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The Sun
4 days ago
- General
- The Sun
I tested supermarket burgers – the £2 winner scored 10/10 and it's perfect for a summer BBQ
THE sun is out and there's nothing quite like the sizzle of a burger over hot coals. Supermarkets have really upped their game with the burgers they offer - it's no longer about a skinny patty in a bun. 10 There are wagyu burgers or Aberdeen Angus quarter pounders. But with so many to choose from, how do you know which to pick? Lynsey Hope has worked her way through dozens of delicious patties. Here she shares her verdict on some supermarket best-sellers: Aldi Specially Selected Aberdeen Angus Beef Quarter Pounders (454g) £4.49 for 4 (£1.12 each) Beef content: 95% Nutrition per burger: 206 calories, 12.8g fat, 0.4g sugar, 0.85g salt Aldi's were a little lacking in meaty flavour, though I loved the bouncy texture and they had a good amount of fat, without being greasy. An impressive meat content and no nasty ingredients to bulk them out, so I felt this was a quality product for the price. Excellent value and a generous size. Taste: 3/5 Value: 4/5 Total score: 7/10 Morrisons The Best Quarter Pounder Burgers (454g) £5 for 4 (£1.25 each) Beef content: 48% beef, 30% beef chuck and 17% brisket Nutrition per burger: 277 calories, 18.9g fat, 0.2g sugar, 0.77g salt These burgers are made with a mix of chuck and brisket, and they looked chunky and meaty so my hopes were high. They browned nicely, but I thought they were a little chewy and didn't have loads of flavour. Some of the meat broke apart a bit after cooking. They are a cheaper option, costing just £1.25 each and they are a decent size, but there is nothing particularly special about them. They would be easily livened up with sauces and toppings, though. Good for serving en-masse. Taste: 3/5 Value: 3/5 Total score: 6/10 Tesco Finest Wagyu Beef Burgers (340g) £5.25 for 2 (£2.62 each) Beef content: 86% Nutrition per burger: 297 calories, 20.1g fat, 1.4g sugar, 1.05g salt 10 Wagyu beef is known for its buttery tenderness, but I found these a little grisly. The flavour was meaty and rich but the texture put me off. The meat is what I can only describe as stiff. I thought they were overrated for the price. Taste: 2/5 Value: 2/5 Total score: 4/10 M&S Food Our Best Ever Burger (340g) £5.25 for 2 (£2.62 each) Beef content: 93% Nutrition per burger: 432 calories, 35g fat, 0.3g sugar, 1.50g salt M&S' burgers were expensive, but worth it. They look appetising and smell and taste meaty. The beef is succulent. The seasoning is delicate and they crisped up perfectly. These could almost pass as homemade. Quite fatty and it oozed out on the barbecue, but they tasted lovely in a bun. Taste: 5/5 Value: 4/5 Total score: 9/10 Ocado Quarter Pounder Beef Burgers (454g) £3.75 (93.7p each) Beef content: 96% Nutrition: 236 calories, 14g fat, less than 0.5g sugar, 0.70g salt The cheapest burger in this test, they definitely offer a tasty and wallet-friendly option. The beef content was ok and they weren't too fatty when cooked. The texture of the meat was a little chewy compared to some pricier burgers but there was no gristle. Not bad for a budget option. Taste: 3/5 Value: 4/5 Total score: 7/10 Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Dry Aged Aberdeen Angus Beef Burgers (340g) £4.25 for 2 (£2.12 per burger) Beef content: 90% Nutrition per burger: 313 calories, 19.6g fat, 0.9g sugar, 1.10g salt Really tasty premium patties which are made with 14-day dry-aged Aberdeen Angus beef - a delicious mix of rib, rump, brisket and chuck steak. They are seasoned with rosemary and have a rich, mature flavour. Not the cheapest but they were reasonable value for a premium burger. If I could only buy one variety of burger all summer, it would be these. Great job, Sainsbury's. Taste: 5/5 Value: 5/5 Total score: 10/10 Waitrose Native Breed Beef Quarterpounders (454g) £6.55 for 4 (£1.63 each) Beef content: 95% Nutrition per burger: 223 calories, 15.10g fat, less than 0.5g sugar, 0.69g salt Lightly seasoned and a lovely meaty flavour. They didn't fall apart during cooking and I loved the subtle hint of sea salt and black pepper. They were less fatty than other options. What would put me off from buying these is the price. Whilst delicious. I'm not sure they are worth £1.63 each - that's quite a lot if you are throwing a barbecue for the masses. Taste: 4/5 Value: 4/5 Total score: 8/10 Exceptional by Asda British Quarter Pounder Beef Burgers (454g) £4.48 for 4 (£1.12 each) Beef content: 94% beef Nutrition: 212 calories, 14g fat, less than 0.5g sugar, 0.67g salt A decent juicy burger that I thought was good quality for the price. I'd have liked a little more seasoning, but the texture was bouncy and nice. They did fall apart a bit on the barbecue which made them a little messy to eat, and a little more seasoning would have improved the taste. Taste: 4/5 Value: 4/5 Total score: 8/10 Lidl Deluxe Aberdeen Angus Beef Burgers (340g) £3.69 for 2 (£1.84 each) Beef content: 95% Nutrition per burger: 377 calories, 28.5g fat, 0.2g sugar, 0.75g salt Lidl's burgers had a juicy texture and were seasoned with sea salt and a crack of black pepper. At 95%, they had the highest meat content of all the burgers in this test and tasted like a quality product. The burger held its shape well whilst cooking and I loved the rich, mature depth of flavour. The meat is quality and that's the overriding flavour from these.
