McDonald's, 100% Fresh Beef Burgers

Yes, *that* McDonald's.  I've covered McDonald's before on this blog, including the basic burger/fries/nuggets and sundaes, the slew of ridiculously sweet beverages from McCafe, and the decent holiday McFlurry.  I've reviewed the unique offerings in Portugal, like the McBifana, and even in Paris (hey, don't knock the Croque McDo! I really did like it!).

But somehow I failed to publish this review, written when I was invited as a guest of McDonald's at their remodeled San Francisco location, as a special media guest to preview a very massive change they were about to make nationwide.

Yes, flash back to 2018.  It is in 2018 that McDonald's changed everything with the way they did all their burgers, bringing fresh, rather than frozen, beef to their restaurants.  Cooked to order.  It may not sound that interesting, but, I assure you, there is so much more to McDonald's operations than you can ever imagine ...

Special Media Preview - April 2018

The nationwide roll out of the new burgers will be complete by May, but many locations already have them.  I was invited to a media preview, and behinds the scenes kitchen tour with some other bloggers, in mid-April. 

It was a ridiculously educational experience, not just only about the new burgers, but about many other aspects of the business, and really thought provoking in just how much work goes in to making such a large scale change as this (and, all day breakfast before that).

100% Raw.

Since this was a media preview, they had fun touches like balloons.  100% fresh beef!  Got it!

New Burgers.

And behold, the new burgers!

No, they don't come plated on slabs of wood like this, or with vegetable garnish outside the burger itself.  This was a marketing setup, but, the actual burgers seen here are real and legit.  These are not fake.  The new artisan buns are that shiny!

The two shiny ones are two of the new Signature Crafted series, the sesame seed bun in the back is classic Quarter Pounder, updated with the new patty.  All Quarter Pounders will use the new patties.

New Grills for Raw Beef.

The new burgers are cooked on entirely separate stations from the frozen patties, not only for cross contamination reasons, but also, because they are cooked entirely differently. 

I was able to watch the entire process.

Fresh Beef Cooking!

The fresh beef requires a different temperature grill than the frozen patties, or anything else on the menu.  But to make it fast, it is McDonald's after all, they cook from top and bottom simultaneously rather than a traditional open grill.

Finishing Station.

The topping station also needed to be changed out, with some new additions (like aioli, soooo fancy!).

The part of this tour that was really fascinating was learning about the timing, and the lay out, how it is just uber optimized for ridiculously fast and streamlined burger production.

We were given the opportunity to watch it all unfold, and then try ourselves.  I assure you, none of us came even close to the ridiculous fast times that their amazing workers actually pull off ... consistently.  Or at least, they aim to.

Garlic White Cheddar Burger.

"A medley of crunchy garlic chips and smooth, flavorful garlic aioli, crisp iceberg lettuce, a juicy tomato slice and melty white cheddar cheese. With a 100% fresh beef 1/4 lb. patty that’s cooked when you order, so it’s hotter and juicier every time. Served on an artisan roll."

And then it was time to try the burgers.

I went for one of the three new Signature Crafted burgers, Garlic White Cheddar.

My other options were the Pico Guacamole, which I clearly couldn't have since I'm allergic to avocado, and the Sweet BBQ Bacon, with bacon, grilled onions, crispy onions, sweet onion BBQ sauce, and white cheddar, which sounded like great toppings, I just wasn't convinced I wanted them with my beef patty (they are also available on the crispy chicken, which sounds like a way better match).

Thus, Garlic White Cheddar it was.  And I'll admit, I mostly got it because I was excited about aioli and garlic chips.

Customized Garlic White Cheddar Burger.

I slightly customized my burger, opting to leave off the tomato slice (I know they are fresh, but, high end tomato this is not), and adding on pickles, because, um, I love pickles?

My burger came in a standard McDonald's box, and pretty much looked like, well, a McDonald's burger.  Until I dug into it.

Inside the Top Bun.

First, the bun.

While perhaps not truly an "artisan roll" as advertised, it was significantly more interesting than the standard McDonald's bun.  Fluffy, shiny brioche-like even.  I'm not a bun girl, but, I give them kudos for the improved look, and taste, of the bun.

Perfectly grilled on the inside too.

Toppings.

Next, my toppings.

The iceberg shreds were pretty standard, and the pickles were regular McDonald's sliced pickles (that I really like!), but everything else was quite unique.

The "crunchy garlic chips" likely were crunchy when added originally, but they did get soft from the heat of the burger, and being adjacent to sauces/melted cheese.  You can kinda see them on the very top against the bun here.  They were super flavorful, an a fun new component to be able to add.  I love my crunchy elements!

