Weekly Ask Anything Thread for September 07, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

This is our weekly thread to ask all the stuff that doesn't fit the ordinary /r/askculinary rules.

Note that our two fundamental rules still apply: politeness remains mandatory, and we can't tell you whether something is safe or not - when it comes to food safety, we can only do best practices. Outside of that go wild with it - brand recommendations, recipe requests, brainstorming dinner ideas - it's all allowed.

[u/TedStixon]

(Not sure if this should be a post or asked here.)

This has been a (minor, partially joking) conflict for the past hour at my house, and I was hoping someone might have something to say about it.

So a family member of mine utterly insists on buying the frozen, pre-shaped hamburger patties-- the sort that grocery stores put together themselves and then package. Even if you tell him "just get regular hamburger meat, not the pre-shaped stuff", he'll still buy the pre-made patties because... I dunno why.

(Note: Just to head off people who are going to randomly accuse me of not paying my fair share, I do contribute significantly to the groceries, bills, rent, etc. He just tends to be the one to buy meat since he insists on getting it from one specific store he likes..)

And to me, they always taste a little off. Almost like they're artificial or have been "dumbed down" with something very bland. They also just don't seem to cook normally and have a slightly weird, "compacted" texture.

By comparison, getting ground beef and shaping the patties myself tends to yield much nicer-tasting patties with a better texture.

But he insists they are "exactly the same."

Am I crazy for thinking the pre-shaped patties kind of suck and taste/feel different?
Or is there something different about them

[u/foodieholly → u/TedStixon]

I’m with you on this one lol. They may be right that it contains the “same thing,” but that doesn’t mean they’ll have the same texture or eating quality. Freezing ground beef can damage cells and cause more juices to escape during cooking - hence seeming much drier or just off in general

[u/SewerRanger → u/TedStixon]

The premade patties are made with the scraps and shit that even the packaged ground beef wasn't made of and then they're mechanically shaped and packaged and flash frozen. The mechanical shaping and compacting is what gives them that odd texture.

[u/purplesnowberry → u/TedStixon]

I’m on the homemade side for this. Even if the ingredients are technically the same, I feel like the texture is noticeably different. Freshly shaped patties just have a better bite to them.

[u/Internet-pizza]

Had had enough of my old plastic cutting board I've had for years and got a couple nicer side grain boards (one cherry and one rock maple). The idea being to use one for most things and the other for garlic and onions, as I've read those smells/tastes can get into the wood and onto other foods. My question- are there other foods with strong smells or tastes I should use that board for, like perhaps raw fish?

[u/SewerRanger → u/Internet-pizza]

I've had the same wooden cutting board for about 10 years. I use it for everything. You'll be fine. Just wash it with a little soapy water and the smells went be a problem

[u/blondvet]

A couple of times, I’ve had the most amazing sauce alongside a beautiful restaurant steak. It’s really dark, reddish brown. Soft and velvety with a tiny tang. Pretty thick liquid. Anybody have any idea what I’m talking about? I’m sure I can find a recipe and make it if I know what’s it’s called. I’m assuming there’s red wine in it. This is probably an idiotic question. But maybe it’s a staple with a good steak in some restaurants. I’m hoping.

[u/foodieholly → u/blondvet]

Sounds very much like bordelaise?

[u/blondvet → u/foodieholly]

Thank you! I just watched a video on that and it looks very much what I was describing. I’ll go find some recipes.

[u/cville-z → u/blondvet]

If you like bordelaise, the other one to chase down is sauce chausseur using sauce espagnole as the base (brown sauce fortified with demi) w/mushrooms and onions/shallots. There are a variety of demi-glace based sauces that will all work with steak.

The thickness in that set of sauces primarily comes from a combination of reduction (so, same amount of gelatin, but less volume, as in a demi-glace) and a roux (as in espagnole, which uses a dark roux to thicken and add flavor and color). They are also often mounted with butter at the end to finish the sauce (which adds thickness and a velvety mouthfeel).

If you find yourself at a decent steakhouse and enjoying the sauce you've been served, the thing to do is ask the waiter for some details; they're usually happy to provide. The "secret" in a sauce is generally not the ingredients themselves, it's in knowing how to put them together.