So it appeared inevitable that even essentially the most iconic of burgers would possibly really feel the comb of a feather: McDonald’s is testing out a model of its marquee providing, the Big Mac, that swaps out the meat burgers for chicken patties, the corporate says. “We’re always looking to give our fans more ways to enjoy the classic menu items they know and love,” the corporate stated in an e mail responding to The Washington Post’s question concerning the rumored new providing.
McDonald’s plans to check the chicken model of the Big Mac, after introducing it earlier this yr for a run within the U.Okay., for a restricted time at Miami-area areas, beginning later this month. And it hinted that the providing may finally go nationwide if stateside opinions are ok. “While not everything we test makes it on our U.S. menus, we’ll use this time to gather feedback from both customers and restaurant crew as we consider opportunities to offer more delicious options in the future,” the corporate stated within the e mail.
The method is acquainted (bear in mind the jingle?) — there’s the particular sauce, shredded lettuce, American cheese, pickles, served on a sesame-dotted bun — however the brand new riff substitutes two “tempura chicken patties” for the basic burger meat. (McDonald’s assertion didn’t point out the customary diced onion that comes on the Big Mac.) The mixture sounds so predestined, it makes you marvel why McDonald’s didn’t consider it sooner, notably as a result of the chain had initially faltered within the Great Chicken Sandwich Wars. The Golden Arches was gradual to the draw after Popeye’s sandwich took off in 2019, and franchisees complained that they lacked a “premium” chicken providing to compete with Chick-fil-A and different opponents.
Seemingly to purchase time earlier than introducing its personal model, McDonald’s tried out a nominally “spicy” chicken sandwich that on the time I famous appeared like “an amalgamation of various spare parts lying around the company garage,” together with a Big Mac bun, a common chicken patty, and barbecue sauce that tasted prefer it may have been licked off a McRib. Now, with the Chicken Big Mac, the corporate has one other menu merchandise that appears equally to be assembled from components already within the Golden Arches’ pantry (although maybe the chicken patty is a new mannequin), that truly appeals.
The Big Mac, which was launched in 1968, way back transcended its standing as a mere sandwich. It’s develop into each an avatar for American capitalism and a stand-in for lowbrow style. And so it appears the correct palimpsest for reflecting the present obsession with chicken typically and with fast-food fried pucks extra particularly. McDonald’s has tinkered with the method earlier than, briefly providing four- and one-patty variations within the U.S. and advertising and marketing different riffs, together with the Samurai Mac in Japan and the Grand Big Mac, in different markets.
Even earlier than the Chicken Big Mac sandwich debuted throughout the pond, intelligent “hackers” — individuals who both custom-order off fast-food menus or order a number of gadgets and mash them collectively themselves — had been already having fun with it. They are a factor on TikTok: some individuals apparently satisfied their native McDonald’s to make them, whereas others went to DIY route, utilizing the chicken from different sandwiches.
And the glowed-up Big Mac hype unfold much more when Mark Vayntraub, a food-obsessed blogger and social media influencer who makes use of the deal with @markie_devo, posted a tantalizing little bit of news: U.S. staff had been being educated to make the brand new merchandise, he stated, citing McDonald’s staff as his sources. He even posted an image of what looked like an instruction sheet for making it, and a immediate to ask any buyer ordering a Big Mac a heretofore unparalleled query: “Will that be a Chicken Big Mac?”
Since Miami is a little far to go for a chicken sandwich, we opted for the hackers’ route, approximating the brand new menu merchandise by following the directions on that card and ordering two McChickens (they’ve a flatter, extra compact form than McDonald’s different chicken sandwiches, which might make for a too-towering ultimate product) and harvesting their patties. We took a commonplace Big Mac, and carried out a little culinary surgical procedure to take away the meat discs (the American cheese had melded itself onto the burgers, so there was scraping concerned), earlier than making the swap.
The end result was … just about what you’d count on, which on this case is a praise. The factor about Big Macs is that the meat has at all times appeared secondary — to me, the burger is outlined by the tangy Thousand-Island-like sauce, the briny pickles and the bathe of shredded lettuce. The chicken model is not that completely different from its beefy brother, with the patty itself taking a again seat in a minivan of flavors pushed by the toppings (though the crisp patty does add a good textural distinction that the common burger doesn’t).
If you’re a Big Mac fan, this is likely to be the hen you’ve been ready for, though if you happen to can’t persuade your native McDonald’s to make the swap for you, it may be expensive to concoct your self, because it takes two McChicken sandwiches and a Big Mac to create.
And whereas there’s no assure that the Chicken Big Mac will ever present up in your native light-up drive-through menu, it’s value protecting an eye fixed out. McDonald’s won’t be reinventing the wheel right here, however simply hitching it to a crispier wagon.