This Aldi Beef Tube Isn't Exactly Appetizing
Squashing a cow into a tube would be a predictably painful experience for animals and weird humans alike, and it turns out that even simply wrapping some of its meat into a cylinder of ground beef produces a product so heavy with fat that it would probably make even Ronald McDonald become vegan.
Redditor MondoCat shared a pretty disturbing image on an Aldi subreddit of a tube of ground beef surrounded on one side by a slab of pale fat. Practical pieces of advice are offered on the thread, such as to slice the fat off and use it as tallow or simply return the packet for a refund, as well as one particularly unhelpful comment suggesting it could be someone's hand. "Check for a wedding ring" is the investigative solution. One commenter, claiming to be a butcher, opines that the fat probably just stuck together during manufacturing rather than spreading out.
Obviously, thick lines of fat are not something you want to think about when buying ground beef, but its inclusion is acceptable by USDA standards and is a crucial part of creating meaty cuisine.
Fat stops beef becoming dry when it is cooked
The ground beef in question appears to be the 73/27 Ground Beef Roll advertised on the Aldi website. This means that the roll contains 73% beef and 27% fat, which is perfectly acceptable by regulatory standards — the USDA states that only if a product exceeds 30% fat does it become "misbranded" under federal law. Aldi is not required to have the actual quality of its ground beef judged by the USDA.
Typically, ground beef is made from small pieces of meat called "trimmings," which are the result of larger joints being chopped into steaks and roasts. Sometimes a whole muscle can be used to create ground beef, but the fat must always be attached to lean meat. Aldi's ground beef is described as "minimally processed," which could support the theory that the fat simply wasn't spread out very equally during manufacture.
A certain amount of fat is required in beef to make sure that it does not dry out while cooking and contains a nice amount of flavor. However, a lean-to-fat ratio of 70% meat and 30% fat (close to that sold by Aldi) is likely to be too messy and fatty when cooked. The best ratio to aim for is 80% beef to 20% fat to ensure the right balance of flavor and juiciness is achieved.