Burger King To Sell "Angus" Beef Burger

[Holly Moore]

According to today's USA Today Burger King, along with Carl's Jr. and Krystal, is going to start selling an Angus beef burger.

Burger King's corporate chef brags, "The burger will have more steak flavor because steak sauce and spices are mixed in with the meat."

Two observation:

1. Back in my days with the chains, we would never consider adding anything to a hamburger patty. Too much of a PR risk. "If there is seasoning mixed into the ground beef, what other fillers are they putting into it."

2. Must be a really good grade of Angus beef if it needs to be fortified with A-1 sauce.

Perhaps BK now has a fiasco burger to go with their fiasco fries.

Edited March 25, 2004 by Holly Moore (log)

[ExtraMSG]

Also, a growing number of burger chains have recognized that the term Angus beef -- a slightly higher grade of beef from hornless cattle that originated in Scotland -- radiates high consumer perception of quality. In other words, it's part marketing gimmick.

Duh.

[Varmint]

Hardee's has been selling Angus beef burgers for some time now, and they're noticeably and substantially better than the crap they used to serve. They're now my favorite fast food burger that is located in these parts.

[Jinmyo]

Holly,

1) Ayup.

2) Uh-huh.

[chow guy]

The Angus scam always amazes me. There is Certified Black Angus, Registered Black Angus, sort of Black Angus, Angus' cousin twice removed and a cow called Angus. It's sort of like comparing Angus and oranges.

[Holly Moore]

I'm a believer in "Certified Black Angus." I understand it's a marketing ploy but I have had consistantly good results with their steaks. At least the caliber of Certified Black Angus steak carried by the Chef's Market here in Philadelphia.

[wesza]

After setting up , opening and operating many, "Angus Steak House's" in England during the 1960's with even a branch in Hong Kong I am always amazed how often it becomes reborn as a superior beef product.

We selected the name "Angus" since it was a good quality readily available beef species popular in Scotland where England's best beef was purported to come from.

They were generally slightly smaller then most European species raised and feed lot finished, with better loin cuts suitable for Steak portioning, and cost less then other finished beef due the size of finished quarters with steady supply.

When I was consulting with Hawaii Beef Company on Oahu we shipped the first live American young steers directly to Kobe to be raided as Wangu Beef from the Robinson's Ranch where they breed smaller Angus Cattle that often graded USDA Prime that became very popular in Japan.

It almost imposable to be able to recognize differences in the supply of boxed beef sold commercially. There are several gigantic processors who are trying to merchandise, Angus effectively as a Branded Product but based upon their previous reputations I question their mythology or rationalization about anything but profits.

If you want true character, flavor and finesse in your Beef the buy whenever available: Dry Hung Aged Beef, cut from Primal Beef Sections from a reputable Butcher. Even the Ground Beef processed from a Primal Round, Hindquarter or Forequarter tastes better then any Plastic Sealed or Boxed Beef Cuts or Trimmings.

Irwin

[auntdot]

We would be glad to frequent a reputable butcher if we could find one.

We cannot even find one of the shady variety.

We live about fifty miles from Washington DC and the only butcher in this town went under about two weeks before we moved here.

The closest city had one for about one year, which we frequented, but it could not survive.

For us, and I guess for many, a local butcher is not an option.

There is a place about thirty miles away that is supposed to carry Wagyu beef, but every time we have been there they seem to be out.

No, we have to go with the supermarket butcher most of the time.

They do sell beef they call Angus, and it is pretty good.

What it is, we have no idea. The butcher seems as clueless as we are.

But it is generally better than the stuff we can buy on the web.

Sorry, just venting, but truly miss a real butcher.

[ExtraMSG]

All the supermarkets are selling Angus now. I've tried all the ones around here and they definitely vary.

[HKDave]

'Angus' now is meaningless as an indicator of beef quality, but 'Certified Angus Beef' (CAB) does have meaning. Details here: http://www.certifiedangusbeef.com/product/grades.html

That site is for American grades, but CAB have similar programs in Canada and Australia, and the quality is comperable. I can really start babbling when it comes to beef grades and quality, but to avoid repetition, I've got a few longish posts on this topic in here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=5600&hl=

There's no substitute for making friends with your butcher. Even the guys behind the counter in the supermarket - if you're lucky enough to have a supermarket that still has a real meat counter - can help you get the good stuff once you get to know them.

- Hong Kong Dave

[jhlurie]

Holy Bayless! That sucks!

{That's my attempt to use "Bayless" as a fast-food related swear word.}

[slowday]

I wonder if they're going to flame broil their angus burgers. Flame broiling is much better than ordinary grilling and I bet the angus burgers are much better than ordinary burgers.

[jhlurie]

Yes, I'm sure they will flame broil them. But then they will store them under heat lamps or keep them in warming bins--thus ruining them.

