The Savory History Of The McMuffin

in the world of breakfast sandwiches one icon rain Supreme the Egg McMuffin one part egg sort of one part uh McMuffin and one part pure Americana which might be the stuff that makes the paper so greasy for over 5 decades this hot little hockey puck has gotten us through the morning with its Savory portable goodness leading to the proliferation of drive-through breakfast menus and bringing out a golden age for early risers everywhere so today we're serving up the sunrise with the history of the Egg McMuffin but before we get started be sure to subscribe to the weird history Food Channel and let us know in the comments below what other classic breakfast dant you would like to hear about okay time to get MC moving though Bread's cheeses eggs and Smoked Meats have all been part of a hearty breakfast for hundreds of years and sandwiches have been around since since the 1700s it took a depressingly long time before anyone put two and two together and made the first ever breakfast sandwich while today it's unclear exactly which genius first placed egg and ham between two slices of bread many point to London Street vendors at the onset of the Industrial Revolution as being those very Eggheads these enterprising entrepreneurs would cram eggs and meats into bats which are a kind of soft roll that originated in Scotland and not copies of the 1997 Halle Berry film making an easily portable alternative to the traditional English breakfast in turn their Factory working customers eager to live out their deenan dreams would scarf down their meals while rushing on foot to work Scrooge may have been less orary if there had been a Mickey de on the corner I'm back while there's no record of the breakfast sandwich's arduous journey across the pond it first showed up in the US around the time of the American Civil War at first Americans didn't seem to think of these sandwiches as being specifically meant for breakfast breakfast people ate them whenever they were hungry no matter the time of day and their portability made them the perfect camp food for wartime feasting we kind of treat breakfast sandwiches the same way today they're the perfect food for people who stay up all night and literal coyotes back in the 1800s once the Civil War ended these non-breakfast breakfast sandwiches found a new home among Pioneers headed west soon the noble breakfast sandwich had manifest destined its way all across the nation the first document recipe for an actual breakfast sandwich meaning one meant to be consumed in the morning was published at the end of the 19th century it was modc Cooks 1897 cookbook breakfast dinner and supper or what to eat and how to prepare it that America's culinary future would be forever changed in the book cook recommends placing chopped meat between slices of stale bread smothering the ensuing sandwich in a milk salt and egg concoction and then frying the whole thing up in a butter-filled pan it didn't take long for for others to publish their own unique takes on the breakfast sandwich and it was already becoming an All-American classic by the start of the 1900s born in January of 1919 herb Peterson grew up in Chicago fought in World War II and in the 1960s became the vice president of McDonald chicago-- based advertising firm Darcy advertising while there herb was credited with creating McDonald's first ever National advertising slogan where quality starts fresh every day what's more herb was on the team that dreamed up Ronald McDonald and the nightmares of small children have never been the same with these early contributions to the company McDonald's own Mayor McCheese Ray Croc took a shine to Herb and he soon encouraged herb to open up his very own franchise location according to Legend someone suggested Santa Barbara on account of Herb's wife being named Barbara and Herb ran with that incredibly arbitrary suggestion and relocated his whole family to beautiful sunny California eh it's better than throwing darts at a map or McMuffins at a map once there herb opened the world's 1,13 McDonald's location while this first restaurant was located in the then sleepy town of Gita California herb would go on to open five more locations all around the Santa Barbara area including one on Santa Barbara State Street even as a McDonald's franchisee herb continued to make a splash on the corporation's National operations for instance up until the mid 19 6s Croc didn't allow women to work at any McDonald's restaurant locations herb wanted to change this policy and he convinced Ry to allow his Center Barber location to be the first in the nation to get some women on staff at long last the feris sex could get elbow deep in French fry grease with the rest of them still herb had one last trick of the sleeve and it was in 1971 at his Santa Barbara State Street location that he turned from fast food hero to fast food Legend apparently herb caught wind at his State Street customers were dissatisfied with his restaurant's opening time 11:00 a.m. just wasn't early enough for them they wanted their McDonald's as bright and early as possible the only problem McDonald's didn't have any items other than hamburgers and french fries which aren't typically considered breakfast items unless you're planning to attack your day Jim deatti a McDonald's franchisee in Pittsburgh most famous for his invention of the Big Mac had gotten the goahead from Ray Croc to sell Donuts at his own McDonald's locations once you invent the big Ma you kind of get to do whatever you want but the McDonald's corporation hadn't spent any time developing breakfast items of their own and so herb always the go-getter took matters into his own hands her Peterson wanted to recreate his own favorite breakfast food eggs benedict for his franchise customers luckily for him he'd formed a close friendship with none other than TV icon Julia Child and according to some she offered him consultation as he adapted eggs benedict for the fast food setting once he had a fully developed concept herb went to a local blacksmith and commissioned a Teflon coated iron ring ensuring that all of his eggs would cook to the exact same size as one another the exact size of the English muffins they would eventually rest upon and he and his son David spent a whole 6 months experimenting until they perfected their all new invention he then forged one egg ring to rule them all the Petersons then called Ray Croc to try it out Croc was initially res resistant to the idea of changing up the McDonald's formula but once they finally convinced him to stop by Ray allegedly ate anywhere from 2 to four whole prototypes depending on who you ask in just one sitting he then declared oh my God