common additions. A small portion of leftover steak or pork chop diced or cubed is another great addition to these rice and pasta mixes and an excellent way to stretch your food dollar. 

Because we have a large extended family, ground beef is a staple in our household. We purchase it only when on sale and in significant quantities. We then cook, rinse, drain and and bag in 1lb packages and freeze for future use. When we need it, we simply take out of the freezer and thaw in the microwave for a quick complete healthy meal. For more information regarding the nutrition and health implications of ground beef in your families diet, check my blog article on 'Can Ground Beef Be healthy? You Bet!' http://culinaryyou.blogspot.com/search/label/Healthy%20Beef

Conclusion

If your family enjoys Rice-A-Roni style pasta mixes you can save a significant amount of money (50% or more) by making your own mixes. Making your own mixes is not only quick and easy, the best part is you have total control regarding which ingredients you wish to use. I hope you have enjoyed this article although it is quite long, and I hope it inspires you to make your own rice and pasta mixes from scratch. Thanks again for visiting our blog, and if you like this article please feel free to share it with your friends. Btw, you can actually find some good recipe suggestions for using your homemade Rice-A-Roni on the official Rice-A-Roni website, so if you need some help, check it out (see link below).

References:

Rice-A-Roni and Pasta-A-Roni Recipes, Golden Grain Company. http://www.ricearoni.com/recipes/

'Restaurants Use Them, So Should You?' http://culinaryyou.blogspot.com/search/label/Bullion.

Can Ground Beef Be healthy? You Bet!' at http://culinaryyou.blogspot.com/search/label/Healthy%20Beef

Cheap Ground Beef Can be Just as Healthy as Extra Lean!

Each week before we do our weekly shopping we gather our locals ads and check out the sales at the various supermarkets in the DFW area as our local Walmart will price match ads from their competitors. Price matching is one of the many strategies that my family uses to get the best deal we can thereby lowering our food budget without compromising on quality. One of the items we try and keep an amble supply of is ground beef. While we have cut down our eating of red meat, I use regular ground beef (you know the cheap stuff) in many of my casseroles, tacos, spaghetti, soups, breakfast burritos, homemade Rice-A-Roni and Hamburger helper mixes and other recipes. I know, I know, the cheap stuff is full of fat and unhealthy right..... Well maybe not. What if I told you the cheap old regular ground beef could be as low fat as the more expensive lean ground beef. You'd think I was crazy right? Well read on my friends and prepare to be amazed!

When checking out the meat department of your local supermarket, the most common types of ground beef you will find are: Extra Lean (93/7), Lean (90/10), Ground Chuck (80/20), Regular Ground (73/27). All ground beef is labeled according to it's fat to meat ratio. The number on the left side of the hash mark is the percentage of meat in the product and the number of the left is the percentage of fat content. So extra lean is 93% beef and 7% fat, whereas on the other end of the spectrum regular ground is 73% meat and 27% fat. Depending on the supermarket, the actual description or labels on the ground beef package may be different, but no matter the descriptor, the important part to remember is the fat to meat ratio of the product.

Obviously ground beef with a lower fat content is higher priced. In our local Walmart extra lean (93/7) is actually more than $1.10 per pound higher than ground chuck (80/20), and $1.50 per pound higher than regular ground (73/27). Many homemakers feel that they have to sacrifice their families health by purchasing ground beef with a higher fat content simply because of the price. In addition, ground beef of higher fat contents can be purchased in bulk (3 to 5lb chubs) for substantial price savings, while the more lean ground beef is generally sold in only 1 to 2.25lb packages.

As you can see, purchasing regular ground beef (73/27) in a 5lb chub (tube) is actually 46% cheaper than purchasing lean (93/27) ground beef. These of course are regular store prices, if you comparison shop you may actually find regular ground beef even cheaper. I know, I know, what about the unhealthy fat content of cheap ground beef? Well, the good news is that regular ground beef (73/27) when cooked and prepared properly can be as almost as healthy as the higher priced extra lean (93/7) or lean (90/10) ground beef. I realize this almost seems impossible, but you do not have to take my word for it. There is plenty of documented proof that validates this outlandish statement.

Iowa State University Study (1992)

According to a study conducted at Iowa State University in 1992, ground beef of three different fat levels (90/10, 80/20, 73/27) were prepared by browning the ground beef in a pan (pan frying). In the first test, three 100 gram (3.5 ounce) samples of the ground beef were placed on paper towels after cooking and blotted for 30 seconds. In the second test, three 100 gram (3.5 ounce) samples of the ground beef were placed on paper towels and then placed in a strainer, and rinsed with hot water (150°F), and allowed to drain for five minutes. The results of their findings are listed in the following table.

 

Iowa State University (1992)	Grams of Fat
Product	90/10	80/20	73/27
Ground Beef, uncooked	10g	20g	27g
Ground Beef, pan fried	8g	11g	11g
Ground Beef, pan fried and rinsed	3g	4g	4g

The results of this particular study are quite eye opening. According to Iowa State University's research, the cheaper regular ground beef (73/27) when cooked and rinsed had almost the same identical fat content as the more expensive lean ground beef (90/10). While simply blotting the ground beef with paper towels did reduce the overall fat content, rinsing the cooked beef further reduced the difference in fat content between the lean (90/10) and regular ground (73/25) beef from 3 grams to only 1 gram.