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Up to 90 jobs lost at Aberdeenshire abattoir
Up to 90 jobs have been lost following the closure of an Aberdeenshire Scotbeef site in Inverurie closed its doors on Wednesday with all staff being made company said an operational review concluded the closure was necessary to protect the long-term future of the business amid industry challenges.A spokesperson said a redundancy process is now under way with staff, and that all affected employees will be supported throughout the period. A spokesperson for Scotbeef Inverurie said: "Despite our best efforts to address the sustained challenges within the UK meat and beef industry over the past 18 months, we have unfortunately taken the difficult decision to close our Inverurie site."Decisions such as these are never easy, and we understand that there will be a significant impact on our staff, many of whom have shown loyalty and commitment to the business over many years."Scotbeef has two other Scottish sites, one in East Kilbride and the other in Annan, as well as three sites in family-owned business was founded in 1920 and supplies Beef and Lamb to UK retailers. It claims to be the first company to bring the Aberdeen Angus brand to the retail market in 1993.
Agriland
08-06-2025
- General
- Agriland
Watch: Milking 66 cows with the help of young daughter in Wexford
Dairy farmer Sean Tracey, based in Paradise, Tomhaggard, Co. Wexford is milking 66 cows with great help from his 12-year-old daughter Amelia. Sean runs a simple enough system, where he milks 66 Holstein Friesian cows, keeps on all of the calves on the farm to fatten, and has about 60ac in tillage as well. He earned the Tirlan East Region Award for his history of consistent quality as he produces milk to the highest of standards while keeping hygiene to the fore. His farm consistently delivers top-quality milk with low somatic cell count, total bacteria count (TBC), and thermoduric, highlighting his commitment to high hygienic standards to compliment his solids production. Winning this type of an award is one thing for Sean, but farming in harmony with his daughter makes it all the more rewarding. Amelia, who is currently in sixth class and geared up for secondary school this September, expressed her love for farming and helping her father before and after school, and every chance she gets. Milking 66 cows, tillage and calves The spring calving herd usually start calving down around the middle of January and are usually wrapped up by the end of March. Sean is adamant to constantly ' trying to show her (Amelia) the ropes just as we were shown it when we were small'. Amelia insisted:'I just always had an interest in farming since I was little. 'When I was only a few months old, I was sitting in the wheelbarrow when my dad was working'. Amelia and Sean Tracey Sean is farming a 210ac farm with 60ac of that going towards tillage, 48ac for the milking platform and the rest going towards silage production and rearing heifers and bullocks. Sean keeps all the calves born on the farm, which usually accumulates to about 60-65 calves, of which 10 will be Friesian heifers as replacement milkers. Amelia will often get the job of looking after these and feeding these calves. Sean will use Friesian AI on selected stock for the first three weeks of the breeding season and then he will let out stock bulls to serve the rest. There are two Aberdeen Angus bulls running with the herd at the minute. This usually leaves Sean with 50-55 Angus bull and heifer calves with a few Friesian bulls. He will usually fatten and sell the heifers to about 19 months-of-age and the bullocks to about 26 months-of-age. The Tracey's cows out grazing On the cows side of things, Sean takes pride in producing top quality milk through a primarily grass-fed diet and makes top quality silage. He produced one of the best quality silage in the region this year, with a dry matter digestibility of 77%. Sean fed about 1.5t/cow last year, which is above 500kg/cow more than usual due to the bad grass growing year and the difficult wet spring. Cows produced on average in 2024, 15.71 L/cow with 4.32% fat and 3.57% protein, which accumulates to 443kg of milk solids. The British Friesian type cow that Sean is constantly trying to breed Somatic cell count (SCC) for the year was 88,000 cells/ml, which is hugely impressive and said that this is achieved through 'doing the basics right'. He said that he does a boiling hot wash every day, keeps up to date with changing liners, and uses his milk recording data to pick out the problem cows, which will be culled. He also said that himself and Amelia spend a good bit of time keeping the parlour, the grazing infrastructure, roadways, and sheds hygienic and clean, all of which aids in producing quality milk. The farmer also keeps on top of lameness through hoof trimming every two or three months and foot bathing every three weeks. Sean is also very thankful for having great neighbours around him. He said: 'if you're moving cattle, the neighbours would come down and give a hand. We always try to help one another out, which is great'. Generation renewal One of the key concerns in the dairy and agricultural industry as a whole at the minute is the topic of generation renewal and actually providing an industry that is attractive for young people to pursue. The perception can often be that the likes of dairy farming is pure hardship for little reward, but Sean is showing Amelia every step of the way that there is a future and a career to be had from farming. However, there has to be an interest in the industry in order to enjoy and pursue it and Amelia said: 'I've always had interest in farming and I want to do it when I'm older.' 