Best Ground Beef for Burgers: 80/20 and Blends
Ground chuck at 80/20, a brisket or short rib blend, and how to read a US label: which ground beef to buy for a juicy burger.
The best ground beef for burgers is ground chuck at 80/20: 80% lean, 20% fat. In a US supermarket, that means a pack labeled “ground chuck”. At a butcher counter, ask for chuck ground to order. Want a richer patty? Blend in 20 to 25% brisket or short rib. 80/20 chuck is what I cook with at home, and it’s the ratio Five Guys and most burger cooks settle on.
Prices below are US national averages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for October 2026. If you shop in France, Spain or Mexico, skip to the section on labels outside the US: the rules there are different.
The 5 best ground beef picks for burgers
For most cooks, plain 80/20 ground chuck is the best meat for burgers. The other four picks either build on it or stand in when chuck isn’t on the shelf.
- Ground chuck, 80/20. The safe choice, and the label guarantees the beef comes from the chuck only.
- Chuck plus brisket. 75 to 80% chuck, 20 to 25% brisket, for a sweeter, richer patty. My favorite of the five.
- Chuck plus short rib. The same 20 to 25% share, with short rib instead of brisket.
- Chuck, brisket and short rib. The three-cut blend New York butcher Pat LaFrieda sells as his original burger blend.
- Supermarket ground beef labeled 80/20. The fallback when there’s no chuck: same fat ratio, but the beef can come from any cut.
Why 80/20 ground beef for burgers is the default
80/20 is the default because 20% fat keeps a patty juicy without turning the pan into a grease bath. Five Guys describes its patties as “80/20, 100 percent beef that has no additives or fillers” (more in our Five Guys cheeseburger copycat with 80/20 patties).
US law allows a lot more fat. “Ground beef” and “hamburger” can both legally contain up to 30% fat (9 CFR 319.15), so a 73/27 pack is perfectly legal. Europe is stricter. Under EU labeling rules, mince sold as pure beef can contain at most 20% fat (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex VI, Part B). In France or Spain, 20% is the most fat a pack labeled pure-beef mince can have.
I don’t go leaner than 80/20 for a burger. There’s simply not enough fat to keep the patty moist. Stuck with 90/10? Blend it with a fattier cut like brisket or short rib.
Ground chuck: the best single cut for burgers
Ground chuck is the best single cut for burgers: it’s sold at about 80/20, and its name on the label guarantees where the beef came from. Under USDA labeling rules, ground beef named after a cut (ground chuck, ground round, ground sirloin) can contain only the lean and fat of that primal cut (Texas A&M AgriLife Animal Science).
It’s also cheap for what it does. The US average for 100% beef ground chuck was $6.73 per pound in October 2026, about $14.84 per kilo, up from $6.48 in September (BLS via FRED, series APU0000703111).
Line chart: US average price of 100% beef ground chuck, per pound: June 2026 $6.98, July $6.85, August $6.77, September $6.48, October $6.73 (BLS). (Chart: Burger Breton, data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED (public domain), https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/APU0000703111)
Best burger blend: chuck, brisket and short rib
The best burger blend starts with 80/20 chuck and adds 20 to 25% brisket or short rib for sweetness and richness. J. Kenji López-Alt is credited with this formula, as reported by Eat This, Not That!. I couldn’t trace the original Serious Eats piece, so take the attribution as secondhand. The ratio itself is sound.
Chuck plus brisket
For 2 lb (907 g) of blend, ask for 1.5 lb (680 g) chuck and 0.5 lb (227 g) brisket. That’s 25% brisket, the top of López-Alt’s range. For 20%, go with 1.6 lb (726 g) chuck and 0.4 lb (181 g) brisket. If I had to pick one addition, it would be brisket: it’s easier to find than short rib, and it’s the one that makes the blend taste beefier rather than just fattier.
Chuck plus short rib
Short rib follows the same ratio: 20 to 25% of the blend, chuck for the rest. It’s the richer of the two additions. Start at 20%.
The three-cut blend: chuck, brisket and short rib
Pat LaFrieda, the New York butcher, uses chuck, brisket and short rib in his original burger blend (Food Republic). He doesn’t publish the proportions, so I won’t invent any. For a blend used in a real recipe, see my colleague Julia’s homemade ShackBurger recipe, which breaks down the cuts behind the Shake Shack patty.
