Effects of end-point temperature and fat level on the residual cholesterol in ground beef patties

Patties of lean ground beef with 2% fat (L2PF) and 6% fat (L6PF) were used to study the fat and cholesterol composition of raw and cooked ground beef and to determine how the end-point cooking temperature affects the amount of fat and cholesterol in a lean ground beef patty as it would be eaten by the consumer. The two patty types were obtained from the longissimus muscle of steers with marbling scores associated with "Standard" to "Select" and "Select" to "Choice" U.S. carcass grades of beef respectively. All steers were fed a diet of roughage and concentrates to ensure fat deposition over the 12th and 13th ribs; longissimus muscles between the 7th and 10th ribs were removed, trimmed of all external fat, ground and formed into three 130-g patties. One patty was fried to an internal temperature of 60 degrees C, another to 71 degrees C and the third was uncooked. After frying, the patties were measured for drip loss, moisture and total fat. The fat extract was used for cholesterol analysis. The cooked L2PF sample had significantly less fat than the cooked L6PF samples, but there was no difference between the L2PF and L6PF in cholesterol. End-point temperature had no effect on the fat and cholesterol contents for either L2PF or L6PF samples, but the higher endpoint temperature resulted in a significant loss of moisture