I had one in work last night. I nuked the burger itself but toasted the bun, then added the sauce and the cheese and a little drop of chilli........ Fantastic, i loved it, could've eat another. 
Rustlers Burgers
- Thread starter BigM
- Start date
the problem with these is never the filling, always the bread, it turns to soggy ****e. Whenever i can be arsed to have one i find if i toast the bun first then it goes too hard, if i nuke it with the filling it goes to soggy ****e but strangely if i toast it after nuking it it's not too bad, although you have to eat it underside down because the bottom part of the bun, no matter what you do to it has about as much strength as a wet paper bag....
Mmmm tempting....
If I take apart the microwave meal, and cook it like a regular meal, its almost like a regular meal....just not as good.
If I take apart the microwave meal, and cook it like a regular meal, its almost like a regular meal....just not as good.
I just remembered that I had something to add to this,
I was in a news agent's in Liverpool City centre today near the top end of Bold Street, and I came across them being sold for £1.50 cold and £2.50 heated up, now I don't like the microwave burgurs, but in a rush I recently grabbed a microwave Panini from the Ugo's brand. Microwaved it's disgusting the bacon was stringy and the cheese was half out the packet and molten and on the bred was over cooked. But the one I put on a George Forman was passable, I don't know if it is the microwave cooking pre-processing but something wasn't right with the flavour.
I was in a news agent's in Liverpool City centre today near the top end of Bold Street, and I came across them being sold for £1.50 cold and £2.50 heated up, now I don't like the microwave burgurs, but in a rush I recently grabbed a microwave Panini from the Ugo's brand. Microwaved it's disgusting the bacon was stringy and the cheese was half out the packet and molten and on the bred was over cooked. But the one I put on a George Forman was passable, I don't know if it is the microwave cooking pre-processing but something wasn't right with the flavour.
I went to the Co-op once and they were selling these off cheap, there was a very overweight lad of about 12 with as many as his chubby arms could carry looking very excited. Certainly looked like he enjoyed them! I have a mate that eats healthy foods on a strict basis but when his wife visits family on the odd weekend Rustler burgers are his guilty pleasure.
Love them or hate them, these type of processed food products should only be eaten rarely if at all. People can still eat well very cheaply. Eating badly only leads to
health issues further on.
health issues further on.
Well, I don't eat them, and I wouldn't buy them for the family carnivore, but......in moderation, why would they be a health issue later on ?
Seriously, it's just meat, fat, wheat, dairy, and some seasoning, isn't it ?
In moderation there's nothing intrinsically unhealthy or unnatural about any of that.
For everyone who is happy to push the 'real' food issue, I would ask them to consider one word.
Time.
In our busy modern world, time is the deciding factor for many (most) people.
I know that a dumpling takes half an hour to make and three and a half to boil, then half an hour drying before it's ready to be cut........who takes time to do that nowadays ? Very few. Like Christmas cakes, kept for high days and holidays.
A batch of home made biscuits takes near an hour, but a packet off the supermarket shelf can cost pennies.
Similarly a burger on a roll with cheese........bread dough needs to be kneaded, risen, baked; meat needs to be purchased, minced, ingredients added, shaped, cooked.......or a minute or so in the microwave and it's all done and no washing up
Not my idea of a meal, but their 'fast food' appeal is understandable.
Each to their own, I suppose.
cheers,
Toddy
Seriously, it's just meat, fat, wheat, dairy, and some seasoning, isn't it ?
In moderation there's nothing intrinsically unhealthy or unnatural about any of that.
For everyone who is happy to push the 'real' food issue, I would ask them to consider one word.
Time.
In our busy modern world, time is the deciding factor for many (most) people.
I know that a dumpling takes half an hour to make and three and a half to boil, then half an hour drying before it's ready to be cut........who takes time to do that nowadays ? Very few. Like Christmas cakes, kept for high days and holidays.
A batch of home made biscuits takes near an hour, but a packet off the supermarket shelf can cost pennies.
Similarly a burger on a roll with cheese........bread dough needs to be kneaded, risen, baked; meat needs to be purchased, minced, ingredients added, shaped, cooked.......or a minute or so in the microwave and it's all done
and no washing up Not my idea of a meal, but their 'fast food' appeal is understandable.
Each to their own, I suppose.
cheers,
Toddy
Again, thanks to all those who have helped me with this project by offering their thoughts and insights on the Rustler burger. The target market for these burgers is the 16-24 year old male, as can be seen from the preponderance of bikini-clad ladies in their advertising material. The insight that I'm getting from posters such as Samon and Toddy is that maybe they're not a bad as we think (equally they may not be as good as we hope, I'll grant that), but that in the modern world, there are far worse convenience foods that we could be eating.
Any thoughts on this? I realise there are people who are fundamentally opposed to the concept of a microwavable burger, but in the overall scheme of things there may be a niche for a company such as Rustlers to market a burger that isn't too unhealthy while still being convenient.
Thanks again for all the input.