we have got to do this and do this they did when her Peterson took his brainchild to the McDonald's board of directors it was an open-faced sandwich with a fried egg a slice of American cheese and a slice of Canadian bacon a top of buttered and toasted English muffin the sandwich was an instant hit with Mickey Executives because it was an Egg McMuffin still herbs invention didn't yet have a proper name a problem that would need to be solved before it ever hits storefronts enter Patty Turner the wife of sunnd to be McDonald's CEO Fred Turner it was Patty who coined the name Egg McMuffin and in 1972 Herb's invention was rushed out to test markets the fluffy little MCM Miracle sold at select locations for 63 cents a pop for three whole years but they expanded nationally by the V 1970s little did McDonald's know they had just fired a tremendous opening Salvo in the fast food breakfast Wars at the time no major fast food chain had fully committed to selling breakfast but McDonald's was all in on the egg mid muffin and after just a couple of years of McMuffin success the company decided to expand its breakfast game even further unveiling their first ever breakfast menu in 1977 this original menu featured Hot Cakes scrambled eggs sausage hash Browns and danishes with the Egg McMuffin front and center like the breakfast quarterback Just 4 years after the breakfast menu launched breakfast items accounted for 18% of all McDonald's sales and within 10 years McDonald's breakfast had grown so popular that their sales then accounted for 25% of all restaurant breakfasts sold within the US in other words in 1987 a quarter of all breakfasts eaten outside the home were purchased from a McDonald's America was stuffin McMuffins you you're the one that watch that toast is popping burn to a crisp that Rush no time for stopping you you're the one no cup but here's your drink tired of that breakfast hassle there's a better way don't you think have breakfast at McDonald's instead you're the one relax and drink your juice you got the time to catch up on the news enjoy our freshly scr scambled eggs with pure pork sausage hot cak and creamy butter or an Egg McMuffin McDonald's own original very delicious breakfast sandwich we serve you fast so you can eat nice and slow you got the time toare cos was on your way now you're ready to face the world you had breakfast without delay had done we do it all for you [Music] with the success of the McDonald's breakfast menu it wasn't long before just about everyone got in on the action too just 2 years after McDonald's released their first full breakfast menu Burger King that Regal copycat started developing a breakfast menu all their own but it was a task that proved easier said than done while McDonald's griddles were perfectly adaptable to breakfast items Burger King's flame broilers weren't exactly compatible with runny egg eggs consequently that waxy smiling King had to spend 4 years trying out workarounds before the BK breakfast menu was ready to go and in 1983 they unveiled to the world the Cris sandwich their own McMuffin competitor that replaced the McMuffins English muffin with a croissant just 2 years later Wendy's also threw its pigtails into the ring in 1985 they too launched their very own breakfast menu which most prominently featured fresh made to order omelet Wendy's founder Dave Thomas later admitted that this move was a mistake made to order omelets take a few minutes to cook which is too slow for a fast food chain to maintain within just 9 months of their breakfast menu's launch Wendy's became the first casualty of the breakfast Wars omelets were 86 from most Wendy's locations and the chain has repeatedly started and stopped breakfast menu campaigns in the years since as recently as 2014 Taco Bell launched its very own breakfast menu competitor which which features breakfast burritos and an eggy take on the Crunch Wrap Supreme other chains made less notable attempts at a breakfast menu including Jack In The Box and Del Taco while some have stuck others have fallen into the breakfast fog of History never to be seen [Music] again even with the rise of all this competition today breakfast accounts for over onethird of McDonald's business in fact that clown with the upside down frown sells so many breakfast sandwiches each year that according to a 2015 study the company accounts for 5% of all egg sales across the US purchasing more than 2 billion eggs annually while the Egg McMuffin still maintains its coveted front and center spot on the McDonald's breakfast roster its success has paved the way for an assortment of other breakfast items 1986 saw the creation of the McDonald's biscuit sandwich 1991 introduced the breakfast burrito which must have really annoyed Taco Bell in 2003 saw the invention of the ever luxurious MCG griddle McDonald's continues to serve each of these creations today along with a variety of combinations and takes on each specific item still there's nothing quite like Old Reliable and as it turns out the Eggman muffin may have saved the golden arches from being melted down in 2012 McDonald's Had hit a period of stagnation that carried on for 13 consecutive months they were no longer growing and they needed to change things up if they wanted to keep their place at the top of the fast food world so in 2014 they did away with their 10:30 a.m. coff time for suring breakfast announcing that customers could at long last buy Egg McMuffins any time of day in perpetuity the world rejoiced and as a direct result McDonald's saw its largest annual growth in nearly half a decade today McDonald's remains number one in fast food breakfast that is in every US state but one Oklahomans prefer Sonic breakfast with its toaster sandwiches and its variety of burritos placing the sooner state firmly on the wrong side of the breakfast Wars hey we get it sometimes you just got to go fast so what do you think what's your favorite fast food breakfast let us know in the comments below and while you're at it check out some of these other videos from our weird history food

Channel: Weird History Food

Views: 238,602

Keywords: The McDonald's Egg McMuffin, History of the Egg McMuffin, Who Made the Egg McMuffin?, Egg McMuffin facts, The Classic Egg McMuffin Sandwich, Weird History Food, Weird History Food McDonald's, McDonald's, McD's breakfast menu items, Breakfast Sandwich origins, McDonald's history, Fast Food History, Fast Food Breakfast wars, Mcdonalds breakfast all day, Egg McMuffin Breakfast Combo, Delicious Egg McMuffin, Who named the egg mcmuffin?, Egg mcMuffin 1971, Eater, Babbletop, watchmojo

Id: u698wmXZKbU

Length: 13min 24sec (804 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 08 2024