CHICAGO — Citing loftier "burger goals" in their press release Monday, burger behemoth McDonald's announced it is changing several fundamentals in the way they cook many of their hamburgers.
The affected products include the McDouble, the classic cheeseburger and hamburger, the Double Cheeseburger, and its signature Big Mac.
What's changing?
McDonald's broke down the details:
For starters, these burgers will have "juicier, caramelized flavor" from adding white onion to the patties as they're grilled. Buns will be "softer, pillowy" and "freshly toasted to a golden brown." Big Macs will come loaded with more of its iconic special sauce.
The chain is promising "perfectly melted cheese," though the release did not mention whether this would mean a change in the ingredients or makeup of its American cheese product.
Grill temperatures will also be adjusted, the company said.
Why?
According to McDonald's Senior Director of Culinary Innovation, Chef Chad Schafer, they were seeking a more iconic and memorable taste. “We found that small changes, like tweaking our process to get hotter, meltier cheese and adjusting our grill settings for a better sear, added up to a big difference in making our burgers more flavorful than ever.”
These changes have already been introduced in Australia, Canada, and Belgium; McDonald's says the changes will be rolled out in its American stores over the course of the next year.
Major markets including Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver, Boise, and Tuscon are already cooking up the newfangled burgers.
Who's stealing the burgers?
To mark the changes and add a sense of nostalgia to the announcement, the chain is reintroducing a memorable character from McDonaldland - the Hamburglar, who will begin reappearing in a series of television ads over the next few months.
