Why You Should Cook Burgers From Frozen, According To Science

There's no doubt people value fresh meat highly when it comes to fast food burgers, with chains that don't freeze their patties often praised for that sole factor. However, when it comes to making burgers at home, not only is it completely safe to cook burger patties directly from a frozen state, but there's actually a lot of upsides to cooking frozen patties in place of fresh ones aside from just ease and convenience. We spoke with recipe developer and chef-in-residence at ButcherBox, Ashley Lonsdale, who explained how cooking beef patties from frozen can be a major benefit for burger night at your humble abode.

"Grilling a frozen burger patty yields a surprisingly spectacular result," Lonsdale assured. "The key to a juicy burger is keeping the center of the meat moist, and the outside of the patty deeply browned. This is easier to do with an ice-cold burger, since the center needs to defrost as the outside crisps." 

This process, known scientifically as the Maillard reaction, is what actively gives your burgers' crusts a much stronger flavor. However, it works particularly well with frozen patties because they are less prone to overcooking and drying out (which can be fixed by topping the burger with Brazilian vinaigrette), and thus allow you to get an incredibly strong sear on the exterior. "The contortions a ground meat patty goes through are due to the proteins contracting from the heat in the cooking process," Lonsdale added. "A frozen patty is colder than a refrigerated one, and therefore, has less of a tendency to shrink and shrivel."

Now, there are a few things to keep in mind when opting for frozen beef over freshly ground beef patties to ensure you reap all the benefits that come with the ice-cold variation. For starters, if you plan to freeze your fresh beef patties in the freezer for later use, think again; pre-packaged frozen patties are tailor-made for preserving as much flavor as possible and are a much better option than doing the job yourself. "It's much better to purchase burgers that have been commercially frozen because the freezing technology used blast-chills the burger meat," Ashley Lonsdale revealed. "Freezing formed patties in a home freezer will freeze the meat slowly and damage the cellular walls, resulting in less juicy burgers — the opposite intention!" For this reason, getting the best frozen burger patties available from the store is vital to your end product.

Beyond that, it's important to know when to season your frozen patties to truly maximize their flavor, as poor timing can be detrimental to the dish. While some opt for thawing the patties just slightly on the counter and seasoning them before throwing them on the pan or grill, others prefer to season them roughly halfway through the process when cooking them directly from frozen. Also, if you are cooking the patties on a stove inside, don't be too alarmed if their scent is stronger than what you're used to. " ... Cooking inside or in a poorly ventilated kitchen will leave the space quite fragrant, but the results can be equally satisfying," Lonsdale assured.