Why wouldn't you strain hamburger grease after cooking?

Question

So I've got a friend who makes many dishes involving hamburger but doesn't ever strain it. The grease is added to a dish like Shepard's pie which to me just seems very gross. I see alot of posts about how to strain but nothing to discuss why you should/shouldn't strain and what you should do as an alternative if the grease must be used.

Answer

Well, all I can say is 'it depends on the dish'. If the dish calls for fat to be added otherwise, you can keep that fat and count it where you would add some later. If the dish is just adding hamburger and no more fat - I agree, discard it.

That said - I don't find hamburger fat particularly flavorful and nearly always strain it and add another kind of fat I like better.

It also depends on the fat percentage. If I'm using lean 97/3 hamburger, there's hardly any fat to drain.

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