'I want to keep doing the dairy and the beef and a bit of tillage and a bit of everything,' Amelia added, before Sean interrupted about going to college first. Amelia walking through the herd of cows Like all industries, there are good years and there are bad years. The frustrating thing in agriculture in recent years has been the drastic fluctuation in the cost of production and milk price in recent years. The hope is that major price fluctuations have settled and that there has to be a profit motive on the farm now, otherwise it is not going to attract younger people who already love farming, like Amelia. Realistically what a young person wants is a good work life balance, structured free time, and a good level of income. Through being out on the farm from a very young age, Amelia has been 'shown the ropes' and how to manage multiple jobs. There needs to be a better labour structure on farms with scheduled time off, and a defined end of the working day in order to keep the likes of Amelia involved. Though there are incentives and schemes available for young farmers, an industry cannot be reliant and built on incentives alone, but needs to be structured around a sustainable family income. Sean is showing Amelia this through producing efficient and quality milk. Amelia and Sean getting jobs done around the yard Family transfers, partnerships, and long-term leasing opportunities need to brought forward so people have a better understanding of what the opportunities are and to get the conversation going about how we can structure these agreements. But none of this can happen without slowly showing the young people the lifestyle and the work involved in farming, as in order to stay at something and build a career towards it, you have to enjoy it and have a passion for it, which is evident with Amelia. Sean said: 'She's been out with me since day one.' Amelia added that her favourite jobs include moving cattle and calves, washing down the yard, and silage harvesting, highlighting her enthusiasm for farming. Amelia's plan for the summer holidays is to help her dad on the farm and to do any jobs that need to be done.
Agriland
07-06-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Irish Angus €15,000 bull calf championships head to Moate
The Irish Angus All-Ireland Bull Calf Championships are set to take place at a new venue this year. With a prize fund of €15,000, this year's competition will take place at Moate Show in Co. Westmeath on Sunday, August 24. The annual event previously took place at Iverk Show in Co. Kilkenny. While this event has changed location, Agriland understands there will still be a broad range of Angus classes at Iverk Show this year with significant prize money up for grabs. Irish Aberdeen Angus finals for Ploughing 2025 Separately, the 2025 Irish Aberdeen-Angus Association (IAAA) All Ireland Finals are set to take place on the opening day of the 2025 National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly. The announcement was made at the AGM of the National Ploughing Association (NPA) on Thursday, May 1, by the NPA managing director Anna May McHugh. She said: 'The NPA is absolutely thrilled to have such a prestigious livestock event coming to the Ploughing this year with upwards of 100 animals expected in this competition alone.' Univet is again onboard as title sponsor and the All-Ireland Champion will secure the prestigious All-Ireland Championship trophy – an eye-catching piece of silverware dating back to 1902. The competition is open to all pedigree-registered Aberdeen Angus animals in the Republic of Ireland and the numerous classes, including Junior, Intermediate and Senior Championships, aim to bring together the best of IAAA cattle from the best herds in the country. While the All-Ireland Finals take place on the opening day of the Ploughing, there is a full programme of events planned for 'Ploughing Week' in the Aberdeen Angus Tent including: National Youth Development Final, where young livestock handlers from a number of age categories will be doing everything from showing, presenting, stock judging, and interviews on Wednesday; A National Judging Conference, which will incorporate showing, etiquette, and basic-principle talks and classification demonstration addressing the basics of animal physiology, as well as senior judges giving countering arguments on ways they place line-ups of cattle also on Wednesday; Demonstrations showing qualities of Aberdeen Angus and Classification Demos on Thursday. Ploughing 2025 will take place from September 16-18 at Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly.
