What's Up With This Hamburger?

Factual Questions
1

So I wait, naturally, until 8 o’clock pm to start making my lasagna for our Christmas potluck at work tomorrow. I take out the hamburger that has been thawing for 1.5 days in the fridge. I attempt to break up the meat, as usual, into smaller and smaller chunks, hoping to end with, naturally, very small pieces of browned hamburger, mixed with little pieces of browned sausage. Except…

The hamburger seems to be large flat patties, wrapped together to look like a regular ol’ lump of hamburger. It doesn’t break up, either. There seems to be a membranous layer on top of each of the patties (there are 3 or 4 of them), and that mofo does NOT break apart. I’m having to try to cut the meat up in the pan (Teflon, of course). What the hell!? I thought I was buying a solid chunk of ground beef, like I always do! Has Fry’s tried to put something over on me? What is this, and IYHO, what should I do about it? I can’t take the meat back- it’s already in the pan and browning, and I *have * to take it for potluck tomorrow. It’s too late to get something else.

What gives?

2

Heat it slowly, and as it warms you’ll be able to remove the stuff separating them. There should have been some reference to “patties” on the label.

3

I’ve been heating it slowly, and it is slowly breaking up and cooking. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be stringy and nasty, though. Goddammit, why does something weird always happen to my potluck dishes?!

After searching through my trash, I just remembered that this meat came out of a value pack, and I rewrapped it into smaller portions, so I don’t have the label any more. I never buy the patties, though, and it wasn’t even shaped like patties. It was shaped like just a regular mound of ground beef. I must have cooked the rest of it, but I don’t remember noticing anything like this before. Blah. I’m going to stop in the store tomorrow and speak to the meat guy. I think this is a scam to get rid of old meat patties by disguising them as fresh ground beef.