Compared with many of the fast-food chains, McDonald's has a pretty lazy secret menu.
That's because workers at the giant will sell you that the items you need to make things shared on social media or through word of mouth, but they won't actually make the items for you.
That's different from Starbucks (SBUX) -), where baristas will make secret-menu drinks by name if they know the recipes. In addition, the coffee chain has made nearly endless customization possible in its app, while McDonald's (MCD) -) limits choices to very basic parameters.
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That has not stopped McDonald's fans from creating a very involved secret menu, which the chain actually celebrated in July 2022. McDonald's had a promotion during which it shared some popular secret-menu items.
The choices the chain promoted included:
- Surf + Turf (a sandwich with both the Filet-O-Fish and Cheeseburger patties),
- Hash Brown McMuffin (an Egg McMuffin with the chain's hashbrown in between the egg and sausage)
- Crunchy Double (chicken nuggets over a burger).
- Land, Air & Sea (a McChicken, a Big Mac, and a Filet-O-Fish stacked on top of each other.
Now, McDonald's locations in Australia have officially been selling another well-loved secret-menu item. But if you want to try it, you don't have to fly Down Under, nor do you even need to order it by name.
Image source: McDonald's
McDonald's Makes the McFry Less Secret
The McFry builds off a local tradition started by the famed Pittsburgh sandwich shop Primanti Bros.
"The story goes that one winter a trucker had an abundance of potatoes, and he brought them to Primanti Bros.," the company said on its website. "Joe DiPriter, a cousin, sliced them up and fried them. The smell of fried potatoes had customers watering at the mouth. Joe went ahead and plopped a handful of fries on their sandwich, giving birth to the Almost Famous sandwich we know and love today."
Essentially, the McFry is exactly that -- a classic McDonald's hamburger with a handful of french fries added to the top. It has officially appeared on the chain's menu in Australia, according to the popular Snackolator Instagram account.
I know it was an April Fools joke, but the McFry sounds great and is easy to do on your own.
This is from McDonald's in Australia (Maccas as they're known locally) and it sounds like a great idea with existing menu items!
Technically you can get this whenever you want by just tossing some fries on your burger, but I would not mind if they added this as a menu option.
McDonald's has embraced the idea of using current-menu items to make new things. The chain recently added a Cheesy Jalapeno Quarter Pounder as a limited-time-offer nationally. Some of its locations have also used the same pickled jalapenos and cheddar cheese sauce from the burger on many of the chain's regular breakfast sandwiches.
That's similar to what Yum Brands' (YUM) -) Taco Bell and Wendy's (WEN) -) do when they add a new sauce or topping. Wendy almost always uses those new toppings for a new variant of its french fries, while Taco Bell will put the additional item on pretty much anything.
