Questions answered
There are 14 questions about “Burgers” in the “How do you make...” topic.
Click on a question to read our answer.
- 1. Hi,I am doing my aprentice and would like you to send me information on where the ingriedients for a hamburger are sourced.
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Thank you for your question. The beef patty is made using 100% British and Irish beef, supplied by our beef patty supplier in Scunthorpe. The bun used is baked by one of our bakery product suppliers in Heywood near Manchester or Banbury, Oxfordshire. The mustard is made by one of our sauce suppliers in Lancashire, whilst the Heinz ketchup is made in Belgium, and the cheese slice is made by a supplier in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. The dill pickles are sourced from Turkey and the onions are from the United States.
You can find out more about McDonald’s food at www.mcdonalds.co.uk and then clicking on the ‘Food’ tab. The beef patty is cooked on our grill with a pinch of salt and pepper added after cooking, the burger is then assembled by our staff and served to the customer. (February 2011)
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 2. When I flew to Singapore they had a samurai burger which was awesome. Any chance u might bring it on the menu even if it is only for a limited time?
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Thanks for your question. McDonald’s has no plans to introduce the Samurai Burger on the UK menu. However,
you may like to contact the Customer Services team by visiting the ‘Contact Us’ section at www.mcdonalds.co.uk - the company is always keen to hear new menu suggestions. (January 2011)
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 3. Were do you get the beef for your burgers?
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Thank you for your question. The beef used by McDonald’s UK is sourced from British and Irish farms, with over 16,000 farmers raising cattle for our beef.
(March 2010)
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 4. You say that the beef patties are made up only of beef, salt and pepper. Can you confirm there are no other constituents making up the patty? Could you please describe all the processes performed on the beef flank to take it from its raw natural state into the final product as consumed?
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As you correctly state nothing is added or taken away from the beef - preservatives, additives, binders or fillers are never used. McDonald’s UK beef patties are made from high quality cuts of forequarter and flank, which are traceable back to the British and Irish farms they came from. It's prepared by skilled butchers and then minced as it would be by any butcher, only on a larger scale. The mince is then made into patties, immediately frozen to seal in the freshness, and packed for distribution. Once at the McDonald’s restaurant the patties are cooked between two hotplates on bespoke clamshell grills, which help seal in the natural juices. Nothing else is added. No other oils or fats, just a pinch of salt and pepper for seasoning after cooking.
(Jan 2010)
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 5. How does McDonalds turn 100 % beef into a dry flavourless pattie? I asked the restaurant manager at the McD's in my town and he told me to leave and refused to answer my question.
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McDonald’s UK beef patties are made from high quality cuts of forequarter and flank, which are traceable back to the British and Irish farms they came from. It's prepared by skilled butchers and then minced as it would be by any butcher, only on a larger scale. The mince is then made into patties, immediately frozen to seal in the freshness, and packed for distribution. Once at the McDonald’s restaurant the patties are cooked between two hotplates on bespoke clamshell grills, which help seal in the natural juices. Nothing else is added. No other oils or fats, just a pinch of salt and pepper for seasoning after cooking.
(December 2009)
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 6. How do I make a McDonald’s burger?
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All McDonald’s hamburger patties are made from 100 percent beef. Whole cuts from forequarter and flank are used (the same as any good mince you may buy at the supermarket), with a pinch of salt and pepper used after cooking for taste. McDonald’s UK has a policy to source all its ingredients locally whenever possible. If you are going to cook your burgers at home, go for it- the team here are sure they'll taste great. Whether they will taste the same as McDonald's Hamburgers is something the team are curious to know.
(December 2009)
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 7. Who do you think does start the rumours about McDonalds not selling real meat, and that you doesn’t put real meat into your produce?
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Thank you for your question. McDonald's is OK with criticism about its business. It is always keen to take part in intelligent and factual debate whenever there are comments or questions directed at the company. However, the majority of comments tend to be based on incorrect information or myth. Being the recognised leader in the quick service sector, McDonald's understands that it will bear the brunt for the ills of the industry, and rumours can be difficult to control. The purpose behind the Make Up Your Own Mind site is to counter many of the misconceptions about the way McDonald’s is operated. The site isn’t designed to change your mind – only to show that there are two sides to every story, and provide evidence that some of the rumours and beliefs about how McDonald’s conducts itself might be based on fiction rather than fact.
With regards to the meat which McDonald’s uses McDonald's only uses 100 percent beef in its hamburgers, which means 100 percent beef. Nothing but whole cuts of forequarter and flank (similar to the mince you'd buy in the supermarket). All that's added is a pinch of salt and pepper after cooking. The only meat used across all McDonald’s chicken menu items is carefully deboned chicken breast. All the chicken used is traceable right back to the farms on which the birds were raised and the highest standards are assured with rigorous quality checks and inspections.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 8. Hello, you always answer questions with the same stock answer, saying your burgers only contain beef and a pinch of salt. How can this be, surely you need a bonding agent such as egg to hold them together. Please tell us the truth.
