An Angus burger is a hamburger that is made from Angus beef. This type of beef is named after a specific breed of beef cattle call Angus. This breed, which originally came from the United Kingdom, is now popular in American livestock farming. The word “Angus” has been used in many restaurants to identify the kind of beef used for burgers and other menu items.
The Angus breed was originally called Aberdeen Angus, because it came from Aberdeen, Scotland. There are two kinds of Angus cattle, Red Angus and Black Angus. Black Angus cattle and Black Angus beef are common in the United States beef market, and many Angus burger items on menus are made from Black Angus steers.
Any beef that comes from Angus cattle can technically be labeled an "Angus burger." There’s also a special “Certified Angus Beef” label that American food producers use, which indicates a higher quality of beef according to various USDA standards. Generally, experts associate Angus beef with some specific beef qualities, such as a heartier taste that comes from the unique marbling of Angus burger beef. While Angus is seen as a comparatively fatty beef in general, much of the actual fat content depends on how the ground beef is processed; where Angus ground beef is labeled, consumers can note the fat percentage that is mixed in with the beef.
Although many restaurants and other retailers claim that their Angus beef is high quality, some regard the label as somewhat arbitrary, since Angus beef can be processed under many different conditions. For example, a high-quality Angus beef cut will be from a specific part of the steer, or butchered in a specific way. As some critics of modern food processing point out, even scraps from various facilities can be labeled Angus beef if the cattle that were used were of the Angus breed.
Like Angus beef itself, an Angus burger may come in many different varieties. Some are made with only 100% beef, while many include fillers. Some may be treated with ammonia or other substances. Some hamburgers may be fresh ground, where others are from frozen patties. For those who are looking for a quality Angus hamburger, it makes sense to look beyond the label to understand how the hamburgers are made. The best Angus hamburgers are made from fresh high-quality cuts of beef, cooked fresh, and handled with care all of the way through the process to avoid contamination.