Ground meat is extremely versatile when you’re cooking. Not only is it affordable, but it also allows you to create everything from burgers to meatloaf to casseroles. When you start looking at the various options, you’ll notice that there are two options in most instances: ground sirloin vs ground beef.
Which one is right for you? Knowing what each is will help you to decide.
What is Ground Beef?
Ground beef is typically beef that has gone through a meat grinder. It will often consist of the leftover trimmings of different roasts and steaks. There’s only muscle; no bone or organ meat goes in the mix.
Cuts of Meat
Ground beef can actually encompass all four types of ground beef, which includes general ground beef, ground chuck, ground round, and ground sirloin.
Ground beef can be cut from anywhere on the cow but will generally include the areas of the shank and brisket.
Nutritional Value
The nutritional value is going to be relatively low because of the fat content.
70/30 ground beef will have around 235 calories for a three-ounce portion. It will also contain approximately 16 grams of fat and 22 grams of protein.
Fat and Lean Content
The fat and lean content of ground beef will always be included on the package. In most instances, it will be 25 to 30% fat. As such, it will be displayed as 75/25 or 70/30 on the packaging. As an example, 75/25 would mean that it is 75 percent lean and 25 percent fat.
Price
The price of ground beef will be lower than all of the other options. It is economical because of the fat content. When you have one pound of ground beef, you may only have 12 ounces (or less) by the time it cooks down because of the rest turning into liquid fat and grease.
What is Ground Sirloin?
Ground sirloin is considered to be the leanest form of ground beef. It is known for being tender and flavorful without all of the fat and grease that is common when cooking ground beef.
Cuts of Meat
The cut of meat that is used to create ground sirloin includes not only the sirloin but also the short loin and sometimes the rib. If you go to a butcher, you can actually specify if you only want a certain part of the cow to be ground for your ground sirloin.
Nutritional Value
The nutritional value of ground sirloin is going to be higher than all of the other ground beef categories because it has the lowest fat content.
90/10 ground sirloin will have approximately 148 calories for a 3-ounce portion. It will also contain about 8.4 grams of fat and 16.8 grams of protein.
Fat and Lean Content
The fat and lean content of ground sirloin are generally listed as 90/10, which means that it is 90% lean and 10% fat. Depending on the cuts that are used, there are times when it can be as lean as 93/7. The actual content will be listed on the packaging so that you know what you are getting.
Price
Ground sirloin is made of premium cuts of beef, so the cost is going to be higher than all of the other ground beef categories. Often, you can expect to spend around $2 more per pound to get the leaner ground beef.
What are the Key Differences Between Ground Sirloin and Ground Beef
There are a few differences between ground sirloin and ground beef to be aware of when you are shopping for meat.
Ground beef is going to be a cheaper option due to its high fat content. The presence of more fat can lead to a more inconsistent blend and be greasier. However, the fat also lends itself to being flavorful.
Ground sirloin is the high-end form of ground beef with very low fat content. Without all of the fat, the consistency will be more even and, when seasoned properly, can be very flavorful.
Both types of meat have their place in recipes, so it’s all a matter of what you are cooking and what kind of budget you have to work with.
Cases When Ground Beef is Best
Ground beef’s fatty flavor can be used to create delicious entrees. Especially when you are looking to keep the cost down on a recipe, you can depend on ground beef to make foods from almost every ethnic cuisine.
Some popular items include:
– Tacos
– Cottage pies
– Sloppy Joes
– Meatloaf
When you are cooking with ground beef, various cooking methods may require you to drain the fat. Otherwise, all of that liquid fat will sit in your dish and congeal as it cools down.
Cases When Ground Sirloin is Best
Ground sirloin doesn’t have a lot of fat content, so it can dry out when you are cooking. As such, you don’t want to use ground sirloin in recipes that depend on some greasiness for flavor and juiciness, such as burgers.
Ground sirloin won’t generate as much fat, if any, when you cook it. This makes it a great choice when making recipes where you will be adding in other forms of liquid:
– Spaghetti sauce
– Chili
– Salisbury steak
Any time where you are looking to reduce your fat intake or you don’t mind drier meat with a hearty texture, ground sirloin is the better option.