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McDonald's would have to disagree with your assertion that the answers are stock. In fact, all serious questions (and many of the not so serious ones) are individually read and answered by McDonald's and the dedicated Make Up Your Own Mind team. Over 15,000 questions have been posted to the site since launch, and as you can imagine there are a few questions that, although slightly different in the way they have been posed, require a pretty similar answer. This may result in answers that have a similar tone to them. However, you can be sure that each question is treated individually. With regards to McDonald’s beef patties they are made from 100% beef, this means that they include no bonding agents, preservatives or additives. Once the patties are made, they are frozen and dispatched to the restaurants. The beef patties are cooked, without added fat or oil, between hot plates that cook the patties from both sides. Finally a pinch of salt and pepper is added for seasoning. Careful preparation ensures that McDonald’s burgers don’t fall apart.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 9. 1)how do chicken and burger cooked?i mean the process.. 2)are mc d using oven?
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Thank you for your question. McDonalds does not use an oven to cook its Burgers or Chicken. McDonald’s beef patties are cooked between hot plates that cook the patties from both sides - a similar cooking process to the grilling machines that are sold in a variety of kitchenware stores. Its lower cooking surface reaches 177 degrees centigrade, and the top plate reaches 218 degrees centigrade. The clamshell design allows for the burger patty to cook evenly and quickly from both sides.
McDonald’s chicken products are fried in their own dedicated frying vats.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 10. Having learnt that your burgers take around 42 seconds to cook, would you say that McDonalds 100% beef burgers are more rare, medium rare or well done? Thank you for your time.
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Thank you for your question. In theory the terms, which you mention, relate to whole muscle cuts and not to burgers. McDonald’s UK cooks its beef to food safety and quality standards and at no time should patties be served that have visible signs of red/pink meat or red running juices. The beef patties are cooked between hot plates that cook the patties from both sides - a similar cooking process to the grilling machines that are sold in a variety of kitchenware stores. Its lower cooking surface reaches 177 degrees centigrade, and the top plate reaches 218 degrees centigrade. The clamshell design allows for the burger patty to cook evenly and quickly from both sides.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 11. Could you tell me where i can buy the hamburgers McDonald sell. I have tried other burgers but would like to buy burgers from McDonald because I like the taste? Thanks in advance
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Thank you for your question. Sorry, but McDonalds hamburgers are exclusively available in McDonalds restaurants. Selling them in supermarkets has been considered in the past, but the company decided against it. This is partly due to the fact that some of the ingredients, including the buns and cheese, are made to special recipes for McDonald’s.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 12. I believe you when you say that nowadays your burgers are 100% beef. But why are they so rubbish? Even compared to other fast food chains, mcd's burgers always taste dry and bland. Are the cows miserable? Is there a particularly bad automated cooking system? I've never eaten a mcdonalds burger and afterwards thought "wow, that was a good burger". Which, to be honest, should happen a lot. A good burger isn't hard to make.
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Sorry to hear your aren’t enjoying the food. McDonald’s does not believe that the burgers are ‘rubbish’. The company works hard to make sure that the burgers are made from good quality meat, using only 100 percent beef from whole cuts of forequarter and flank. The beef used is similar to mince available to buy in a supermarket. The beef patties are cooked, without added fat or oil, between hot plates that cook the patties from both sides - a similar cooking process to the grilling machines that are sold in a variety of kitchenware stores. However, it is not just the beef patties that give McDonald’s burgers their great taste, but also a combination of the sauces, buns and other ingredients. Individually all these ingredients would not taste as exciting as they would united as one of McDonald’s unique burgers. With two million customers visiting McDonald's UK everyday it seems that the company is doing something right. However, it is a matter of personal taste and the company respects your opinion.
(August 2008)
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 13. Do you feed your cattle steroids to increase growth rate? Do you feed the cattle anti-biotics to prevent disease? When the cattle pumped full of steroids and anti-biotics are ground into your delicous patties, do they make us, the consumer's, grow faster and less disease prone?
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Thank you for your question. We can reassure you that there are no growth hormones used in cattle production or feed. Hormones are strictly forbidden by the requirements of McDonald’s Agriculture Assurance Programme (MAAP) and, in fact, the use of hormones and steroids is forbidden in cattle feed throughout the UK and Europe. McDonald's insist that each one of its suppliers must meet its very high animal welfare standards and this is enforced by the McDonald's Quality Assurance Team, several of who are fully qualified animal welfare officers. They regularly inspect all aspects of the food supply chain to ensure the animals are well looked after throughout their lifetime. Standards laid down in the McDonald’s Agriculture Assurance Programme clearly state how animals must be cared for, including the provision of feed, bedding, shelter, lighting and comfort. The minimum farm assurance standard that cattle are kept to is Assured British Meats (ABM).
(September 2009)
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 14. how many cows make a burger?
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Like burgers and mince from other large food companies or your local butcher, there might be beef from more than one animal in McDonald's hamburger patties. Let's get this in perspective - there is milk from more than one cow in a carton of milk and juice from more than one orange in a carton of orange juice. The key point here is that all the meat we use is great quality. The company source from over 16,000 British and Irish farms, all producing to the same industry leading standards.
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