M
Any thoughts on this? I realise there are people who are fundamentally opposed to the concept of a microwavable burger, but in the overall scheme of things there may be a niche for a company such as Rustlers to market a burger that isn't too unhealthy while still being convenient.
Thanks again for all the input.
M
Frankly, I think it's the tight profit margin meaning the use of low 'quality' meat, and quick rise bread and processed cheese, that is perhaps the biggest problem.
Low quality (MRM ?) is generally neither taste nor texture equivalent to the butcher cut, and is usually heavily adulterated with seasoning to help it taste better. Heavy salt and msg mixes don't add to a 'healthy' appeal.
For all the opprobium, microwave cooking 'can' be very good; that it's usually truly atrocious is in the implementation rather than the technology.......but this isn't cooked in the micro, is it ? simply reheated ?
At the end of the day, you get what you pay for, whether in convenience or time, or quality.
cheers,
Toddy
Low quality (MRM ?) is generally neither taste nor texture equivalent to the butcher cut, and is usually heavily adulterated with seasoning to help it taste better. Heavy salt and msg mixes don't add to a 'healthy' appeal.
For all the opprobium, microwave cooking 'can' be very good; that it's usually truly atrocious is in the implementation rather than the technology.......but this isn't cooked in the micro, is it ? simply reheated ?
At the end of the day, you get what you pay for, whether in convenience or time, or quality.
cheers,
Toddy
Maybe they could do a vegetarian version, a spicy bean burger thus eliminating the dubious meat from the equation?
I passed a shop that sold pretty much nothing but falafel the other day, it was packed. However if the same shop was in my own town it would probably close very quickly.
All we have are Greggs and Greggs new competitors.."The Pound bakery" (The competitive twist is you get two pasties for a pound, crafty eh?)
Its the fact that they taste bloody awful that narks me off. They really are foul.
AS for cooking, if you make your own burger up, its easy as anything to make up a dozen and freeze them - takes minutes no more.
Buns - much better buns can be bought or made. Time an issue? Use a breadmaker to make the dough. Really stuck for time? Get some nice rolls from the supermarket or local baker.
It can all be done in bulk, in advance. You know what else? It will be a lot, lot, cheaper using better quality ingredients.
AS for cooking, if you make your own burger up, its easy as anything to make up a dozen and freeze them - takes minutes no more.
Buns - much better buns can be bought or made. Time an issue? Use a breadmaker to make the dough. Really stuck for time? Get some nice rolls from the supermarket or local baker.
It can all be done in bulk, in advance. You know what else? It will be a lot, lot, cheaper using better quality ingredients.
It dosent take long to "cook" a piece of meet and a few veg probably about ten minuets, and you'll enjoy it a lot more than this microwave stuff. If you haven't the time then you need to look at your life rather take this option imo.
Do you BigM think it is acceptable to push the ease of microwave food to the detriment of cooking skills? To me its that same as the kfc advert with the lad sayig he is loves to come to work so he can hand prepare the chicken for the customers, they show a tray of chicken legs, the lad putting the legs in a spice mix then the family eating, they don't show the deep fat fryers they even have the lad in a chefs outfit, you can see how all the fast food chains have changed their ads to route them as a place to spend time with the family. I personally don't care what people choose to put in their bodies I do care about their drain on the health service's.
I ate some of one once when I was a student. It seemed like a good idea at the time. The time being when I was really hungry and lazy. I think the dog finished it for me though.
Now that I'm older and eat healthier I wonder what the hell I was thinking with a lot of stuff I ate back then though. I expect I had better stuff to be doing than gardening and cooking healthy meals though.
Love them or hate them, these type of processed food products should only be eaten rarely if at all. People can still eat well very cheaply. Eating badly only leads to
health issues further on.
Not sure the average family can eat well cheaply these days. I'm not talking about some supermum, great cook, grow your own, preserve your own type, I'm talking about very average people with perhaps limited cooking skills and sadly these days with benefit cuts an extremely limited budget.
Fresh fruit and veg have shot up in price, veg especially because of the bad summer and the knock on effect to pig food has and will push up pork prices. We (family of three now) eat meat six days a week, fish one day a week but for many many families meat will be 'value sausages/burgers' and fish will be 'value fishfingers' with chips and beans making up the rest of the meal because mom only has £3 to last her 3 days. Little things cost a lot, lamb chops are near enough £1 each, cauliflowers the same, I'll not draw up a list but you get the idea; lots of folk simply cannot afford to eat 'healthy'. Last year when my daughter and grandson lived with us I'd spend £150 or more a week on food, twelve months later I spend about the same or more for three of us and things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.
We eatwell, family of four, single income and heavy outgoings, its just lazyness to say you can't rik.
Sorry southey, not lazy, not for most, its economics. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one mate.
Not at all Southey. I don't think everyone is inclined towards cooking but I don't think it's fair for food companies to sell crap to these people just because they can get away with it. I think Rustlers would be well advised to reposition their brand as a convenient food that is "relatively" healthy i.e. not laden with poor quality meat, salt, MSG etc.
I'd prefer to see everyone cooking healthy meals at home, but that's not a realistic hope in so many modern homes. Just my tuppence.
