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The product in question is this: https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/humza-meat-charcoal-kebab-x8-400g It contains 17g of fat per 100 grams.

The fat content suggests it hasn't been cooked to well done since most of the fat\oil would have left(oils start to leave130-140f) the meat before well done(160f).

I also read that ground meat is not safe unless cooked to 160f however the description says this meat is grounded then cooked over a hot charcoal grill. But since most of the fat is still inside it seems it hasn't been done to 160f?

So I'm wondering why hasn't the fat\oils come out if its been done to 160f or hasnt it been done to 160f in which case hasnt it met the safe temperature for ground meet?

James Wilson
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    I really think you might want to ask more direct questions about your assumptions. If you'd started out this series of questions with "when meat is cooked, how much fat is released and how much stays in it?" you'd have gotten to the core issue immediately. – Cascabel Feb 24 '18 at 07:33

1 Answers1

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Fat doesn't just leave meat when it's cooked; plenty of it stays in the meat. Sure, some amount of water and fat comes out of meat during cooking. But it's by no means all, or even most of it! So there's nothing weird with cooking temperature or food safety going on here, and nothing special has to be done to keep that fat. It's just what happens when you cook meat.

Your kebabs are 17% fat by weight, which is if anything on the lean side for cooked ground meat.

Nutrition facts are available for all kinds of common cuts of meat after cooking (e.g. a cooked steak, not some prepared product). They really are measured after cooking. Exact numbers may vary, since not every instance of a cut is exactly the same, but the message is quite clear: plenty of fat stays in after cooking.

Some examples:

You can also find these simply by searching on Google. (The card with nutrition information will generally have a link to the source data in the USDA database at the bottom.)

If you want a really direct demonstration:

You do lose more fat than other nutrients, but you definitely do not lose all of it. Even with ground meat, which tends to release more of everything, you still only go from 30% to 20% fat by weight.

Bacon is a nice example too:

  • raw: 11g fat / 28g (raw) slice
  • pan-fried: 4g fat / 11.5g (cooked) slice
  • baked: 3.5g fat / 8.1g (cooked) slice

All that fat you see in the pan really is a lot of fat! But 32-36% of the fat is still in it.

Cascabel
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