How Many Hamburger Patties You Can Make From One Cow

Have you ever wondered just how much food you can score from one cow? A 1,200-pound steer yields about 490 pounds of usable beef once the bones and outer fat layer are trimmed, according to South Dakota State University Extension. If all that meat was being ground up, you'd end up with 1,960 ¼-pound, or 980 ½-pound, patties. Typically though, ground beef is made from tougher cuts that are leftover after carving out the roasts and steaks from each cow, and you may be surprised to hear that the meat that makes up one burger patty could come from around 100 different cows. 

The folks behind the Vanzai Cooking YouTube channel also wanted to answer the question of how many hamburger patties you can make from one cow. They butchered a 341-pound bull down to the bone. It was a very labor-intensive process to do by hand, trimming down each section into a meat mountain made of pieces small enough to fit in the grinder. The process resulted in 480 "hefty" burgers.

The number of beef patties also depends on the type of cow, not just its size. Dairy cows aren't bred for beef, but they may end up between the buns. Milk cows eat specially formulated feed made up of ingredients like grass, corn, and vitamin and mineral supplements so they have as much energy as possible going towards producing milk. They end up with a different build and don't have the same fat and muscle marbling as cattle raised for beef. Once a dairy cow is retired, the entire cow may be used for cheap ground beef.

Understandably, most people are getting their ground beef from the supermarket rather than a cow they're butchering themselves. Fortunately, there are a lot of options when it comes to store-bought ground beef these days. At the top of the line, you'll find USDA Prime ground beef or even wagyu beef that has been evaluated by the Japan Meat Grading Association. On the more economical end, you can get 70/30 ground beef. It is more affordable because it is 30% fat and only 70% lean protein, though the fat does provide great richness and flavor. 

The most popular cuts of steak used for ground beef come from the shoulder (chuck) and rear leg (round) — you can also readily find ground sirloin and brisket. Really though, ground beef can come from any part of the cow, including trimmings too small to make a full steak, ribeyes, or roasts. If your market has a butcher, you can ask for a custom blend for the best-tasting patty. Gordon Ramsay's perfect beef burger blend combines three cuts: chuck, a lean cut like sirloin, and fatty brisket. 

Having a higher fat content is what you want so you don't end up with a dry burger. If you're smashing burgers on the flat top or in a cast iron pan, the fat renders out quickly, so once you press it thin on the surface, the rendered fat will crisp up the edges of the patty. That's why you'll want to avoid the 90/10 ratio of fat when choosing ground beef. You may think you're making a more health-conscious decision, but you'll just end up with a dry burger that requires loads of ketchup or every burger topping imaginable.