LCHF question about cooking beef mince

I’ve always drained fat off beef mince when cooking for ragu or chilli etc. But under LCHF should I leave the fat in, and would that be yucky to eat?

[Lytham 3 stone]

I'm hoping the answer is yes, as I've been leaving it in! It's not yucky either, it's lush! x

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

I leave it in and it's not yucky

You can buy the cheapest mince, with the highest fat content too

[Hidden in reply to moreless]

Might draw the line at the cheapest mince 🤣🤣🤣

[S11m in reply to Hidden]

A friend of mine upset a butcher by asking him to mince his best steak!

[kleineKerze in reply to moreless]

Hi moreless, hi Slim_for_good

I draw the line at the cheapest mince because with fat comes extra gristle. Not only is it horrible, but my family would be up in arms!

I have stuck to my usual 5% fat Scottish steak mince, but fry the onions first in a generous knob of butter for flavour, and add the mince afterwards. For chilli con carne, I'm frying it in a good spoonful of olive oil.

kK

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to kleineKerze]

I must be lucky with my butcher then, Scottish beef, slightly more fat, no gristle.

[Missionwoman in reply to moreless]

I find the same with my Scottish butcher. I never drain the fat off as I think a lot of the flavour would disappear.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Missionwoman]

Hi and welcome, Missionwoman

Exactly!

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[Missionwoman in reply to moreless]

Thank you, Moreless. I'm finding this a great forum and feel very motivated. I have printed off the weekly sheets. They're a great help. I am struggling to find my way round some of it. Yesterday I tried to find a photograph of snacks that I had seen on my first day as I wanted to make a particular one. I couldn't find it and gave up. I did it from memory but didn't know the calorie content so had to work it out....approximately. I am weighing everything at present and that certainly focuses the mind!

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Missionwoman]

If you're using the HU app, you will always struggle to navigate the forum, so log onto the full website page for the best experience healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Now that you have the links to the Newbie Pack, you can keep referring back, if you get stuck and you can always shout out for help, if it all gets too much

Have a look in the Topic called Recipes - snacks, to see if you can find what you were looking for.

[Missionwoman in reply to moreless]

Thank you, Moreless. I am on the full website page. I tried the Recipes-snacks as that's where I thought it would be but with no luck. I may come across it by chance but as I have approximated the calories and written it on the back of my weekly sheet I can now refer to it there. Really like the weekly sheet.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Missionwoman]

Hmmm..... maybe it was on Lytham's Larder? What was the snack, it might trigger a memory for me?

[Missionwoman in reply to moreless]

Thank you. It was 2 crackers/water biscuits with pickle, cheese and sliced gherkin on top. It was very tasty.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Missionwoman]

Give me time to think about it

[Missionwoman in reply to moreless]

Not on Lyham's Larder. Thank you.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Missionwoman]

Sorry, Missionwoman, I'm drawing a blank. It wasn't on another forum was it?

[Missionwoman in reply to moreless]

Thank you for trying, Moreless. I'm beginning to wonder now.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Missionwoman]

I think it was either that, or you clicked on related posts and they can be 6 years old.

[Missionwoman in reply to moreless]

Thank you. It could have been an old post as I am now discovering from reading others.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Missionwoman]

In that case, the chances of finding it again are remote.

[Missionwoman in reply to moreless]

I have now come to that conclusion but as I had noted the idea in my head I can continue to use it. Thank you for your help.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Missionwoman]

You're very welcome

[TheAwfulToad Visitor]

Yeah, leave it in. It's only yucky if your beef is that weird cheapo supermarket stuff that tastes of rancid liver. God only knows what they do to the poor animals to make it taste like that.

As per the posts from moreless and kleineKerze , the "sweet spot" is to get good quality beef which has a naturally high fat %. Sure it's more expensive - about twice the price for the very best pastured beef - but it's worth it!

IMO the main problem with making ragu or chilli - especially when it's fatty - is that it really needs some carbs. Personally I eat chilli only infrequently for that reason, and when I do it's with a few nachos rather than a pile of rice.

I guess you could try cauliflower rice!

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Or courgetti, boodles, cabbage, in fact any veg

[TheAwfulToad Visitor in reply to moreless]

eh... it's just not the same

I prefer to just eat carby meals as a treat, and have them done properly!

But each to their own of course.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to TheAwfulToad]

I'm a veggie freak, I pile them in, wherever I can

[RedUnicorn in reply to moreless]

What are boodles?? Trying to imagine how you make noodles with broccoli now ( surely not??!)

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to RedUnicorn]

Butternut squash noodles

[RedUnicorn in reply to moreless]

I’ve been avoiding squash on LCHF - thinking it’s one of the sweeter veg. Is it ok to include if you’re still trying to lose weight?

