BURGER MADNESS!

daedal

So i've been trying all the supermarket burgers to establish the best prepackaged burger available. My finding has led me to believe LIDL's angus beef burgers are the best. These burgers are seasoned so well and cook like a steak, they retain their juiciness if cooked properly, treat them like a steak and cook them to a medium doneness, <snip> your partner will cry tears of happiness.... I've tried a bunch of butcher burgers too but I keep coming back to LIDL's angus burgers.

I'd love to know what you believe to be the best pre-packaged burger?

Look out for these beauties the next time you go shopping!

*Moderator Note*

Describing food as making you "cum buckets" is not appropriate in this forum, this is not After Hours, kindly have some cop on and raise the tone.

Wheety

They're the ones we eat. Very tasty.

Akrasia

Thats interesting, I stopped buying Lidl burgers because they were so bland. My local butcher made burgers that were so much nicer on the BBQ

Don't think I've tried these specific ones though

1cent

Wouldn't be better to make burgers at home?

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119813951#Comment_119813951

Perhaps. Welcome to boards.ie @1cent!

Flinty997

Our preference is our local butchers regular burgers. Not entirely sure why.

Black Sheep

I make my own burgers, but I can understand that pre-packaged might suit people better in some circumstances.

My only quibble would be that I'd be reluctant to cook any pre-packaged ground meat to medium. I'm someone who loves a medium rare burger, don't get me wrong, but if I haven't ground the meat myself or saw a butcher do it on the day I'm prepping the burgers then I don't think it's a great idea from a hygiene point of view.

In every country, including Ireland, tests generally show that there is E Coli present in a proportion of pre-packed ground meat. The FSAI reckon it's under 10% in Ireland, which is better than most countries.

It's not an issue when the meat is cooked through in a bolognese or similar, but if you shape it into a burger and serve it medium then you're rolling the dice somewhat.

The Nal

The Wagyu burgers from FXB butchers are the GOATs

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119841276#Comment_119841276

They do a great smoked brisket burger pack as well, I forgot about those. Very pungent.

Wheelan's butchers in Dunnes Stores have a great range, from quick blast thin burgers to much thicker burgers- not cheap but well recommended and a nice blend of fat/meat

igCorcaigh

Are buffalo burgers worth trying?

These look interesting too. Rib cap...

Tonesjones

You can't beat a good burger and they are hard got.

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119866730#Comment_119866730

A good vegetarian burger is even harder to find! And make. My attempts were terrible... I like good veggie and meat burgers alike!

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119866730#Comment_119866730

That's why its best to make your own.

Tonesjones

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119866978#Comment_119866978

Iv never had one but it would be something I would like to try!

I can definitely imagine that a good veggie one is even more elusive

Tonesjones

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119867044#Comment_119867044

Do you have a go to recipe?

It's true that almost everything you make yourself tastes better. A reward for the efforts too.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119867292#Comment_119867292

No recipe but I wing it and vary it nearly every time. Minced sirloin beef, finely chopped onion, salt, pepper, herb de provence. Knead it well with your hands. Sometimes I'll even dissolve a couple of oxo cubes in a half cup of water and add it to the mix (I'd be using a lb of mince). Experiment.

CJhaughey

Have to agree with OP, most things I will make from scratch. Those particular Lidl burgers are really exceptional.

I made it my mission this year to try as many varieties as I could (still trying to lose the weight) and the Lidl ones are a firm favourite.

Not sure what the exact reason is but on a BBQ grill they are magic.

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119867377#Comment_119867377

I love the chopped raw onion in homemade burgers! No one selling burgers seem to do that.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119866709#Comment_119866709

My problem with the burgers from O Mahony's is that their cheapest, regular burgers are so good and cheap!

No doubt, the premium burgers are better (I've tried them and sometimes repeat buy cause they're so good) but the regular ones are Bunsen tasty meat.

I'm not sure I've had the buffalo burgers but I've had plenty of buffalo meat and it's delicious. Just don't expect it to taste particularly different to regular beef.

mojesius

Dunnes stores simply better steak burgers are quite nice

Eoinbmw

Any love for the Lamb Burger?

Mystery Egg

I tried herby turkey burgers this week. They were actually really nice.

HeidiHeidi

M&S Ultimate Burgers are far and away the best I've found - followed by the premium ones in Lidl/Aldi.

I LOVE a lamb burger - there was a guy in the Meeting House Square Saturday market in Temple Bar (no idea if it's still going, this was years and years ago) that used to sell fresh ones, and I always had one in my freezer. I see a seasoned lamb burger mentioned by some on the Lidl/Aldi threads (can't remember which one) which I keep meaning to look for, it seems to be a winter-only thing.

I've made my own in the past, involving lots of herbs and no breadcrumbs (it was when I was low-carbing) and they were delicious. I can't find the recipe now though.

the beer revolu

Yup. Love lamb burgers.

The Nal

40% chuck, 40% beef rib, 20% brisket. Salt, pepper and some d'Espelette, which ive only just disovered.

https://www.fallonandbyrne.com/shop/groceries/pantry/salts-spices/piment-despelette-aop/

Black Sheep

In Ireland I think sometimes there is a mentality that quality of beef means steak in the name, so my mum would be dreadful for buying lean steak pieces or getting steak ground, even if she's making a burger or a Bolognese. But obviously in actuality what if you break down what is resulting in a 'good burger' it's likely a high fat content is the determining factor in most of it (Forget using steaks you'd pan fry). It'll be required for an effective maillard reaction in a pan or on a grill, and most importantly for the burger to remain moist when it's cooked through.

In terms of how much fat percentage you ideally want... I suspect it's at least 15-20% but when it comes to exceptionally good off the shelf burgers from FXB, M&S etc I would suspect in practical terms it's even higher. I say 15-20% because if in a busy week you're buying mince off the shelf then basically you'd want to go for the highest fat content mince available, and that's what it is. Otherwise, a chat with the butcher and something like the Nal's combo above seems sensible!

For this reason as regards the bison burgers, although I would be really curious to try them, I'd like to know how lean they are! One of the worst things I've ever eaten in my life was a super lean ostrich burger. Almost zero fat, just acres of pallid, rubbery white flesh, yuck.

The other thing that caught my eye above are the rib cap burgers... That's quite a mad one. Rib cap / spinalis dorsi is the little mega-tasty roll on the edge of a rib eye and if you were to be lucky enough to be able to buy a big piece of rib cap to cook like a steak then it would cost you about 40 euro for two. Higgins briefly did it a few years ago. The reason it's not commonly seen for sale is that usually butchers will just leave it on a piece of rib beef and sell the whole thing intact. If you take off the rib cap the rest of the pieces becomes odd. So these rib cap burgers... Unusual, from the name certainly sounds like rib eye trimmings anyway, I'd say would be tasty.