As a kid, many of us daydreamt about leaving school to work in a dream job. Amongst the firefighters, astronauts, teachers, doctors, footy players and actors, there were dreams to be icecream taste testers. Not quite an icecream taste tester (I think it is debatable, which is better) but today, I had the pleasure of meeting McDonald's executive chef Dan Gould, who has the joy of experimenting in the McDonald's test kitchen. I just can't begin to imagine the stuff he gets to play with!
Earlier today, Zing and McDonald's invited a few of us bloggers (Helen, Howard, Lorraine, Karen and Shez) to a fancy pre-launch sampling of the new certified Australian Angus Beef burgers.
Fancy dining at McDonald's
We were courted with a single long stem red rose; juices and soft drinks were served in wine glasses, there was white table cloth and napkins; we had an unlimited supply of piping hot and crispy French Fries and not one, but two Angus beef burgers. It was a premium and grown-up take on McDonald's kids parties!
Huge bowl of McDonald's signature French Fries
Daniel Gould, Executive Chef of McDonald's test kitchen talks about the Angus Beef burgers
Dan, who jokes about having eaten his fair share of Angus beef patties in the test kitchen, presents to us, two perfectly adequate completions, which will be in stores from tomorrow. These burgers are the result of months of innovation and tests so I felt quite privileged to be tasting them before they're made available to the public.
The Grand Angus
The Grand Angus burger
The burgers are served on premium soft sourdough buns which have a dusted tractor tread pattern. Both the shape and appearance of the bun are key differentiators to the standard menu. The Grand Angus is served in between 2 slices of McDonald's signature yellow processed cheese and topped with 3 red onion rings, pickles, baby salad leaves, tomato, mustard and the same mayonnaise which can be found in their McChicken burgers!
I love this burger's colourful appearance and its textured bite. Although the Angus Beef has been ground into a pattie, there was still a traditional beef burger flavour which was rather tasty.
The Mighty Angus
The Mighty Angus burger
A definite winner with males, The Might Angus burger has no visible greenery. There's onion relish (effectively known as balsamic caramelised onion to foodies), good old bacon plus the 2 slices of cheese and onion rings, making it one big rich and hearty burger!
The winning combination of caramelised onion and bacon resembles nothing you would expect from a fast food joint so I'll be welcoming these with an open mouth, the next time I need a late night meal.
Available in store at McDonald's from tomorrow.
For more info, check out www.mcdonalds.com.au
Wow, these actually look really good, I feel like having one for breakfast! I'd go for the Grand Angus burger, I like my greens. Do you know how much one of these burgers would cost?
LOL at the 'male' burger having no visible greenery! They are onto a winner there, I think!
Just had the Grand Angus for lunch... Not bad!! I normally would need 2 burgers but this was enough.. Very tasty beef too
Hi Young Nic, The Mighty Angus is $6.40 and The Grand Angus is $6.75.
Hi Belle, I would be curious to see their gender stats a week post-launch!
Hi Justin -awesome that you have tried it already! For the sake of this blog, I had to try both burgers yesterday, so you can imagine just how full I was! I think the premium you pay on the burger (in comparison to their original burgers) is definitely worth the extra quality and taste.
Wow. I just had both of them for lunch - so I understand how you must have felt yesterday, Jen. I feel crippled now! But god they were good.
Got to say the Mighty was better than the Grand though - the fat in the Gran seemed to coat my tongue before the flavour hit, whereas the Mighty hit like a brick in the tastebuds.
Oooo I can't wait to try it....I love Macca's (as terrible as that sounds to some people heheheh)
I love the mighty angus, it's deceptive and fills me up despite the size.
looks good but I cannot see myself having maccas.
McDonalds? Angus beef? It was only a matter of time before McDonalds tried to cater for every segment. Now the gourmets are being offered their place at McD.
Gourmet? Or Gourmet speil?
Even though the spin is aimed at the gourmet market or for those wanting to taste better things than how much fat, salt and sugar is being jammed between two sponging buns - what I don't get is the reality; that is,
It's been mass cooked by inexperienced cooks or better still kids who can't identify the difference between shallots and spring onions.
Well done Maccers for bringing another inventive hamburger that will slide into disarray when they are handled by staff who will slog it out over hot oiled plates or better still, the microwave to bring something we the public are suppose to enjoy.
The jury is out for me. After all the hype and fluff has died down, I'll go in and taste a burger around Christmas time when the stores are overflowing with people and see just how well it will fair up.
And that's the true reality.
Foodie... I don't think your comments are fair. McDonald's has a tremendous focus on delivering hot, fresh and delicious product to its customers, while maintaining correct burger assembly. McDonald's kitchens are better equipped than ever to handle high volume sales, and I feel your comments are unfair. I have already been to two separate McDonald's for lunch and dinner rush and was extremely satisfied with the Angus burgers I ordered. And, considering you haven't even tried them your argument is pretty baseless. Let's deal with fact, not unfair propositions.
My wife and I tried both the angus burgers today. If you like a standard McDonalds burger you might find these acceptable although expensive ($6.75 and $6.45). If, like me, you're after something even a bit more special, don't get your hopes up. AVOID!
For 25 year olds like myself, the grand angus is the most adequate item on the menu. It's very filling, the bread is great, the other ingredients are the type that you'd cook with at home and it's the best tasting beef patty from a chain restaurant.
Whenever I'm in a rush and can't wait to get food somewhere else, I get an angus. My girlfriend and I are glad that Macca's has something this decent on offer.
I don't think I'd ever try the mighty angus as I believe that bacon and decent beef or chicken, don't mix.
Great photos too. I hope you don't mind, but I used one of your photos on my tumble log.