Evaluating the Cooking and Chemical Characteristics of Low-Fat Ground Beef Patties

Ground beef patties (n=504), manufactured to contain 5, 10 or 15% fat, were evaluated to determine the effects of preparation, storage and cooking methods, and degree of doneness on cholesterol, total lipid, protein, moisture, and energy content. Differences between fresh, hand-made patties and frozen, machine-made patties were statistically significant for some nutrients. However, these differences may be insignificant to consumers because actual differences were small. The greatest difference in composition of the cooked ground beef patties was observed between patties cooked from the frozen state versus fresh patties. Patties cooked from the frozen state were higher in total lipid for each cooking method. An evaluation of cooking methods revealed small differences in total lipid content at the 5% level; however, at the 10 and 15% total lipid levels, microwaved and reheated patties contained the lowest amounts of total lipid while those baked, pan-fried, and broiled contained higher levels. In all total lipid levels and cooking methods except 5% fat broiled/reheated patties, reheating led to a decrease in fat content. Decreases in total lipid content were seen for reheated pan-fried patties at the 5 and 10% levels and reheated patties at the 15% level.