Ground Chuck Vs. Ground Beef: What's The Difference?

The labels on the ground meat in the beef section of the grocery store don't tell much about what's inside the package. The label may say ground beef but there's a similar-looking meat labeled ground chuck. But it all looks the same under the plastic packaging. However, there are differences between ground beef and ground chuck, which have to do with flavor, fat content, and their origins in the cow. The primary difference is where on the cow the meat comes from. Ground chuck is from the shoulder of the cow (also known as the chuck primal). Ground beef, however, can come from various parts of the cow and sometimes even from several different cows. Ground beef is sometimes preferred to ground chuck (despite the meat quality and origins) when it contains less fat and is labeled "lean."

Primal cuts are the sections the carcass is separated into when it's butchered. The four main primal cuts are the chuck (shoulder), loin, ribs, and round (rump and hind legs). Ground chuck only comes from the chuck primal cut. The shoulder is further butchered into beef products like chuck roasts (blade and cross rib), the ranch steak, chuck eye steak, shoulder steak, and more.

Ground chuck is also considered a "source grind" because it is ground from one primal. Other source grinds are ground sirloin, taken from the cow's midback area, and ground round, taken from the hind legs and rump. These ground meats include the connective tissue, collagen, and fat straight from the cow which produces juicy, flavorful beef. The fat and connective tissue on the shoulder cut makes the ground meat ideal for shaping. Thus, ground chuck is the best choice for making meatloaf, Salisbury steak, meatballs, and more.

It's important to note that meat labeled "ground beef" can be pulled from several places on the cow and ground together. This means ground beef likely contains trimmings, the parts and pieces of meat leftover from breaking primal cuts down into the cuts you find in the grocery store. (There are even ground beef products that get mixed with mushrooms.) Ground beef is processed after other cuts are made and fat is added to make the meat fattier or leaner. This difference in fat content matters when cooking ground chuck and ground beef. Ground chuck is naturally about 20% fat, which appears as 80/20 on the label in the grocery store. The amount of fat fed into the grind can make ground beef leaner or fattier. However, the USDA limits the fat content in ground beef to 30%. People often seek out the much leaner ground beef to reduce the fat content in their diets.