What differences are there between frozen hamburgers?

[tvstrip]

I usually get budget to middle of the road frozen burgers. When I cook them at home I usually don't even put any topping on them, I just eat them like a steak.

So today I found soom rich-ass Wagyu (think Kobe Beef) burgers on clearance at my supermarket. The stuff is about 4x the cost of the stuff I usually get, but they marked it down 75% because the box was ripped. The meat is vacuum sealed so I figure at the same price as my regular stuff why not?

Go back and try it for dinner.
It tastes the same. Again, I don't put any topping or sauce (not even ketchup), so I'm just tasting the burger. I was promised a "refined buttery flavor and succulent texture". Ok, so I should have known that "texture" in a burger means nothing, but I really thought this would taste noticeably different.

Any of you gourmets with sophisticated palettes know what I'm supposed to taste differently? Or is it all the same?

 

[sean miguel]

Not really in my experience. The ones with the higher fat content taste better. When I'm doing ketogenic, I'll eat just the patties with ketchup. The the very low end stuff is a noticeable drop off. I think they mix saw dust in with it.

 

[tvstrip]

ick.

Yeah, that's why I try to do at least a rung up from the bottom of the barrel. Esp for something that could have a contamination that could be serious.
I'm guessing that "buttery" flavour refers to the fat. But when you cook a frozen burger, do you even taste it? I mean, for a steak where you can still see the fat after cooking, I get it. But for a burger I'm not sure what I'm tasting...

 

[Torre82]

I feel mightily sorry for those poor schmucks who get 'steak' from the 'dollar store'.
Like... really? The thing is paper-thin. The pricepoint should alert you to the lack of quality.
They are not buying overpriced printer ink.. (the most overpriced thing in the world.)
They are buying something that would taste infinitely better at a 5 dollar pricepoint.
Amazing at 15$. And when you go out to the place downtown that charges you 50$? You are totally justified in expecting "God's vagina" on your tastebuds.

*cough ahem* But anyway, frozen? Just go for the flash-frozen stuff and mind your fat content. You can always add your own flavor in, later. Your own 'fat'. Throw on butter, oil, cheese, etc. I recommend the lean cuts ~ but that isnt to say that the natural fat is useless ~ but if we speak of their natural fat, you gotta keep in mind their diet. Cheap meats were fed cheap stuff. (Or hey, if you worry about excessive antibiotics.. cheap cuts have more than trace amounts of drugs in their fat pockets, soo...)
Money talks, and packaging talks. When you go to the frozen section, you see 14.99 Gorton's fish with the nice packaging... and next over is the see-through bag with the exact same amount? Sometimes they source it from the exact same place. Sometimes they just want to compete. Go for what makes your tastebuds happy ~ if you like the generic salt/solution they add to their stuff.. go with their stuff. If you want a naked patty with 27% fat, go for the fat. Find your favorite.

Sidenote, somewhat on-topic: I prefer frozen vegetables. Canned stuff is just garbage. I personally preach about the frozen section for all my stuff. But some people want the 'fridgerated taste.

 

[tvstrip]

I feel mightily sorry for those poor schmucks who get 'steak' from the 'dollar store'.
Sidenote, somewhat on-topic: I prefer frozen vegetables. Canned stuff is just garbage. I personally preach about the frozen section for all my stuff. But some people want the 'fridgerated taste.

I'm totally into frozen fruit. It lasts infinitely longer, and if you eat it frozen it's kinda like fruit gelato.