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to RedUnicorn]

I didn't use it in LCHF induction, but introduced it back in after that. Not every day, but occasionally, is fine and certainly much better than pasta

[BerlinBetty Visitor in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Amen to that. BB

[ozziesmum in reply to TheAwfulToad]

It isn't the animals that are at fault, nor the farmer, it is all the yucky stuff that is usually inedible that is left in that is the problem. A bit like sausages, stuffed with brain, and other less than interesting bits, plus all the filler stuff that is used to bind it all together. For those on the LCHF diet, plenty of fat, but also high in carbs!

[TheAwfulToad Visitor in reply to ozziesmum]

Oh, there's that, certainly. For things like mince and sausages, meat is sorted into buckets and then re-blended according to the desired price point of the finished product. And you're right of course that cheapo sausages contain way too much filler (like the old joke, the food manufacturers are finding it hard to make both ends meat).

However there are different grades of meat too. If you buy a bog-standard supermarket steak - which clearly hasn't been through that blending process - it still tastes like rancid liver. A steak from a pastured animal tastes like ... well, steak.

I noticed there are some pretty good-quality sausages on the supermarket shelves these days that don't have too much weird stuff in them. The problem is that most of them still skimp on the fat for "health reasons", which produces a dry sausage.

[Hidden]

I am happy with a pile of vegetables with my chilli. I save carbs for unplanned ‘emergencies’ like a customer meeting with a catered lunch, ie sandwiches & more sandwiches. And no, I could not take my own salad to a customer meeting 🤣

[Hidden]

I use 5% fat minced steak, don't pour anything off as the fat adds flavour. I put red kidney beans in my chilli so that adds carbs and veg. I also like my rice so I have some, but it's only about 1 1/2 tablespoons cooked so that's probably about right for carbs. I don't count or weigh anything.

[amykp Visitor]

I use 85% beef for my chili, but make sure it is pastured so that the fat is good fat, and yes I leave it in AND add olive oil! I add lots of fried pepper and onion to my chili. We serve it like a big bowl of stew and make a big plate of low carb garnishes to add separately: sour cream, chopped tomato, jalapeno, sharp cheddar (which melts), cilantro, sweet onion, and avocado (which is really tasty in there!)

I cook beans separately for my husband. I can't have them, but he can. Nobody misses rice or chips!

[TheAwfulToad Visitor in reply to amykp]

Sounds awesome! Sour cream, jalapenos and avocado are must-haves with chili, IMO.

[kleineKerze in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Agree about the must-haves!

I've been having beanless chilli lately, putting mine aside once the meat and peppers are cooked, and adding in the beans afterward for my family. I don't always bother with cauliflower rice and just have it as it is with a squeeze of lime and a grating of cheddar on top, and sides of sour cream and jalapenos.

[TheAwfulToad Visitor in reply to kleineKerze]

Apparently Americans have knock-down arguments about whether chili should have beans in it. There is an International Chili Society that declares beans to be haram.

So you can enjoy your beanless chili safe in the knowledge that no inspectors from the ICS will be kicking your door in at 3am to see what you're up to

I eat my chili pretty much like that - by itself, with a dash of sour cream and cheese - but half-a-dozen nachos add to the occasion.

[kleineKerze in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Actually, now you mention it, my husband when he met me said he never made chilli with mince, as I do, but finely chopped steak instead. And the nice café where I go doesn't use mince either.

I'm guessing that would please the International Chili Society, and mince is probably haram as well.

kK

[Hidden in reply to kleineKerze]

Saint Delia says chilli should be made with chopped steak, but I am a busy lady...

[kleineKerze in reply to Hidden]

Ha ha, same here!

[ozziesmum]

As far as I am concerned mince is pretty yucky anyway. Can't be doing with all that fat as it makes me sick.

[scouse55mouse 2st 7lbs]

I can tell you what Italians do (my other OH is Italian) and their food is scrummy and good for you! They would fry carrots, onions and celery in olive oil until soft then add the mince. They fry the mince slowly whilst stirring occasionally until the fat disappears. You can hear the change in the frying pan and when you see the fat is gone that’s when they add wine or tinned tomatoes if they’re making bolognese. They simmer until you see the oil from the toms raise to the top of the pan, once you see this stage, it’s done. The fat is where all the flavour is and they’ve cooked like that for ever and a day, so they know what they’re talking about. The secret is to eat a much smaller portion than us greedy Brits would. They use the meat sparingly and don’t add a man sized double portion of sauce as we do, just enough to coat the pasta. Not forgetting the Parmesan on topand as the Italians say, as much as you can afford! Enjoy! x

[TheAwfulToad Visitor in reply to scouse55mouse]

Too right.

The Italians know what eating is all about. Us Brits seem to revel in getting it wrong, and then we're surprised when the rest of Europe laughs at our terrible food.