What to use instead of ground beef
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Fat and browning in a burger or a meat sauce
The fat renders and carries the flavour through the dish, and the surface proteins and sugars brown into the savoury crust that makes mince taste of anything.
Ground porkRan out
1:1 by weight
Sweeter, paler and softer. It will not hold a burger's shape as tightly, so chill the patties before they hit the pan.
Ground lambRan out
1:1 by weight
Much stronger flavour that leads the dish, and the fat sets waxy on a cooling plate. Serve it hot.
Ground turkey thighRan out
1:1 by weight, plus 1 tbsp oil per 500 g
Around 10 percent fat instead of 20, so it dries out several minutes sooner and browns pale. Pat the surface bone dry before it goes in.
Ground bisonRan out
1:1 by weight, cooked to medium at most
Very lean and slightly sweet. Past medium it goes livery and dry, and it cooks a good 2 minutes faster than beef.
What doesn't work: Extra-lean 93/7 beef in a burger. At 7 percent fat there is nothing to render, so the patty tightens, squeezes out its water and comes off the heat grey and crumbly. It is fine in a sauce where the fat comes from somewhere else.
Crumbled savoury pieces through a chili, taco filling or ragu
What the mince supplies here is small chewy pieces, browned surface flavour, and rendered fat to carry the spice.
Mushrooms chopped fine and browned hardPlant-based
1:1 by weight, plus 2 tbsp oil
They give up a lot of water first, so cook the pan dry before seasoning. Deeply savoury and completely without chew.
Cooked brown or green lentilsPlant-based
1:1 by volume against browned mince, plus 1/4 cup extra liquid
Soft rather than chewy and they drink up the sauce as they sit. They will not brown, so build the colour with tomato paste and spice.
Toasted walnuts pulsed with mushroomsPlant-based
1 cup walnuts + 2 cups mushrooms per 500 g beef
The walnut fat stands in for the render and gives it richness. Texture is crumbly and slightly grainy, and it will not hold together in a patty.
Crumbled tempehPlant-based
1:1 by weight
Firmest of the plant options and it keeps its pieces in a long simmer. Steam it 10 minutes first or it stays bitter.
What doesn't work: Canned beans mashed as a mince stand-in. They break down completely over a simmer and thicken the pot into refried paste with no distinct pieces left in it.
Fat percentage matters more than the animal. Match the fat first and most of these swaps behave.