Meal Prep: Freezer Burger Patties

No need to buy store bought freezer patties when it’s cheaper to make your own–plus you know exactly what’s in them! Tailor your patties to your taste, or even make a variety.

I talk a lot about setting price points for proteins–when it goes on sale or hits that price on meat markdown, I stock up! Meijer had an awesome deal on 80/20 beef a couple of weeks ago ($1.79/lb!), so I got 3 family sized packages. Even though we don’t eat a ton of beef, it’s great to freeze for when we do need it!

Aside from these awesome burger patties, I also portion out some for meatloaf and tacos (or anything with ground beef). Using a food scale is super helpful so you know exactly how much you’re freezing. I like 80/20 for burgers because it has a little bit of fat you need for juicy burgers. As far as eating it ground, you drain off most of the fat anyway.

There are a few tricks to freezing meat so you don’t end up with a huge hockey puck of protein.

1. Pre-weigh/measure. As I said before, I use a food scale to measure out 1 and 2 pound portions. This is super helpful when you’re following recipes. My food scale was $5 and I’ve been using it for years!
2. Freeze flat. Whenever I freeze anything in bulk, I freeze it flat on a cookie sheet first. Then, after frozen, I transfer to a different container. This makes storage so much easier!
3. Use fold top sandwich bags to portion. You can buy boxes of 150 fold top baggies for less than $2 at the grocery store. These are great to portion out into smaller amounts inside a gallon sized freezer bag. I freeze chicken breasts or burger patties individually like this. If it’s a loose item like sliced peppers, I tape down the top, if needed.
4. LABEL! Most proteins are pretty obvious, but don’t forget to label with dates. Also, if you season something differently, add that.

Step One: Instead of seasoning the meat AFTER adding to the bowl, I put oil, Hamburger seasoning and Worcestershire in the bowl first. Mix with a fork, then add meat to season.

Step Two: Portion out the meat into patties, weighing between 1/3-1/2 a pound each. Place on a lined cookie sheet and pound with a meat tenderizer. This helps them keep their shape while cooking.

Step Three: Freeze flat for around 6-8 hours (or overnight). Then place in a fold flap sandwich bag, before placing in a larger freezer bag.

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Meal Prep: Freezer Burger Patties

Ingredients

• (Per Pound of Beef)
• 1/8 Cup Grill Mates Hamburger Spice (or favorite grilling)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Canola oil
• 1 cup Cheddar cheese , shredded
• Seasoned Salt , to taste

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, add hamburger spice, Worcestershire sauce and canola oil. Mix with a fork.
2. Add beef to bowl and quickly mix to incorporate spice. Add cheddar cheese.
3. Portion beef into 1/3-1/2 pound patties. Use a meat tenderizer or fork to pound patties to about 1/2 inch thick.
4. Place patties on a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper. Sprinkle top with seasoned salt. Freeze flat for 6-8 hours, or until solid.
5. Put each frozen patty in a fold top sandwich bag, then in a larger gallon sized bag.
6. To serve, cook frozen on the grill.

The best part of these patties is that you can cook them frozen! Just put them on the grill on a lower heat. If your family is dairy free, leave out the cheese. I have found the cheese adds such a great layer of flavor for the burgers, but we still top them with more cheese. You can take a girl out of Wisconsin, but you can’t take away her love for cheese!

If you don’t have a store with great deals on meat, I highly suggest checking out Zaycon Fresh. We swear by their chicken, but their beef has rave reviews too! Stocking up your freezer with burger patties would be great using their service. Turkey can easily be substituted for the beef in this recipe, but I highly suggest going no leaner than 93/7.

Have you made your own freezer patties before? What is your price point to stock up on beef?

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