What is the deal with the burgers?

Went to the butcher to buy minced sirloin for burgers (the minced beef seems to be really fatty) and she told me "we have beefburgers" so I bought a few.

Does anyone know what they add to them?

After discussion and deliberation, we decided they tasted like meatloaf. The texture was definitely different - my 5yo pushed it away after a few bites.

We'll be making our own from now on, but are curious as to what the Brits put in their burgers!

Lots of filler, like breadcrumbs.

Exactly, they add tons of bready fillers in them. I always make my own burgers. I bought this little burger maker from Lakeland (and yes, of course I can shape my own burgers) but this is great because it makes the burgers all the same weight and size. I like to add sweet thai chili sauce to my mince, or sometimes bbq sauce or worcester sauce, and I throw them on my bbq.....heaven in a bun!!!

Man, I wish I had packed my burger maker. It makes them all neat and tidy.

We like to mix crumbled blue cheese in the ground beef (for the grownups).
Yummy topped with grilled onions!

I am so thrilled to get my BBQ grill working!

Figured there was a filler. The color was totally wrong before I cooked them - I had no idea when they were even done. Totally wrong.

Figured there was a filler. The color was totally wrong before I cooked them - I had no idea when they were even done. Totally wrong.

I didn't even know that they put fillers in UK burgers until this thread... it's not something I've ever noticed, and I was born here ... just shows how often I eat burgers in the UK lol!!

When I first started making burgers over here, I bought minced steak -- and it was awful. Rancid tasting. I stopped trying to make burgers.

Then once, almost by accident, I made a burger from the cheapest mince I had on hand. It tasted right. You need a certain percentage of fat to make a burger taste like a burger, I think.

It also helped when I brought over my iron skillet and could cook them really, really hot.

Then once, almost by accident, I made a burger from the cheapest mince I had on hand. It tasted right. You need a certain percentage of fat to make a burger taste like a burger, I think.

yep... i always use basic mince to make burgers.  Tastes better than this reduced fat nonsense.

Tesco has a two pack of Angus burgers that are really good and I did not notice any filler in it.  It's worth the little bit of extra they cost.   

I hate burgers that have "fillers" in them.  Horrible flashbacks to meatloaf as a child.  I make my own using lean (5-10% fat) mince from the supermarket.  I recently found pretty good pre-made ones from Waitrose that don't have much filling...a few seasonings, but no breadcrumbs.  I forget what range they are, but you can tell by looking at them, they just look like ground beef.

I once bought some pre-shaped burgers at M&S, they were labeled 100% Angus beef, no fillers added.  When I cooked them they turned out to be very hard, almost solid and they tasted awful.  We have also ordered burgers from restaurants that say the burgers are 100% beef, no fillers added and the results are the same. I am not sure what it is they do to the beef in the process of shaping the burgers.  I have read that adding salt to the beef before shaping it causes a reaction of some sort and toughens the meat.  My mother also suggested that the meat may be too finely ground and also that the burgers are pressed too tightly.  Whatever the reason I will never ever eat a burger in a British restaurant again.

I get the 100% Angus beef burgers from Costco and they have exactly what I would put in them. We eat them very rare and I find them to be just as nice as the ones I make myself. I'll admit, though, they are not exactly a cost effective purchase. 

Gourmet Burger Kitchen has really really lovely burgers. Like homemade (except my homemade ones are better)

Yep, I make my own burgers at home with 100% beef. The ones here are a funky texture and seem sort of tasteless, and never taste as good as the ones I make at home. I do use extra lean mince to make burgers a lot of the time and they still taste great - much better than the ones I've had in restaurants here, anyway.

I get the 100% Angus beef burgers from Costco and they have exactly what I would put in them. We eat them very rare and I find them to be just as nice as the ones I make myself. I'll admit, though, they are not exactly a cost effective purchase. 

We almost bought those yesterday, but forgot the freezer bags

I've bought every type of ground beef over here to make my own burgers, yet I still can't find anything that tastes right. I've bought the cheap stuff on deal at Sainsbury, Angus beef from Waitrose, 10% fat, 20% fat, yet I still can't stand the taste of any British Beef. Does anyone else notice the difference?
We do have a burger place called "Ground" close to us in Chiswick, who do amazing burgers. Their burgers don't have a "weird" flavour to me, so there must be some British beef that taste right out there?!