I (quite clearly) didn’t get very far in his … treatise, but OMG are you saying he uses pre-made patties for his Greatest Burger In The Universe? He doesn’t even grind his own mix?
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He doesn’t say he (exclusively) uses pre-made patties, but he does say this: “A basic digital scale and a 4-inch ring mold are ideal for shaping your beef patties if you aren’t using preshaped patties (you can use a square mold instead, if you’re so inclined).” To me, that is “permission” to use pre-made.
He goes on to talk about some beef purveyors/products he likes, and gives “permission” to grind one’s own beef as well: "My ideal beef patty is 75 percent lean (75/25), 4 inches wide, and 1/3 lb (or 6.8oz for a square patty). All together that’s about 0.6 inches thick—thick enough to get a good crust without overcooking the interior, but not so thick that it’s difficult to eat. I’m a big fan of Schweid and Sons’s C.A.B. Butcher’s Blend and the One Percenter beef patties. It’s high quality 75 percent lean beef, and their patties are very close to my ideal size. For dry-aged beef, DeBragga offers a blend that I’ve liked a lot, and DeBragga’s Naturally Raised Ground Beef and their American wagyu blend are both excellent as well. I haven’t had good experiences with the texture of Snake River Farms’ 75 percent lean American wagyu ground beef, and I recommend against buying it.
If you want to buy your meat locally, you can try asking for 75 percent lean beef ground fresh. Chuck is a good bet (avoid unqualified “ground beef” and ground round). And whatever you do, don’t go above 80 percent lean, again, 75 perecent lean is ideal. You can grind your own beef too, if that’s something you’d like to brag about."
Thanks for the recommendations! I don’t know which versions we have available, but you bet your sweet bippie I’ll look for them 
just to be clear, the recommendations are from the article that you chose to criticize but seem not to have read. the reason I posted the article in the first place was his recommendation of Schweid and sons, the topic of your OP.
Right. Never really got that far, as I mentioned further upthread. At least my burgers aren’t total garbage 
Have you tried their blends?
yes, as I posted in my first reply in this thread.
Mea culpa. I’ve not memorized each post in this thread.
now that you know the recommendations came from the article, rather than a forum member, will you still be seeking them out?
asking on behalf of my sweet, sweet bippy.
I made the OG post about the brand while stating my intentions to try their other blends before you, your Burger King, and @biondanonima had chimed in.
The answer is therefore a wholehearted YES. I’ll update the thread immediately as soon as we do, bippety bip 
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Great post! I’ve tried Costco Waygu and had the exact problem you describe, I’ll try blending, seems like a wonderful idea.
I have tried my own grind but found the squeeze wasn’t worth the juice and, truth be known, I wasn’t up for 100s of burger experiments given that my actuarial life expectancy is now firmly in view 
I’d guess he tried his own blend and came to the same conclusion, not worth it, or maybe his audience would balk at the cost of a meat grinder/food processor attachment.
Maybe we should start a burger thread…
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There’s a few of them already — I checked before making this post. But I don’t see why we can’t have another one.
@vinouspleasure Oh sweet Jesus… was this article written by Frasier and Niles Crane??? I don’t disagree with a lot of what he’s saying, but the complexities are mind-boggling.
80/20 ground chuck. Just season, shape, and throw on a hot grill. My dad has been doing that for 50+ years, and my granddad for many years prior to that. Never had a bad burger cooked this way.
@linguafood I’ve had the Schweid and Sons patties a few times. They are quite good.
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well, here the deal in USA . . .
a product may not be labeled / sold as “ground beef” if it has any other ingredients/additives/flavorings/etc.
hence we have patties / sliders / hamburger patties / etc etc etc -
he marketing people come up with kabillions of fancy names. but the bottom line is the product is ground beef ‘with other stuff’
given the variety of types/tastes/claimed flavor profiles . . . it’s a tad difficult to think it is all due to, and only due to, the cuts of beef used for that “flavor”
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If you look at at the nutritional value of, say, The Katana Blend, the ingredient list says: beef. I believe their different blends of cuts and breeds might account for the difference in taste, but I’ll let @biondanonima speak to that, since so far I’ve only tried The Grass-Fed Blend, which has the same ingredient ‘list.’
Oops sorry, wrong reply!
Yup, pretty simple if your goal is, as you put it, never having a bad burger. But some people have a goal of making a great burger (and/or bread, tacos, steak, etc).
Have you ever wanted to make great cookies for instance?
Costco’s Signature frozen grass fed burger patties (80/20) work for me, and are a good value at about $4.20/lb. Package says best to cook from frozen but I don’t (but maybe I should try that method). I defrost and sear in a hot cast iron skillet about 2 mins a side. They come 15 in a pack, 1/3 lb each. Are they the best? I don’t think so but they are convenient to buy and store and should have better nutritional value if grass fed…but it’s a burger.
A few things that you guys already know, need enough fat content and a decent bun helps a lot. Also I have noticed is letting the burger rest for 5 minutes helps. Not at hot but the juices settle and don’t become a running mess as fast. Otherwise, a lot of it is personal preference….and there’s an endless variations, smash burger, thick, rare, well, etc. plus the condiments and toppings. My pet peeves with burgers are dry or over cooked, too much bread or a crappy bun…but some people like it that way.
This was one of the best burgers I’ve had in recent memory. Really great.
If I am not grinding my own beef for burgers, my default pre-packaged ground beef is Edwards Beef Crack.
So, I checked today. We got The Prime, The Katana Blend, The Signature Blend, The climate friendly version of The Signature Blend, and The Butcher’s Blend. No dice on the One Percenter, sadly, but I look forward to ‘working my way’ through the others
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