[hollywood]

Hardee's has been selling Angus beef burgers for some time now, and they're noticeably and substantially better than the crap they used to serve. They're now my favorite fast food burger that is located in these parts.

Hmmm. I think Hardee's is somehow corporately related to Carl's Jr. which is jumping this wagon as well.

[branch]

Ummm.... does the inclusion of Krystal disturb anyone other than me?

[clothier]

Holy Bayless! That sucks!

{That's my attempt to use "Bayless" as a fast-food related swear word.}

God Bayless. What the Bayless where they thinking?

Hey JHL, that works pretty well, and it's fun.

I see the future, and it's an angus whopper. That they'll charge you twice as much for. And it'll taste just the same. Not that that's bad, since I like the whopper, but...

I wonder what the marketing campaign will be?

Which "celeb" chef will tout this product?

Maybe we could start a pool.

I've got Al Roker.

[Cynthia G]

There is Certified Black Angus, Registered Black Angus, sort of Black Angus, Angus' cousin twice removed and a cow called Angus.

[Mabelline]

70 % of the cattle raised for consumption in this state are indeed Angus. They are hardy, thrifty, and dress out impeccibly. I am in total agreement with Varmint--there's a Hardee's about 6 blocks from me, and their '6 dollar burger for 3.95' is damn good.

Angus is almost as misused as "Thoroughbred". Quality costs, yet the benefit is worth it.

Certified is a good bellwether to go by. If that label is misused it is a definitely punishable offense.

[FistFullaRoux]

The day they come out with a Kobe burger, I'm going back to the swamp. I'll be at the 951st tree on the right.

[jhlurie]

So I hobbled into my local BK and had an "Angus Steakburger" for lunch.

Because I'm one of those smart eGulleteers "in the know" I hedged my bets and ordered it "off the grill". The staff looked confused for a moment but then finally got my point.

It came a bit quicker than I'd expected, but I'm still reasonably sure it didn't sit in a warming tray, because two people behind me in the line who also ordered Angus Burgers--but NOT "off the grill"--got their food while I waited. A grand total of about 4 minutes.

NOTE TO LOCAL BK: start inputting "off the grill" into your cash registers the way many BKs do when I order, so as not to confuse me. I want it on my receipt as proof.

Conclusions? At least if you avoid the horror of the warming tray... it's not bad. It's shaped a bit less evenly than BKs normal burgers (probably just to give the illusion of being hand-made... but we know it's not). It DOES taste noticeably better, so while the term "Angus" IS a bit of a scam... it may actually be better meat. At least a little.

It was $3.79 for a third of a pound burger, without being "meal-ized", so it's not cheap. But it's also not super expensive.

It's got grilled onions on it. One thing I'd bet ANY amount of money is that even if the burger itself was fresh off the grill, because I asked for that, I'm sure the grilled onions weren't. They weren't bad, but yes... they did come from a little container in the prep area.

One thing which is debatable (and makes the comparison to a regular BK burger incomplete) is that by default it comes smothered in steak sauce. Now it wasn't BAD steak sauce, but it was a bit more than you or I would probably use at home. The real test? One of us (maybe me, next visit) has to order it "off the grill" AND ask for it without the steak sauce. So... you know... we can really taste the meat. Of course, as Holly Moore suggests at the head of this topic, a steak-sauceless option may be flat out impossible. You may get an even stranger look from the BK staff than I did when I asked for "off the grill".

The roll was decent, but not that different than the norm--which is surprising considering the elaborate rolls BK has come up with for some of their recent sandwiches. The Angus, in fact, is being heavily hyped as an Atkins option--the "lettuce wrapped" option is being highly promoted.

The Angus Steakburger also had an option including cheese and bacon, in addition to the default onions, but I didn't really see the point. If the meat is supposed to be that much better, the cheese and bacon would just obscure that. Okay... maybe at some point I'll try the bacon WITHOUT the cheese. I mean, I'm apparently already stuck with the steak sauce

Final thought: If you somehow have to be at BK, it's worth a shot. Is it still probably a bit of a scam? Sure. Despite that, is the burger better? Well, maybe. If you like steak sauce.

[NulloModo]

I haven't had an Angus burger at BK, but I have had many of the LC Angus burgers at Hardees (which yes, is the same company as Carls Jr), and they are probably the best national chain fastfood burger out there, at least in my experience.

The 2/3 lbs burger is definately meal sized and very filling, and Hardees serves it up without any steak sauce. Also i believe it is a Hardees policy, or at least one at the one local to me, to make everything fresh off the grill, no burgers are pre-cooked and placed in warming trays or steam heaters.

