8 April 2024, Vancouver, BC  - Intercity Packers Meat & Seafood has built a reputation for custom grinding high quality protein products for Canadian food service, retail and healthcare establishments for over 50 years. By taking advantage of improved consistency, yields, and labour costs, partnering with a burger producer will exceed your expectations and maximize your operation’s profitability.

There’s no shortage of demand for juicy, delicious burgers and no matter how you dress it up, a great burger starts with quality grinds. We’ve mastered a consistent approach to grinding premium quality protein to form patties that look, feel, and taste like they’re hand-made.

Program Highlights:

• Gently portioned for hand-formed appearance
• Medium to coarse grind for a steak-like texture
• Consistent portion size, flavour and texture
• Labour savings compared to making in-house
• Sub-primal grinds available for premium menu opportunities

The Best Brands in Burgers

Intercity Packers Meat & Seafood develops patties and burgers for the most trusted brands amongst top chefs operating at single and multi-unit restaurants.

Tajima Wagyu

Sourced directly from Australia, Tajima Wagyu is the most famous of all Wagyu bloodlines, known for excellent quality meat with superior marbling. Tajima cattle are raised without antibiotics or hormones, and managed with strict quality assurance protocols. To compliment the Tajima Wagyu sub-primal program, the 100% pure Tajima Wagyu patty was developed. The fat content and flavourful meat makes the wagyu patty melt-in-your-mouth with supreme tenderness.

Certified Angus Beef®

It’s certified for a reason: there’s nothing else quite like it. Consumers will recognize the Certified Angus Beef® logo on your menu for consistent, high quality beef burgers. The Canadian farmers and ranchers behind the Certified Angus Beef® brand are dedicated to delivering the very best Angus beef. Certified Angus Beef® patties and burgers are 100% made with beef that meets their 10 rigorous specifications for unrivaled flavour and juiciness.

Intercity Custom Meats

Intercity Custom Meats follows founding values of relentless consistency and upholding the strictest food safety standards. Our master butchers specialize in producing value-added products to exact specifications, improving your labour costs, yields and shrinkage. Intercity Custom Meats’ butcher-made burger and patty program includes top quality beef, lamb, bison and turkey options to satisfy every menu need.

Busting The Myth Between Patties And Burgers

Often these terms are used interchangeably, but the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) defines patties and burgers differently, and so does Intercity Packers as a result.

Patties - Patties are made with a pure meat source, meaning they only contain one ingredient: beef, lamb, bison or turkey. Some consumers value the simple ingredient deck that patties offer, but patties are more susceptible to shrinkage.

Burgers - Burgers contain extra ingredients to increase flavour and moisture retention, including seasonings (such as salt and pepper)

The Secret To Lean-to-Fat Ratio

As the name implies, the lean-to-fat ratio defines how much lean protein vs. fat is contained in the recipe. Opting for a patty that’s too lean could dry out over time, whereas a patty that is too fat could cause flare ups. Finding the right lean-to-fat ratio depends on: your operation’s cooking method, required heat holding time limit, flavour preferences and the menu application. 

• EXTRA LEAN (under 10% fat content)
• LEAN (11-17% fat content)
• MEDIUM (18-23% fat content)
• REGULAR (23-30% fat content)
• HIGH (over 30%  fat content)

Single Source Grinds For Premium Flare

Building a reputation for the freshest, juiciest, and most crave-worthy beef patties starts with using the right cuts of beef. Intercity Packers offers premium patties made with specific cuts of beef, such as:

• Chuck - Chuck is a classic for patties because it naturally has a well-balanced lean-to-fat ratio (81/19 is very common), which makes chuck patties flavourful and juicy. Chuck offers great beefy flavour as well, but won’t end up too greasy.
• Brisket - Thanks to the high concentration of oleic acid, brisket has a well-earned reputation for exceptional flavour that translates well through the grinding process. Brisket is typically leaner than Chuck, which makes it a great choice for blending.
• Prime Rib - The rib is praised for exceptional flavour and tenderness when roasted whole for prime rib and grilled as portioned ribeye steaks. The superior flavour and marbling makes for a crave-worthy, premium burger.

If a specific source grind is not mentioned in the product description, then that means the grind is made with a blend of trimmings from portioning roasts and steaks.

Shaping Burgers For Success

The labour-savings benefits and improved consistency gained by opting for butcher-made burgers and patties don’t stop at the grinding process, but also the seasoning, portioning and forming steps. For a patty to be perfectly formed, the meat needs to be exactly weighted, coarsely ground and formed at the right temperature. Thanks to decades of expertise and utilizing innovative equipment, Intercity Packers can offer top quality burgers and patties that look as if they were made right in your kitchen.

Most conventional meat processors use a high-pressure form to create their patties, which can damage the tender meat fibers and yields a uniform look that looks manufactured. Intercity Packers uses a gentle, low-pressure to form the patties, which yields an appearance and texture as if it was handmade. Meat fibres aren’t crushed and destroyed, and instead the fresh patties are tender, fluffy, and light.

Cooking Equipment Makes All The Different

When you think about cooking burgers at your operation, typically one of two pieces of cooking equipment are available: a griddle or grill. Both pieces of equipment are ideal for quick, high heat cooking and can enrich the burger with complex flavours, however there are some key differences in the results to consider when determining what product is right for your menu:

Griddle (Flat Top) - The flat cooking surface encourages an even sear to create a pronounced Maillard reaction between the natural amino acids and carbohydrates. In other words, this reaction is what contributes to a crave-worthy, caramelized flavour. The appearance of the cooked burger will have an even, seared crust.

This piece of cooking equipment is complimentary to all burger and patty styles.

Grill (Char Broiler) - The open grates exposes the burger directly to flames, which contributes to a traditional “grilled” smokey flavour. The cooked burger will have grill marks when flipped carefully.

If your operation only has a grill available, please keep this in mind:

• Patties with high fat or no binder can cause flare-ups because of the moisture released during the cooking process
• Smash-style burgers need a flat cooking surface to achieve the “smashing” effect.

Click here to view Intercity Packers' full offering of Butcher-Made Burgers, Patties & Sliders.

ABOUT INTERCITY PACKERS

In 1972, Intercity Packers Meat & Seafood started out providing beef, pork, lamb, chicken and game products to local restaurants. We are now Canada’s leading supplier of the highest quality meat and seafood products to restaurants, healthcare and education customers across Canada. Our trained staff have years of experience in custom cutting proteins. Because we produce food for the restaurant industry, our manufacturing plants are federally inspected and fully licensed, employing the high standards for food safety and quality assurance. With continuous innovation and the latest technology in the industry we provide safety, consistency, and leading-edge new products for our customers to meet evolving market trends and consumer preferences.