The cheese was a real shocker, white cheddar, really nicely melted.  Like, perfectly melted.  When do you get actual melted cheese at McDonald's?  And the flavor was a bit more developed than the normal McDonald's yellow cheese slice.  Certainly a keeper.

Next, garlic aioli.  I love creamy sauces, so this was something I was excited for.  It was indeed flavorful, strong garlic flavor, just like the garlic chips.  With those two components together, there was no doubt that this was a garlic burger.  My, uh, breath knew it for hours later too.  My one complaint though, even though I really adore aioli and slather it on generously myself, is that this had too much.  It did dominate the taste, and made it hard to taste anything else.  Look at all that aioli!

The Patty.

Like, the patty!  The most innovative part of the burger, after all, right?

The patty really, truly is entirely different from the McDonald's patties you know (and maybe love?).  It was seared on the outside, a slight crust.  It was juicy.  It tasted more like, uh, beef.  The texture was better.   It is still a thin-style patty, and you can't customize the level of cook on it, so it is still clearly fast food, but, everything about it really is greatly improved.  They really are innovating fast food burgers.

My overall burger was enjoyable, but, I didn't get to really enjoy the better beef patty this way - too much aioli, too much garlic, too much bun ... the beef was entirely masked by the other components.  My evaluation was only possible because I deconstructed it to taste each element individually.

So if you really truly want to taste the new patty, you should likely opt for the basic quarter pounder.  Perhaps go for the white cheddar instead, but beyond that, you don't really need to add in the sauces and new toppings.

But you really should try the new patties.  They are different.  I promise.

March 2019

I'm not really sure what inspired me to visit McDonald's a year later, but, I did, and I decided to take my advice and just go for the classic Quarter Pounder, with cheese, with the new, now standard, fresh beef patties.

This was a more traditional McDonald's experience.  The staff were unfriendly, the burger lukewarm and poorly assembled, but at least it was made quickly?  I ... wasn't impressed.

Quarter Pounder with Cheese.

"Each Quarter Pounder with Cheese burger features a ¼ lb. of 100% fresh beef that’s hot, deliciously juicy and cooked when you order. It’s seasoned with just a pinch of salt and pepper, sizzled on a flat iron grill, then topped with slivered onions, tangy pickles and two slices of melty cheese on a sesame seed bun."

The classic.  The Quarter Pounder with Cheese, or QPC if you please.  My burger of choice waaaay back in the day.  But now, with the fresh beef.  When I opened the box, it definitely brought back nostalgia.

As far as I can tell, all other ingredients remain the same - it still uses the classic bun, not the artisan ones introduced with the custom burgers, and the same basic toppings.

Quarter Pounder with Cheese + Extra Pickles + Extra Slivered Onions + Shredded Lettuce.

I did add extra pickles and onions, since I always like them, and choose to add on shredded lettuce too, because I had appreciated that in the fancier burger.

My burger came without lettuce, and when I questioned it, showing the order that said "Add Lettuce" quite clearly, the burger was taken away, and a handful added inside.  Uh, thanks?

The lettuce was fine, classic shredded iceberg, and I liked the slightly crispness and freshness it provided.

Inside Top Bun.

The bun was ... well, a bun.  Not fresh, not fancy, and not nearly as shiny as the artisan buns.  Definitely a step down.  It was nicely grilled on the inside though.

The ketchup and mustard were applied to the top bun, but ketchup as only on half, mustard on the other half, so I had to swirl them to get both flavors in a bite.  Not the best construction.

Toppings.

As I said, the lettuce was unceremoniously added on after the fact, but it is clear the other toppings weren't exactly lovingly applied.  The pickles were all in a pile on one side, about 5 of them.  Not sure how many is normal?  I still liked the pickles, but they did lose some of their past magic. 

The onions added a sharp harsh flavor that I liked against the ketchup, mustard, and cheese.

Patty & Cheese.

And finally, the burger patty, with a slice of cheese on top and on bottom.

The burger was about as I remembered from my first fresh beef encounter.  Definitely better than I remembered from McDonald's of my youth, but not a juicy burger, very thin, and well done (as in, fully cooked).  Again, good char on it.  It was lukewarm however.

The cheese was just American, and it was fine, but it was only melted in some places, lots of unmelted cheese remained.  Not sure if this was construction or the cheese type, but the previous burger with the white cheddar did much better in this regard.

Overall, this was ... well, a McDonald's burger.  I was disappointed by the serving temperature, really barely warm, which was odd for a made to order item.  I was saddened by how poorly put together it was, not that I expect McDonald's workers to take pride in the burger assembly ...  and, well, I didn't really like it much.

Pretty sure I won't be getting another for many years.