Now, while this is probably the best fast food burger, you can still get a markedly better burger at some mainstream chain joints, like Friday's (also on the Angus bandwagon btw) who can at least cook your burger medium rare if you ask. On that same note however, I'm not sure if I would trust Hardees to cook my burger medium rare, so perhaps it is better that they just don't offer...

Also, at least from what I have had, you can still get a very good fresh burger that tastes just as good, if not better, from certain local chains such as Fatburger or In&Out in CA, or Jake's here in DE.

[pete ganz]

Jon, from what I remember from the BK thread, I think the term is "Off The Broiler". Maybe that's why they were confused. As I off-topically mentioned on the Bayless thread, I thought the sauce ruined the Angus burger. They should just use this bigger patty for the Whopper.

[jhlurie]

You are right Pete--I'm sure now I initially said the wrong thing (I haven't been to, or thought about, a BK in many months). Although they "got" what I meant before they rang me up, so I'd still expect to have seen it on the receipt. It's likely just a quirk of the staff in that BK. Really, it DID seem like I got it "fresh". Well as "fresh" as BK is capable of.

As for the idea of them using this for the Whopper, that assumes that they are completely fabricating the fact that this is supposedly better and more expensive meat. I'm pretty sure, even tasting through the steak sauce, that it is... although certainly it's not a night and day difference here. It's somewhat better meat, not great meat.

I happen to like Steak Sauce in general, and on hamburger (even "chopped steak") I might use a small amount. On an "intact" steak, almost never. The problem is... they don't give you an option. It's tons of steak sauce, with no option for "a little" or "none".

[sladeums]

8<

You are right Pete--I'm sure now I initially said the wrong thing (I haven't been to, or thought about, a BK in many months).  Although they "got" what I meant before they rang me up, so I'd still expect to have seen it on the receipt.  It's likely just a quirk of the staff in that BK.  Really, it DID seem like I got it "fresh".  Well as "fresh" as BK is capable of.

>8

I don't think that the staff's confusion over what you wanted when you asked for your order "off the grill [broiler]" is relegated to that specific location.

When I have asked for this before I was likewise greeted with confused stares and the repetition of my request (apprehensively) into the checkstand order mike. After the counter staff was finally able to translate my words into non-BK speak and transmit them, with a questioning look, to the current floor manager the broiler was fired up (I'm not sure what the instructions were as they were not given in English); but for the first time I saw my burger actually cooked at BK. I almost found it somewhat thrilling to acutually see fire in the kitchen.

Likewise I experienced about a 4-minute wait for the food - but it was noticeably better. Not better than could be made at home, but better nonetheless.

I may be wrong...and someone should test this...but I thought that I saw a notation on the receipt regarding the fact that the order had to be made a la minute (I vaguely recall something like "GRL"), it's been a while, though - and it also may have been notation for something else.

In some ways it would make sense if they were to give some special identification to orders that had to be cooked to order because I would think that they would want to track how many orders get held up for cooking in order to plot and plan how much of a given item to prepare before 'rush' times.

[NulloModo]

8<

You are right Pete--I'm sure now I initially said the wrong thing (I haven't been to, or thought about, a BK in many months).  Although they "got" what I meant before they rang me up, so I'd still expect to have seen it on the receipt.  It's likely just a quirk of the staff in that BK.  Really, it DID seem like I got it "fresh".  Well as "fresh" as BK is capable of.

>8

I don't think that the staff's confusion over what you wanted when you asked for your order "off the grill [broiler]" is relegated to that specific location.

When I have asked for this before I was likewise greeted with confused stares and the repetition of my request (apprehensively) into the checkstand order mike. After the counter staff was finally able to translate my words into non-BK speak and transmit them, with a questioning look, to the current floor manager the broiler was fired up (I'm not sure what the instructions were as they were not given in English); but for the first time I saw my burger actually cooked at BK. I almost found it somewhat thrilling to acutually see fire in the kitchen.

Likewise I experienced about a 4-minute wait for the food - but it was noticeably better. Not better than could be made at home, but better nonetheless.

I may be wrong...and someone should test this...but I thought that I saw a notation on the receipt regarding the fact that the order had to be made a la minute (I vaguely recall something like "GRL"), it's been a while, though - and it also may have been notation for something else.

In some ways it would make sense if they were to give some special identification to orders that had to be cooked to order because I would think that they would want to track how many orders get held up for cooking in order to plot and plan how much of a given item to prepare before 'rush' times.

With regards to rushes: During my (brief, egads I couldn't stand that job) employment at McDonalds when I was about 15, the common practice for orders which came in for fresh cooked during rush hours was to just serve up the burgers/chicken/etc from the steam box anyway, and just slap the bun/etc on fresh. Never did I ever witness a customer catching on this wasn't cooked when the ordered it. If a customer actually ordered something cooked fresh during the non-rush hours, we were more than happy to oblige however.