Two one-pound chubs, both labeled organic, no
antibiotics or hormones, free-range animals, 85%
lean, obviously plugged into the same market.

Open Nature (Angus beef from Australia, imported by
Albertson's) - very light color despite offering no
additional fat. Beefy aroma. Tasted okay raw,
texture fine but not overground.

Pineland (grown in the eastern US, the label says,
sold at Whole Foods) - reasonably colored though
fattier in feel than the above. Strange chemically
aroma, to the degree that I didn't want to taste it
raw. Not good raw, either in taste or texture.
There was, however, a promising greasiness on the
package, which the Australian strangely lacked.

At this point the Aussie entry was clearly ahead.

I cooked a small patty of each to extra rare, the
way I like my burgers. The American leapt to the
fore, scoring well both outside and inside in
texture, appearance, and flavor. Open Nature got a
really weird artificially color and did not form an
adequate crust, the beefiness disappearing.

Cooked more meat to medium, and they were running
neck and neck, not so much the Aussie was surging
but rather the American was fading. Let's face it,
medium burgers are no picnic. Though Open Nature
started getting a bit of a crust, in neither case
was there a net gain in flavor from rare - any
benefit from Dr. Maillard was made up for by the
loss of flavor in the interior. Both burgers ended
up being kind of blah and average, the native one a
bit ahead on flavor, possibly by having more than the
advertised 15% fat - or maybe the Australian had less.

On the side: Dietz & Watson gourmet bacon, product
of Canada. Cut to perhaps 1 1/2 times normal
thickness, this brand offers a nice chew and quite
a crispy fatty part, if you choose to cook it that
long (I don't). Smoky and hammy, not too salty or
spicy. Middle of the road in texture and moisture.
Not worth the 50% premium over store brand or the 66%
premium over the Farmland that Lilli gets, but better
than ordinary prestige brand bacon, by maybe the 20%
upcharge. I am a proponent of buying discount bacon
(if not too wet) and working with its strengths and
weaknesses.
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