DEAR PEGGY: If I cook 85/15 lean ground turkey, and drain and rinse it, does it reduce
the fat content? I prefer to cook with 93/7 ground turkey or beef, but I'm on a tight grocery
budget. I can get 85/15 meat much cheaper, so I'm wondering if draining and rinsing makes it
somewhat comparable to 93/7 lean.
—S.N., Mahtomedi, Minnesota
PEGGY: In a word, yes. Research from at Iowa State University in 2002 found that 4
ounces of 80% lean ground beef that was pan-fried, drained, blotted with paper towels and
rinsed with hot water contained 121 calories and 5 grams of fat—roughly the equivalent
of 95% lean beef, undrained.
By comparison, 80% lean ground beef that was drained and blotted (not rinsed) provided 177
calories with 10 grams of fat. Interestingly, researchers found that rinsing 90% lean ground
beef did not provide significant calorie or fat savings over the 80% rinsed beef.