5 Best Ways To Jazz Up Costco's Kirkland Wagyu Burgers For Your Next Cookout

Wagyu may be a buzzword for high-quality beef, but is it something you should really be buying at Costco? Yes, actually, it is. While Kirkland Signature Wagyu Ground Beef Patties are unlikely to contain A5 Kobe beef, one Redditor enthused, "We tried them last night, and they were amazing!" Another concurred, saying, "They're my favorite of the Costco frozen burgers." These burgers are indeed sold frozen, and the bag suggests that for best results the burgers should be cooked from frozen. While this means you won't be able to mix in any spices and seasonings or give them a Juicy Lucy-style filling of American cheese, there's still plenty you can do to embellish these burgers.

We've listed here a few of our favorites ways to jazz these up with toppings, but you can also brush on some sauce as they cook to give them a delicious glaze. Our final option involves thinking outside the bun and turning the patties into a different kind of dinner.

American cheese seems to be the default setting for most restaurant cheeseburgers, and if that's your favorite go right ahead and plop a slice on top of your burger during the last minute or so it's cooking. You can even add it to the burger after its done since the residual heat should make it fairly melty. The thing is, though, since you went out of your way to buy wagyu burgers instead of one of Costco's cheaper options, you might want to experiment with a more upscale cheese as well.

Cheddar is a classic burger topper, especially if you're also adding bacon. Other semi-soft cheeses such as gouda, havarti, or provolone will work equally well, but you could also opt for a crumbly cheese like feta or blue. Softer cheeses like brie or burrata are also okay, and you could even use parmesan despite its being one of the worst cheeses to use on a grilled cheese sandwich. When cheese is used as a topping, it doesn't need to maintain any kind of structure; as long as it stays in place between the burger and the bun, all is well.

Seasonings won't stick to frozen patties, and the same can be said of sauces. Once your wagyu burgers have been cooking for a few minutes, however, they'll have softened up sufficiently to allow for some flavoring. Sure, you could just hit them with a sprinkling of salt and pepper, but a better way to give frozen patties a gourmet flavor is with a glaze.

A glaze can be any kind of condiment you think will work with ground beef. Brush on some ketchup or barbecue sauce while the patty is cooking for a slightly different twist on these standard toppings. An oil-based salad dressing would also work, or you could lean all the way into sweeter flavors with maple syrup or honey butter. In honor of wagyu beef's Japanese roots, you may want to make an easy, two-ingredient teriyaki sauce by sweetening soy sauce with brown sugar to taste. It's also okay to splash in a little sake, mirin, or rice wine vinegar if you want a little more complexity in the glaze.

The best time to add the glaze is a minute or so before the burger is done. Use a pastry brush to coat one side, then turn the burger over, coat the other side, and cook it for 30 seconds. Repeat the brushing, flipping, and cooking one more time while allowing enough time for the glaze to set.

Chick-fil-A may be doing its best to establish the chicken sandwich as a morning meal, but breakfast burgers are still somewhat out of the norm. Brunch burgers are fairly popular regardless since nothing says halfway between breakfast and lunch like a hamburger topped with a fried egg.

To create the ultimate wagyu brunch burger, first fry a few slices of bacon or a sausage patty (or better yet, both). Cook the frozen burger patty in the remaining grease and top it with a slice of cheese while it finishes up, then put the burger in a bun, fry an egg in the same pan, and set it on top of the cheese. Add a layer of shredded hash browns (you'll probably need a separate pan to cook these) and arrange the breakfast meats on top of that before finishing the burger with your condiment of choice. If you want something special just for this sandwich, try mixing a little maple syrup into some ketchup and balancing the sweet with some heat using Tabasco or cayenne powder.

A mimosa may be too delicate a beverage to accompany your hearty wagyu brunch burger, but this entree will pair well with a beermosa or bloody mary. A michelada would also be perfect since it basically combines the two drinks. Avoid using a heavier brew to make it though since light lager is the best type of beer for micheladas (and beermosas, for that matter).

While you cook your wagyu burger, make the most of your fuel source and simultaneously boost the nutrients by tossing some vegetables into the pan or on the grill. Standard burger toppings often include raw vegetables like tomato and lettuce, but cooked vegetables will take that same patty to an even higher level (as befits one made with wagyu beef). Sautéed onions are pretty classic, while sautéed mushrooms also complement ground beef. Grilled or pan-roasted chiles will add heat as well as flavor.

Each type of vegetable also has a cheese pairing that can make the burger even better. Sautéed mushrooms with Swiss cheese are a typical restaurant topping, while grilled onions and Swiss cheese are reminiscent of a patty melt (if you use these toppings and replace the burger bun with toasted rye bread then this diner dish is exactly what you'll have). With chiles, you can either amp up the spice level with a slice of pepper Jack or dial it back a bit with cheddar.

They may sound gross, but garbage plates are peak cuisine, as are the various garbage plate-adjacent meals. The upstate New York specialty that goes by this name is often made with loose ground beef, but a hamburger patty can also work. To make one, cook the wagyu patty any way you like, top it with cheese if you wish, then plop it on top of — not next to — a pile of tater tots or fries. Add some macaroni salad to the plate, then douse everything with hot sauce.

If you sit the wagyu patty on Texas toast instead, put the fries on the side, and pour cheese sauce over the plate you'll have made Springfield, Illinois' own horseshoe sandwich. Another garbage platter variant (albeit a slightly more breakfasty one) is a favorite Hawaiian dish called loco moco. To make it, you'll first need a scoop of cooked white rice. Top that with the wagyu patty followed by a fried egg. Cover the pile with brown gravy and you're all set to go, although sliced green onions would add a little color.