Sam's Choice (Walmart) Fire Side Gourmet: Black Angus Beef 19% Vidalia Onion Burgers

In my family, we have cheeseburgers for dinner every Monday night, almost without fail. Normally, I will have home made frozen patties in the freezer, but on those occasions when I haven't had time to get to the butcher or don't feel like getting my hands all greasy with raw meat, I've bought pre-formed frozen hamburger patties and used those instead.

Recently, we tried the Sam's Choice Fire Side Gourmet brand in the Black Angus Beef 19% Vidalia Onion variety. This is Walmart's own label, and you can only purchase it at Walmart or Sam's Club. At my local Walmart, they cost $6.94 and are not taxed. Also at my Walmart are three other varieties of Sam's Choice Fire Side Gourmet Burgers: Black Angus 100% Beef, Black Angus Beef - Seasoned, and Black Angus Beef - Bacon & Aged Cheddar.

For our first trial of Sam's Choice Fire Side Gourmet Black Angus Beef Patties, we picked the 19% Vidalia Onion because we are already fond of a brand name frozen vidalia onion and beef burger.

Convenience:

The Sam's Choice Fire Side Gourmet: Black Angus Beef 19% Vidalia Onion Burgers definitely get high marks for convenience. The six patties included in the 32 oz. box are sealed in plastic in two stacks of three patties each, and each patty is seperated by a wax paper square. The suggested cooking instructions state they should be taken directly from the freezer and not defrosted before cooking. This makes the Sam's Choice Fire Side Gourmet Black Angus Beef patties from Walmart really convenient to use, since they remain frozen until the moment you are ready to cook them. My family decided to pan fry them.

Flavor & Texture:

Sam's Choice Fire Side Gourmet: Black Angus Beef 19% Vidalia Onion Burgers from Walmart had a nicely balanced flavor and had just enough onion to know they were onion burgers without being overwhelming. However, one characteristic that two members of my family found off-putting were the pockets of grease that seemed to form wherever there was a piece of onion, making the burgers seem extra greasy. One family member found this same quality to be 'juicy' and enjoyed it. Even with the perceived greasiness, all family members agreed that the Sam's Choice Fire Side Gourmet: Black Angus Beef 19% Vidalia Onion burgers were flavorful.

Value:

At $6.94 at Walmart for a 32 oz. package of Sam's Choice Fire Side Gourmet: Black Angus Beef 19% Vidalia Onion Burgers, which has 6 patties, that works out to $3.47 per pound or roughly $1.15 per burger. If your primary concern is value, than you would be better off buying good quality ground beef and making your own burgers rather than purchasing Sam's Choice Fire Side Gourmet: Black Angus Beef 19% Vidalia Onion Burgers. High quality ground beef can easily be found for $3 per pound or less (I get it on sale at the butcher shop for $1.89 per pound, and Walmart usually has it available in their fresh meats section for $2.50 per pound or less).

Conclusion:

I personally prefer the flavor of home made onion burgers over the Sam's Choice Fire Side Gourmet: Black Angus Beef 19% Vidalia Onion Burgers from Walmart, although I did find the Sam's Choice Fire Side Gourmet: Black Angus Beef 19% Vidalia Onion Burgers good enough that I would buy them again if I were pressed for time and did not have any home made frozen patties in my freezer. We liked them enough that I do look forward to trying the other varieties of Sam's Choice Fire Side Gourmet: Black Angus Beef burgers available at Walmart.