A burger is as good as its patty, and frozen beef is a one-way ticket to flavorless disappointment. Ice crystals that form during freezing can affect the meat’s texture and drain it of its juicy, mouthwatering potential.
That’s why these 10 burger chains play it smart and serve fresh, never-frozen patties.
Wendy’s
If you’re still wondering, “Where’s the beef?” Wendy’s got an answer: It’s not in the freezer. The Ohio-based chain has been serving its square-shaped patties from fresh, never-frozen beef since 1969.
“You won’t find frozen pucks passed as a meal at Wendy’s … unlike what the other guys are serving up,” the company writes on its website. To stay true to this freshness, Wendy’s delivers fresh beef to its locations several times a week using refrigerated trucks.
Culver’s
Culver’s might be a regional burger chain, but its fresh, never-frozen ButterBurgers place it firmly in the top tier of fast food. Each burger is cooked to order, meaning you’ll wait a bit longer — but the payoff is a juicy, melty masterpiece that’s worth every second.
Shake Shack
Shake Shack might be one of the priciest fast-food joints around, but at least you know you’re paying for something fresh. The chain uses 100% all-natural Angus beef that’s freshly ground and never frozen. Each patty is cooked to order, with no fillers, no preservatives — just real, high-quality beef.
Five Guys
Walk into any Five Guys, and you won’t find a freezer in sight. Since its start in the 1980s as a family-run burger joint in Arlington, Virginia, the chain has stuck to its fresh-first philosophy. Burgers are made from 100% fresh ground beef, hand-formed, and cooked to order right in front of you.
In-N-Out Burger
West Coast royalty with a cult-like following, In-N-Out Burger treats freezing like it’s illegal. The California-based chain is an open book about how its meat is prepared. Its burger journey starts with fresh, 100% USDA ground chuck — no fillers, no preservatives, no-nonsense.
Each patty is hand-formed from whole cuts of premium beef and delivered straight from In-N-Out’s own facilities in California and Texas. In fact, the company is limiting the locations to be within the distance of its patty-making facilities.
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Smashburger
There’s a reason Smashburger uses only fresh, never-frozen, high-quality beef. As they smash the patties onto a sizzling-hot grill, frozen patties wouldn’t survive — they’d fall apart under the pressure.
Whataburger
Everything might be bigger in Texas, but at Whataburger, y’all, everything’s also fresher. They use 100% fresh, never-frozen American beef, and that beef goes from supplier to grill in a flash, so your burger’s always as fresh as it gets.
Mooyah
Mooyah might not be the first name that comes to mind, but they’ve got a solid beef game. They use Certified Angus Beef— the world’s first premium brand of black Angus beef — and hand-form their patties daily to keep things fresh. Your burger is made exactly how you want it, and freezing is definitely off the table.
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Elevation Burger
Elevation Burger goes beyond fresh — their beef is organic, grass-fed, and free-range. It’s the Whole Foods of burger joints.
Hopdoddy
Hopdoddy Burger Bar serves elevated burgers made from fresh, never-frozen beef. Its patties are ground in-house and hand-formed every day for the best quality. In addition to beef, they offer options like bison, lamb, and plant-based patties, all topped with gourmet ingredients and house-made sauces.
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