Frozen beef patties promise convenience, but Daily Meal’s taste test proved that not every option belongs in your freezer. We ranked 10 different brands of frozen beef burger patties, weighing flavor and texture. At the very bottom of the list sat Holten’s Chop House, a brand that simply couldn’t deliver on the basics.
Marketed as smash-style burgers you can cook straight from the freezer, the patties are meant to crisp quickly without thawing. In practice, that thin, fast-cook design only made the problems worse. Even following the directions to put the frozen patty right into a hot skillet yielded disappointing results. Instead of crisp edges and that signature smash-style char, these burgers turned limp, releasing excess moisture that left the patty soft and unappealing. The lack of seasoning didn’t help, though the bigger issue was structural — the patty struggled to stay intact with each bite. Frozen food can absolutely shine when done right, but this one didn’t make the cut.
For anyone chasing that signature smash burger crunch, Holten’s Chop House patties proved to be frozen food that isn’t worth buying. The takeaway was simple: If you’re craving a burger, you’ll need to look elsewhere, because this brand completely missed the mark.
Home cooks found these burgers slimy too
Online, the complaints matched what we found in testing — Holten’s Chop House just didn’t hold up in the pan. On Reddit, one shopper called them the worst frozen burgers they’d ever tried, saying the flavor didn’t even resemble beef. They spit out the first bite, and couldn’t chew the second. Another said the patties reminded them of a reheated fast-food burger that turned damp and had a terrible texture, more something you’d tolerate in a rush than actually enjoy. That kind of imagery leaves little room for appetite.
The sliminess wasn’t just in people’s heads — it may come down to how the patties are produced. Holten’s FAQ notes that they’re flash frozen right after being made and meant to be cooked straight from the freezer. While that helps preserve freshness, it also means ice crystals melt in the pan before the beef can sear, flooding the patty with water and steaming it instead of crisping it. The result is exactly what tasters called out: burgers that feel limp, soggy, and slimy.
A handful of commenters said the patties improved if you cooked them long enough to build a deep crust, but even those defenses came with caveats. At that point, you might as well follow a smash burger recipe at home and control the results yourself. Others also noted the value gap, pointing out that fresh ground beef costs less and cooks faster. For the majority, Holten’s simply didn’t live up to the first smash burger that set expectations for how crispy, beefy, and craveable the style can be.