Economic Times
04-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Trump burger chain is gaining popularity in Texas amid controversy. Should you try?
Trump Burger, a restaurant chain themed around Donald Trump, is now open in Texas. The restaurant features American flags and satirical menu items. Critics give mixed reviews on the food and atmosphere. Some find the food bland. Others feel uneasy due to the political environment. The restaurant has locations in Houston, Bellville, and other cities. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Trump burger restaurants Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads What are the critics saying? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads A new burger chain themed around US President Donald Trump has gained popularity in Texas and those who don't vocally support him find it to be in poor taste, reports Fox News. A Lebanese immigrant Roland Beainy is said to have launched a restaurant chain called " Trump Burger ," known for its burgers branded with the former president's name, American flag décor, and satirical menu items targeting Democratic several locations now open across Texas, the chain has drawn attention from food critics who have weighed in on both its culinary offerings and political the name implies, Trump Burger restaurants—now appearing across Texas—are heavily themed around the 45th and 47th U.S. president. The establishments are decked out in campaign-style flags and posters, with life-sized cardboard cutouts of Donald Trump greeting customers at the signature item on the menu is the 'Trump Tower Burger,' a nod to the namesake skyscraper in Manhattan. It features a hefty 16oz (1lb) of Aberdeen Angus beef, grilled onions, jalapeños, tomatoes, lettuce, two slices of white American cheese, onion rings, and a mix of barbecue and sriracha sauces dubbed 'homage.'The menu also includes a satirical 'Biden Burger,' described as containing a mere 1oz (0.06lb) of beef, an 'old tomato,' 'our oldest buns,' and a hefty price tag of $50.99. The burger, however, is not available for purchase, with the menu citing 'cheating and inflation' as the the business expands, it has begun drawing both curiosity and criticism—for its food and its overt political messaging. Houston Chronicle restaurant critic Bao Ong recently visited the newly opened Houston location, which joins existing branches in Bellville, Flatonia, and Kemah. He described the dining experience as visually overwhelming due to the abundance of Trump-themed decor and recounted feeling uneasy when another patron questioned him about his 2016 vote.'I can barely remember. That was a long time ago,' Ong replied with a nervous laugh. 'I'm hungry. What did you get?'In his review, Ong concluded that it was difficult to simply focus on the food amid the charged atmosphere. He was also unimpressed by the cuisine itself, describing it as 'consistently bland' and criticizing the Philly cheesesteak for its 'stingy portions.'A food critic described Trump Burger's logo as featuring a "cheeky, anthropomorphic burger" with a swoop of golden-blonde hair resembling former President Trump's signature hairstyle. The restaurant's red, white, and blue decor and numerous Trump references, the critic said, make it feel more like a shrine than a dining venue.'It's hard to just enjoy your meal at Trump Burger,' the reviewer remarked, noting he was even approached by a Trump impersonator during his visit. 'At one point, I half-expected him to start dancing to 'YMCA.''While unimpressed with the main burger, which he found 'consistently bland,' and the Philly cheesesteak, criticized for 'stingy portions,' he praised the 'First Lady Chicken Sandwich' for its well-cooked chicken and classic American cheese. The milkshake also earned praise for its use of Blue Bell ice cream, which he said gave it an all-American feel.'My companion and I agreed the milkshake, made with Brenham-born Blue Bell, was a highlight,' he wrote. 'Simple and classic, it fit right in with the U.S. flag-themed decor.'Though the restaurant has garnered enthusiastic reviews from Trump supporters, this critic was not alone in offering a mixed take. Eater Houston's Brittany Britto Garley was more direct in her assessment, criticizing both the food and the political noted the owner's claim that Trump improved the economy — a view she disputed — and described the restaurant's humor as 'brutish,' targeting a Trump-supporting audience. One controversial menu item, the 'Biden Burger' (called the 'Harris Burger' at the Houston location), was priced at $50.99 and described with mocking language. 'It's a joke,' a cashier said when asked if it was a real menu wrote that each Trump Burger location seems to compete in showcasing nationalist and personality-cult aesthetics. She described the atmosphere as 'stiff, uncertain, and uncomfortable,' particularly as a woman of color.'For Trump supporters, the restaurant may feel affirming,' she concluded. 'But for those critical of his legacy — including deportations, constitutional concerns, and divisive rhetoric — dining here may feel like endorsing values they oppose.'In response, a Trump Burger representative told Fox News Digital the criticism was expected given the media's political leanings.'We weren't surprised by biased reviews from outlets like the Houston Chronicle, which lean liberal,' the spokesperson said.
