My whole life I’ve always hated burgers that you get from fast food/restaurants. It’s just a bland beef patty with a bunch of toppings that make it a pain to eat. These places advertise their burgers as being “100% Angus Beef!” or whatever, like that makes it appetizing… Why is this the norm? Do people just not know any better?
I learned how to make burgers from my dad and our approach is completely different. It’s all about the patty, not about the mountain of toppings. We throw onions, garlic, bell peppers, egg, worcestershire, salt and pepper (anything you want really) into a blender. Blend it all up and incorporate it directly into the beef. Then you shape your patties. This method makes the actual burger patty delicious, you could eat it as is if you wanted (which we sometimes do).
I’ve yet to meet anyone who didn’t prefer our burgers. Try it and you’ll never go back to those bland meat disks.
If you work any ground meat extensively, you develop extensive myoglobin networks. This is a process almost identical to kneading bread to develop gluten. Also turns the meat bright pink.
This results in very chewy, tougher texture – like in Swedish meatballs (or really good Chinese dumplings/bao!). It’s also essential to sausage-making. It also makes them feel less juicy (because the ground beef holds onto the moisture more tightly). Not necessarily worse or better, but certainly different, and in my experience most burger-lovers find it undesirable.
Maybe you prefer it. All the power to you if you do. Cooking like you were raised on often has a special place. But there’s a reason nearly all the burgers in more elevated cuisine are not formed this way – they want them to be tender and juicy.
That said, I’d call this product a meatball, meatloaf, or sausage sandwich, not a burger.
edit: also, given the way you like to make burgers, I’d encourage you to try plant-based meat for it. I think you’ll find it tastes much the same – the exact properties of ground beef that get damaged by this extensive mixing are the exact ones that are hardest to replicate for all the plant-based meat brands, and since you clearly don’t care for them you could probably really reduce your environmental impact by not buying the cow product.