CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: McDonald's declared they were sick of spongy buns and dry patties. The burger chain known for selling more than 75 burgers per second has been working to enhance its flagship product for the last seven years.
The traditional Big Mac has undergone a transition to rival eateries that a growing number of customers prefer over McDonald's. Since 2016, the massive fast food chain has improved the Big Mac and made over 50 improvements to its burgers.
Here's what to expect when you bite McDonald's Big Mac now
According to the Wall Street Journal, McDonald's has improved upon a long-standing flaw that it claims resulted in unhappy customers by drastically altering the way it will be preparing burgers, including the beloved Big Macs.
Alongside a springtime promo touting the fast food giant's "best burgers ever," the new project aims to McMake the juicy buns much more — with over 50 tweaks!
The revamped Big Mac now comes with two smaller, cooked, all-beef patties, extra special sauce, and crisper pickles, lettuce, and cheese.
Sesame seeds will be added to the burger buns to give them a more handcrafted appearance, but they will remain round and buttery.
Onions will be rehydrated after purchase to increase juiciness, while cheese will be removed from refrigerators earlier to allow for more melting during cooking.
With their updated Big Mac, McDonald's hopes to compete with the well-liked Five Guys restaurant chain, which is popular for its burgers, hot dogs, and french fries, per The Journal.
McDonald’s senior director of global menu strategy, Chris Young told the Journal, "We can do it quick, fast and safe, but it doesn’t necessarily taste great. So, we want to incorporate quality into where we’re at."
The McDonald's Chicago test kitchen functioned as the equivalent of Los Alamos, where chef Chad Schafer experimented with a novel approach of frying burgers.
He attempted a different form of double cheeseburger after making one in the traditional manner for seven years.
Schafer remarked of the modified burger, "One is hotter…It looks meltier. Look at how my fingers sink into the bun. Smell it and you smell a big difference," as per the New York Post.
"This one, it’s kind of dry. It cracks…And this is the best-case example at headquarters," he added.
The updated version is being put out at the 13,460 US outlets of the chain, beginning with the West Coast and Midwest, after being tested in Australia.
Big Mac tweaks are underway after McDonald's only placed 13th among US chains
All of the Big Mac upgrades are in response to the fact that earlier in 2023, McDonald's was only ranked 13th out of US chains by consumers in a study to determine which mass chains' burgers were most appealing.
The Technomic market research agency polled 49,000 consumers for this ranking, and only 28% of respondents said they were longing for McDonald's burgers.
Earlier, TikTok user @youfilmme.tv even made a video to explain to viewers why McDonald's burgers taste like "a cereal box with ketchup on it," parodying famous food critic Keith Lee.
After swallowing the piece of depressing, cereal-like McDonald's burger, he took a bite of a napkin and declared that the flavor of both was the same, per Daily Mail.
@youfilmme.tv eventually threw the burger out the window as quickly as he could.
The remarks made by @youfilmme.tv were well-received by viewers, and a few even agreed with his review of the McDonald's burger.
Given how McDonald's burger sales are the cornerstone of the brand, the Fortune 500 company is doing everything it can to reverse that opinion.