Beef cuts for burgers compared: fat, flavor and price
Chuck is the only burger cut with an official average price. Brisket and short rib are mostly bought as additions to it.
| Cut | Fat (order of magnitude) | What it adds | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck | About 20% | The base of every blend above | $6.73/lb ($14.84/kg) ground, US average, Oct. 2026 |
| Brisket | About 20% | Sweetness and richness | No published average; ask your butcher |
| Short rib | Fattier than chuck | Richness | No published average; ask your butcher |
| Ground beef 80/20 (any cut) | 20%, stated on the label | No guaranteed cut | No published average for this ratio |
Treat the fat figures as rough ranges, not lab values. The ratio printed on the label is the only number you can rely on.
Bar chart: approximate fat by cut (chuck about 20%, brisket about 20%, short rib fattier), with two reference lines: the 30% US legal cap for ground beef and hamburger, and the 20% EU cap for pure-beef mince. (Chart: Burger Breton, data from 9 CFR 319.15 (public domain, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/9/319.15) and Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex VI, Part B)
How to read a ground beef label in the US
A US ground beef label tells you three things: the fat ratio, whether fat was added, and whether the beef comes from one named cut. The legal definitions of ground beef and hamburger are set by 9 CFR 319.15. The single-cut names follow USDA labeling rules.
Ground chuck vs ground beef
“Ground chuck” means chuck lean and chuck fat, nothing else. Plain “ground beef” can come from any cut. At the same fat ratio, I always take ground chuck, because I know what I’m getting. Between 85/15 ground chuck and 73/27 ground beef, I’d still pick the chuck.
Ground beef vs hamburger: the one legal difference
Both “ground beef” and “hamburger” are capped at 30% fat. The only legal difference: loose beef fat can be added to hamburger, never to ground beef.
What ground beef can’t contain
Labeled ground beef can’t contain added water, phosphates, binders or extenders. Beef cheek meat is limited to 25%, and must be declared on the label above its natural proportion (9 CFR 319.15).
Ground beef labels in France, Spain and Mexico
Outside the US, the label works differently. In the EU it shows a maximum fat percentage. In Spain, the question is whether the pack is mince or “burger meat”. In Mexico, check for soy.
| Market | What the label tells you | Source |
|---|---|---|
| France and Spain (EU) | Pure-beef mince: 20% fat max and a collagen/meat protein ratio of 15% max, both shown as “less than” on the label | Regulation (EU) 1169/2011, Annex VI, Part B |
| Spain | Carne picada is beef only; preparado de carne adds vegetables or spices and declares its meat share; burger meat has at least 4% cereals and/or vegetables and may contain sulfites | OCU |
| Mexico | Profeco found fat ranging from 11% to 27% across burger meat brands, some products containing soy, and “sirloin” or “arrachera” claims it couldn’t confirm | adn40, June 5, 2026 |
In France, fattier pure-beef patties cost less than lean ones. In 2026, Charal 15% sold at €18.89/kg and Charal 5% at €26.75/kg, with prices varying by store (mescoursesdeproximite.com). For a burger, the cheaper 15% is the better buy. In Spain, the consumer group OCU tested 10 supermarket beef burgers on October 5, 2026. Most turned out to be burger meat with at least 4% plant ingredients, high in fat and salt, weighing anywhere from 90 to 220 g (OCU). If the pack says burger meat, it isn’t pure beef.
Cook ground beef burgers to 160°F
Whatever blend you buy, cook a ground beef burger to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C), the USDA’s minimum safe temperature. Color won’t tell you: a patty can turn brown before it’s safe (USDA FSIS). Use a thermometer, and our burger patty internal temperature guide for timings.
FAQ about the best ground beef for burgers
What fat percentage is best for burgers: 80/20, 85/15 or 73/27?
80/20 is the standard for burgers, and the ratio Five Guys uses. 73/27 is legal in the US, where the cap is 30% fat, but it shrinks more and greases the pan. In the EU, pure-beef mince can’t go above 20% fat.
Is ground chuck better than ground beef for burgers?
At the same fat ratio, yes. Ground chuck must come only from the chuck, while plain ground beef can come from any cut. Ground chuck averaged $6.73 per pound in the US in October 2026.
What is the difference between ground beef and hamburger meat on a US label?
Both can contain up to 30% fat. Loose beef fat can be added to hamburger but not to ground beef. Neither can contain more than 25% beef cheek meat.
Which cuts do butchers blend for burgers?
The classic blend is chuck with brisket and short rib. J. Kenji López-Alt is credited with adding 20 to 25% brisket or short rib to 80/20 chuck. Pat LaFrieda’s original burger blend combines all three cuts.
Is 90/10 or lean ground beef too dry for burgers?
On its own, yes: there isn’t enough fat to keep the patty moist. If 90/10 is all you have, blend in 20 to 25% brisket or short rib.
More burger techniques and copycat recipes are in the Burger Breton recipes section.
