This Is Why McDonald's Burgers Are So Delicious

mcdonald's is famous for its burgers selling approximately 75 every second of course this means that the fast food giant must be doing something right when sandwiching their signature all beef patties inside of a simple bun but what makes these burgers so delicious here's the secret contrary to widespread rumor all of their patties are actually made from 100 usda inspected beef prior to 2011 like many other fast food chain restaurants in the united states mcdonald's did use the meat-based filler commonly known as pink slime in their burgers the substance in question was beef but only technically pink slime is actually made from finely textured beef trimmings that are then treated with ammonia before being ground up into a pink paste is it gross yes but thankfully pink slime is no longer an ingredient in mcdonald's hamburgers in 2014 as part of a widespread effort to debunk the negative consumer perceptions that surrounded their beef products the company hired former myth buster grant imahara to prove to customers that their well-known claim to serve all beef paddies was true imahara went to the cargill processing plant in fresno california to see for himself what goes into a mcdonald's 100 beef patty in the end he found that mcdonald's patties are indeed 100 beef as claimed you may have heard that mcdonald's burgers are made from entire cows that are put through a meat grinder however many media outlets including snopes have gone on to prove that this is not in fact the case the process could not be more different from what the public might perceive here is my hot and fresh quarter pounder with cheese oh that looks good mcdonald's makes their patties out of a few specific cuts of beef which is crucial to ensuring that their products are of a high enough quality to compete in today's market while you won't find any of the fanciest butcher's cuts in your mcdonald's burgers they do use the trimmings from cuts like chuck round and even sirloin to create the familiar flavor profile of their signature beef blend and while they don't boast their meat as being grass-fed the cows they use are for the most part fed on grass for the first half of their lives before being finished on a diet of grass minerals and grain immediately after the ground beef blend is formed into patties in the processing plant there's another important step that contributes to the classic flavor we've come to know and love from the golden arches the standard mcdonald's burger is flash frozen immediately after shaping in order to ensure that it is as fresh as possible when it hits the grill at your local restaurant unlike slower freezing processes which can cause larger ice crystals to form in foods flash freezing can chill foods to temperatures below zero degrees fahrenheit in just minutes the flash freezing process has changed the way americans eat and it's been used for a long time it was developed by clarence birdseye the founder of birdseye frozen foods in 1924 and is responsible for much of the convenience food we enjoy today as mcdonald's explain it typically takes between two to three weeks from the day a burger patty is formed in a processing plant to the day it is served to a customer as such flash freezing is one way that mcdonald's ensures they're serving hamburgers that taste as fresh as they possibly can for each and every customer even though flash freezing is a very effective way to get fresh tasting delicious burgers in the hands of customers it is not without some serious drawbacks over the years mcdonald's has come under fire multiple times for the practice even rival fast food burger chain wendy's has repeatedly taunted mcdonald's for their use of frozen beef patties in ad campaigns in an effort to combat the negative perceptions about their burgers and to compete within the better burger space pioneered by higher end fast food chains like shake shack mcdonald's made a commitment to make all of their quarter pounders with fresh beef that is cooked to order by mid-2018 the reception to the change was overwhelmingly positive with even food and wine magazine saying that the freshly made quarter pounder patty is surprisingly good just one year after making the change qsr magazine reported that mcdonald's had sold more than 40 million more quarter pounders than the previous year cheeseburger cheeseburger two pepsi one cheap cheeseburger cheeseburger two pepsi one mcdonald's really prides itself on the fact that their burgers both fresh and frozen alike are made with beef salt pepper and absolutely nothing else but they don't stop at a short list of ingredients they actually take things a step further at mcdonald's seasonings aren't added at all until the burgers reach their local grills where the cooks add salt and pepper as the patties are grilled to order according to mcdonald's this brings out all that great beef taste interestingly there's some leeway in how mcdonald's restaurants season their signature burgers mcdonald's representatives told business insider that they actually adjust the seasoning based on the country that the burgers are being served in because some countries prefer their burgers a little more on the salty side than others unsurprisingly american customers have a tendency to like their fast food on the salty side reuters reported that one order of mcdonald's chicken nuggets served in the united states contains 1.5 grams of salt compared with only 0.6 grams of salt in the uk the salt content in burgers doesn't vary nearly as much though they found overall fast food burgers served up an average of 1.3 grams of salt or 520 grams of sodium across all countries with only small national differences mcdonald's makes a serious effort to use locally produced beef whenever it is possible according to the fast food chains website the beef used in the burger served in the united states comes from a handful of producers within the country a practice that makes the fast food giant one of the largest purchasers of usda inspected beef in the entire country however they also supplement their stock with meat from usda approved producers in new zealand australia and canada according to business insider the company also works hard to ensure that the cows they use for meat are slaughtered in their country of origin as this helps to reduce the need to transport livestock across long distances which also helps keep a focus on locally sourced ingredients at mcdonald's a burger bun is more than just a vehicle for a great