You’re standing in the freezer aisle at Sam’s Club. It’s loud, your cart has one of those squeaky wheels, and you’re staring at a massive bag of Member's Mark Angus Beef Patties.
Eighteen patties. Six pounds of meat. It’s a lot.
Usually, the inner food snob whispers that frozen burgers are basically hockey pucks with a PR team. But then you see the price—somewhere around $30 for the bag, depending on your local inflation and if there's an "Instant Savings" event going on. That’s roughly five bucks a pound for Angus beef. It makes you pause.
Honestly, the "Angus" label gets thrown around so much it’s almost lost its meaning. But in the world of warehouse clubs, these specific patties have developed a weirdly loyal following. Is it because they’re actually gourmet? Not exactly. It’s because they solve the Tuesday-night-I’m-exhausted dilemma better than almost anything else in the store.
The Reality of the 80/20 Blend
Let’s talk about the fat. These are 80/20 patties. If you’re looking for a "diet" burger, you’re in the wrong zip code.
That 20% fat is why they don’t turn into sawdust when you cook them. When that fat hits a hot cast iron skillet or a grill grate, it renders out, essentially confit-ing the meat in its own juices.
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What’s actually in the bag?
You’d expect just beef, right? Mostly, yes. But if you look at the fine print on the back of the Member's Mark Angus Beef Patties, you’ll see "Angus Beef, Beef, Flavoring, and Encapsulated Salt."
Wait, flavoring?
Yeah, it’s a bit vague. And the "encapsulated salt" is a technical way of saying the salt is coated in a tiny bit of hydrogenated oil so it doesn't dissolve and cure the meat before you cook it. It keeps the texture "burger-like" instead of "sausage-like."
Some purists hate this. They want nothing but ground chuck. I get it. But for a frozen, pre-formed patty that needs to survive months in a chest freezer without turning into a grey block of sadness, these little additives are doing a lot of heavy lifting.
The Cooking Mistake You're Probably Making
Stop thawing them.
I’m serious. The biggest mistake people make with Member's Mark Angus Beef Patties is letting them sit on the counter for three hours before dinner. These are designed to go from 0°F to the grill.
If you thaw them, they get mushy. They lose that structural integrity that keeps them from falling through the grill grates. Plus, the internal moisture stays locked in better when the outside sears while the inside is still a bit icy.
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How to actually cook them
- High Heat is Your Enemy: If you blast them on high, the outside burns into a carbon crust while the middle stays raw. Go medium or medium-high.
- The Five-Minute Rule: Usually, it’s about five to six minutes per side.
- The "Hole" Secret: You might notice tiny little dimples or holes in the patties. Don't smooth those over. They're engineered to let heat penetrate the center faster so you don't overcook the edges.
- Seasoning: Even though they have that "encapsulated salt," they still need help. Hit them with black pepper and garlic powder while they’re on the heat.
The Shrinkage Factor
Let’s be real: these things shrink.
You pull out a frozen disk that looks like a frisbee, and by the time it’s done, it’s closer to a slider. That’s the 80/20 reality. The water and fat leave the building, and the patty tightens up.
If you’re using standard grocery store buns, the cooked 1/3 lb patty usually fits perfectly. If you’re using those massive brioche buns from the bakery department, the meat might look a little lonely in there. Plan accordingly.
Why Some People Hate Them
Go read the reviews. You’ll see a 4.7-star rating with over 9,000 reviews, but the 1-star reviews are passionate.
One person will swear they found a piece of "bone or gristle." Another will say they’re "too salty."
Here’s the nuance: mass-produced ground beef is... mass-produced. When you’re grinding millions of pounds of Angus beef, a tiny fragment of cartilage occasionally makes it through the secondary filters. It’s not common, but it happens. If you’re someone who loses their appetite if they hit one "crunchy" bit in a burger, stick to buying whole muscle cuts and grinding them at home.
Better Than Costco?
The Kirkland Signature vs. Member’s Mark debate is basically the Pepsi vs. Coke of the suburban world.
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In my experience, the Member's Mark Angus Beef Patties tend to be slightly more "beefy" in flavor than the standard Kirkland 1/4 pounders, but they are also greasier. If you’re cooking indoors on a flat top, be prepared for some splatter. You’re going to want the exhaust fan on high.
How to Level Up the "Warehouse Burger"
If you just put this on a bun with some ketchup, it’s fine. It’s a school cafeteria burger.
But if you want to actually enjoy it?
- Toasted Buns: Butter the bun. Toast it. It creates a barrier so the burger grease doesn't turn the bread into a wet sponge.
- The "Soak": Some people on Reddit swear by splashing a little beef broth or Worcestershire sauce on the patties during the last two minutes of cooking. It sounds weird, but it adds back some of that "steakhouse" depth.
- Acid: Because these are high-fat, you need pickles or pickled onions. Something to cut through the richness.
Actionable Next Steps
If you’re heading to Sam's Club this week, check the "Best By" date on the bottom of the bag. Even though they’re frozen, the fresher the pack, the less chance of that "freezer taste" seeping through the plastic.
When you get them home, don't just throw the bag in the freezer. If you aren't going to eat all 18 within a month, double-wrap the bag in foil or put the individual sleeves into a vacuum-seal bag. The original packaging is okay, but it’s not meant for the long haul in a deep freezer.
Grab a meat thermometer too. You’re looking for 160°F for safety, but if you pull them at 155°F and let them rest for three minutes, the carryover cooking will get you there without turning the meat into a brick.