The one major thing missing form the Iowa State University research is that they did not include a weight/yield ratio. A weight/yield ratio is simply a pre and post cook weight of each ground beef sample. While we know the precooked weight of the ground beef (100g) we do not know the cooked weight. A weight/yield ratio is simply the precooked weight minus the post cooked weight. For example if the precooked weight of the ground beef is 100g, and the cooked weight is 73g then the yield of the cooked beef is 73% (73 divided by 100 = 0.73 or 73%). Fortunately for us the next study does include a weight/yield ratio.

Canadian Beef Information Centre (BIC) Study (1997)

In 1997, the Canadian government released similar research which is available from the 'Beef Information Centre (BIC)' at www.beefinfo.org. While they classify their ground beef similarly to U.S. standards, there are some minor differences. According to the BIC, lean ground beef is classified as any ground beef with a fat content of less than 17%, medium ground beef is classified as any ground beef with a fat content of less than 23%, and regular ground beef is any ground beef with a fat content of less than 30%.

As with the research performed at Iowa State University, the Canadian researchers browned (pan fried) three 100 gram samples (3.5 ounces) of lean, medium and regular ground beef. However, in the Canadian research, only the regular ground beef was rinsed with hot water after being cooked, as the focus of their research was to show that regular ground beef when cooked and rinsed with hot water was actually leaner than lean beef that was not rinsed after cooking.

BIC Study (1997)	Grams of Fat
Product	Lean	Medium	Regular
Ground Beef, uncooked	13.1g	16.1g	24.1g
Ground Beef, pan fried	9.5g	11.4g	15.1g
Ground Beef, pan fried and rinsed	n/a	n/a	9.4g
Lean (maximum fat content 17%)
Medium (maximum fat content 23%)
Regular (maximum fat content 30%)

Looking at the chart we see the ground beef the BIC used in their research was comprised of lean (87/13), medium (84/16), and regular (76/24). The results of Canadian research validate the findings of the Iowa State University research conducted in 1992. As expected, the BIC concluded that the cheaper regular ground beef when browned and rinsed with hot water had an overall fat content less than that of lean ground beef that was not rinsed with hot water after cooking. Now, I am sure, that rinsing both the lean and medium grade of ground beef after cooking would reduce the overall fat content of both as well, however as I mentioned earlier this was not the focus of the BIC study.

So rinsing away the fat is great, but what about the overall yield of regular ground beef compared with that of the more expensive lean ground beef. After all, if you only have half the amount of beef remaining after cooking and rinsing then when you started compared to the lean or extra lean, your not really saving any money. Well I think you will be surprised and pleased with the yield of ground beef compared to that of lean.

BIC Study (1997)	Weight/Yield ratio
Product	Lean	Medium	Regular
Ground Beef, uncooked wt	100g	100g	100g
Ground Beef, pan fried	66.5g	65.1g	58.7g
Ground Beef, pan fried and rinsed	n/a	n/a	62.3g
Lean (maximum fat content 17%)
Medium (maximum fat content 23%)
Regular (maximum fat content 30%)

As you can see, the yield of the less expensive regular ground beef after cooking and being rinsed (62.3g) is only slightly less than that of the lean ground beef after cooking (66.5g). That is to say the lean ground beef after cooking lost 33.5% of it's precooked weight, whereas the regular ground lost 37.7% of it's precooked weight. The difference in loss between the two is only 4.2%. Yes, the lean ground beef had a higher yield by 4.2%, however it costs 30 to 47% more than the regular ground beef depending on where your purchased your ground beef and whether or not you purchased it in bulk.

Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF)

Obviously if you are following a LCHF eating program, you are not worried about your fat intake. In fact, the higher fat ground beef is actually a better choice for making hamburger patties or Salisbury Steak

Conclusion

So what does all this mean for us? Well we can draw several conclusions from this research. First, purchasing cheaper ground beef to use in your recipes can lead to significant cost savings. Second, by following a few simple steps, you can reduce the fact content of cheaper ground beef to approximately that of significantly more expensive lean ground beef. The bottom line is that if you are on a budget like many of us are, you can save significant money on your food bill by purchasing regular ground beef on sale and or in bulk without sacrificing the health of your family.

Ground Beef Articles On Our Blog:

Tacos, The All-American Mexican Food

Salisbury Steak, A Great LCHF Entree

References:

Ingham, B. Reducing fat Levels in Ground Beef, accessed 09/25/12

The Canadian Beef Centre, accessed 10/10/12

Reducing Fat In Cooked Beef, Journal of The American Dietetic Association,accessed 10/10/12

Buege, D. 1993. Reducing fat in ground beef. Wisconsin Meat Facts and Analysis. ME 93-1.

Love, J.A. and K.J. Prusa. 1992. Nutrient composition and sensory attributes of cooked ground beef: Effect of fat content, cooking method, and water rinsing. J Am Diet Assoc 92:1367-1371.

USDA National Nutrient Database: Tips for Reducing Fat in Cooked Ground Beef Crumbles by Rinsing