sandwich it is also a critical part of ensuring burger perfection take the chain signature big mac for example often times when you are served a burger that contains two or even three patties you are still only going to get two pieces of bread the imbalance between bread and meat in a larger burger can easily lead to what business insider writer hollis johnson referred to as beef overload the big mac is different from its competitors mega burgers thanks in part to the club bun that third piece of bread sandwiched between the big max double patties like mcdonald's other deluxe style burgers including the quarter pounder and the double quarter pounder the bun is toasted and topped with sesame seeds however not all sandwiches get the sesame seed treatment the chain standard hamburger cheeseburger and double cheeseburgers are all served on a regular toasted bun as are some non-burger sandwiches like the mcchicken the filleto fish on the other hand is in a league of its own with its plain steamed bun there's one more thing at work here too the perfect toast in 2015 mcdonald's decided that in order to ensure juicier hotter burgers they would toast their buns for an additional five seconds which would lead to their burgers being 15 degrees hotter overall another change came along with the addition of fresh beef to the quarter pounder which gets a bun that has been toasted for a total of approximately 22 seconds the components that make up a mcdonald's hamburger such as beef patties and buns are not made on site in local stores because of that the company has to rely on a select few trusted vendors to produce ingredients for them since their production is so spread out not only across the united states but all over the world the chain requires vendors to adhere to a long list of strict quality control standards that help to ensure a consistent product each box of frozen patties for example is labeled with such a high level of detail that they can trace any individual burger back to the cow it came from the company details an extensive food safety and quality management system including how they hold their vendors accountable on their website and according to the orange county register there are no second chances for vendors whose work isn't up to snuff todd bacon head of the fast food chains us supply chain management told the publication there's too much at stake for us not to do everything we can mcdonald's has been taking major steps to make their menu seem appealing to a more health-conscious demographic for years in 2016 the company announced that they were planning to remove high fructose corn syrup from all of their buns replacing it with sucrose according to business insider even though sucrose is just the scientific name for plain white table sugar the change in ingredients added to the perception that mcdonald's was getting healthier that same year according to fortune mcdonald's also removed artificial preservatives from their chicken nuggets then in 2018 mcdonald's announced that they were finally going to make changes to their burgers how by removing all artificial ingredients although this in itself doesn't make a mcdonald's burger a healthy choice removing artificial ingredients is an important step to take in terms of both consumer perception and food quality after the change the company proudly stated on its menu that the only component of the burgers that contains any artificial ingredients are the pickles advising customers to quote skip the pickle if you like and another thing some say hold the pickles we say hold them in your arms and thank them for helping the quarter pounder achieve full deliciousness it shouldn't come as a surprise that people are passionate about what particular burgers they like best and which ones they would not be rushing to eat again yes people love to rank mcdonald's sandwiches citing the subtle differences between the classic hamburger and the classic cheeseburger and whether or not a big mac is better than a quarter pounder with cheese the main difference between the burgers aside from the fact that the quarter pounder series is made with fresh beef resulting in a thicker patty is the toppings even a cursory glance at their menu will show you that a double quarter pounder with cheese is very very different from a big mac while the quarter pounder with cheese boasts ketchup mustard pickles onions and cheese the big mac swaps out ketchup and mustard for its signature big mac sauce and add shredded lettuce for extra crunch at this point you might think that mcdonald's has a tendency to micromanage the production of their burgers and that would not be too far from the truth in fact the fast food giant is so obsessive about making sure their burgers will have the consistent great taste their customers expect they actually build replica test kitchens at their processing plants in order to further monitor quality control before a batch of burgers can be sent off to its destination someone at the processing plant is tasked with cooking up some of the patties in the replica kitchen there a series of comprehensive tests for quality are conducted including ensuring optimal fat content and flavor once the patties have passed the test they're cleared to be sent to your local mcdonald's restaurant this is just one component of the chain's overall commitment to quality according to mcdonald's some of the other steps the chain is taking include a commitment to sustainably sourced beef rigorous policies concerning the use of antibiotics and livestock and a back to basics approach that manages to stick to the company's roots without issuing innovation and for the customer that all just means a more delicious burger check out one of our newest videos right here plus even more mash videos about your favorite foods are coming soon subscribe to our youtube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one [Music]

Channel: Mashed

Views: 1,443,896

Keywords: mashed, mashed food, mcdonalds, burgers, mcdonalds burgers, food, fast food, mcdonalds food, mcdonalds fast food, burger buns, buns, quarter pounder burgers, local beef, vendor standards, toppings, burger toppings, 100 percent beef, burger patties, mcdonalds burger patties, seasoned burgers, different buns, quality control, specific cuts, cuts of beef, flash frozen, fresh beef, fresh burgers, fresh quarter pounder, different buns for different burgers, beef, cows

Id: LQmU4QQgAxQ

Length: 10min 28sec (628 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 12 2020