You Might Want To Skip Buying Frozen Burger Patties For These 2 Reasons

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Frozen burger patties' pitch is irresistible for busy weeknights or if you've got unexpected guests: fast, convenient, and basically ready to throw onto the grill out of the bag. But if grilling frozen patties has become a habit for you, the truth is that those frozen disks might actually be sabotaging your cookout.

First things first: money. Frozen patties aren't the budget option they seem. A 16-ounce pack of organic grass-fed beef from Whole Foods on Amazon runs $9.99 — four 4-ounce patties, which breaks down to $2.50 each. Compare that to a pound of 365 By Whole Foods ground beef at $7.99, and you're looking at $2 per patty. You're paying a 50-cent premium for the convenience of not shaping them yourself. That adds up and can sting pretty bad when you're feeding a crowd — every 10 burgers costs you five extra dollars.

That's not the worst part, though. The real disappointment comes when those patties hit the grill. Most pre-made frozen patties just taste plain bad, according to our Fred Decker, a trained chef and former restaurateur, who put burger patties on his list of top 10 things he typically avoids buying frozen. They cook up dense and compact — nothing like the tender, open crumb of fresh meat. Taste one back-to-back with a fresh patty, and the difference will be stark: One's got actual beef flavor (and it's not the frozen one).

Buy ground beef whenever you can. You'll save money, get quality patties that, in turn, will give you tastier burgers, as well. Yes, you have to shape them, but that takes about two minutes. Seriously. If you want to prep ahead, shape them fresh and freeze your own patties — homemade versions will run circles around anything you'd grab off a supermarket shelf.

Ground beef from the supermarket is fine. But for truly fresh ground beef, head to the butcher counter. When you grind your own beef — or pick the cuts and have them grind it — you control everything: the fat ratio, the blend of cuts, and how the burger will taste. Most stores max out at 85/15, but a butcher can give you 80/20, or go richer with 70/30 for a fattier, more flavorful burger. You can also blend different cuts — chuck and brisket, for example — to dial in exactly what you want.

It sounds like a lot, but you don't need to be a pro to do this. Just find a butcher willing to work with you. Once you taste what a freshly ground burger can be, frozen patties, for all their convenience, won't ever sound tempting anymore!