Healthier Hamburger... Boiled?

[GrillingFool]

I used to work at a little Italian restaurant.
The cook BOILED the hamburger she used in her
lasagna, spaghetti and other dishes.
She said it was healthier because almost all of the
fat is removed, and since she added spices and some
beef bullion, flavor was retained.

Does anyone here boil their hamburger instead of browning it?

Do you think it would be significantly lower in fat?

[jennyema]

Recall that meat gets it's "meaty" flavor from the Maillard Reaction which only occurs during the browning process.

Boiling meat in boullion isn't going to give it that flavor.

Browning meat and then draining it well in a colander works very well to eliminate fat, IMO.

[Andy M.]

Cooking meat in water is how you make broth. When you make broth, you save the liquid, not the meat. There's a reason for that. All the meat's flavor is in the liquid.

[TATTRAT]

Sounds like everything would taste like cheap Salisbury's steak after that.

[GrillingFool]

Ah ha! Learned something new!

But... if the meat is being incorporated into something like spaghetti sauce, would it matter? The sauce is the main flavor carrier, right?

Back to the restaurant.... this lady made the best lasagna and spaghetti I have
ever had in a restaurant, so the boiling didn't seem to negatively affect the dishes'
flavors.

Back to the original question..... do you think boiling vs browning would result in a
significantly lower fat hamburger?

[Constance]

I don't boil my burger, but I do sometimes leave it in the colander and drain the pasta over the top of it, which washes away any remaining grease.

[TATTRAT]

In my opinion, for a sauce I guess it wouldn't matter much, might not be a "rich" or "meaty" in flavor, but to each their own.

[GB]

Originally Posted by GrillingFool

do you think boiling vs browning would result in a
significantly lower fat hamburger?

No I would not think so. Not significantly at least.

[bowlingshirt]

Originally Posted by TATTRAT

Sounds like everything would taste like cheap Salisbury's steak after that.

That reminds me...I need to throw my hungry man dinner in the microwave.

[Lizannd]

lady does it. I watched a show on TV where they made a vegetable beef soup with ground beef and they boiled it briefly and drained it also. It seemed so strange that I had to try it. I almost couldn't believe it when I tried the soup. It had the beefiest flavor. Something I was never able to achieve when I browned the ground beef. It seems contrary to what should happen but I would trust the lady and give it a try.