Eating at McDonald's (MCD) often happens out of necessity or bad choices. In the first, you might be in an airport, driving, or hungry at a time when few chains are open. In those cases, it's easy to justify some late-night McNuggets or an early-morning McMuffin because you literally have no other choices,
In many ways, McDonald's is like Domino's (DPZ). Consumers know it's available pretty much always and the company has made getting its food really easy. The Golden Arches has even caught up with the pizza giant when it comes to delivery (albeit using third-party services) and it always had a massive scale with easy-to-access drive-throughs.
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You know you're not getting gourmet or healthy food, but you're getting something familiar, tasty, and relatively cheap. In many ways, the pizza chain has proven that convenience and familiarity often win the day.
Sometimes, however, consumers pick McDonald's because they want the indulgence. That might be at times we're feeling sorry for ourselves or perhaps we've had a few too many adult beverages.
That's where a very unique McDonald's breakfast item, which can only be found in one part of the world (though there's a secret menu hack if U.S. customers really want to taste it) comes in. The Big Brekkie Burger may never be a good choice, but it's probably always one people enjoy in the moment.
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What Is the McDonald's Big Brekkie?
An item that first appeared on the chain's Australian menu, which can now be found for sale in New Zealand, the Big Brekkie actually leans into a current culinary trend -- adding an egg to things. From pizzas to burgers, eggs have been one of the current hot toppings.
McDonald's, it turns out, has actually been ahead of the curve. The Big Brekkie takes the weird, round McDonald's egg from an Egg McMuffin and puts it on top of a burger patty. On top of that the chain adds bacon, cheese, a hashbrown, and barbecue sauce then serves the whole thing on a toasted sesame seed bun.
McDonald's sells the Big Brekkie as a late-night and breakfast item in New Zealand. It's still on the menu in Australia as well although in a slightly different version. The Australian Big Brekkie has two burger patties with the bacon between the two burgers.
The Secret Menu Way to Order a Big Brekkie Burger in the U.S.
Unlike Starbucks (SBUX), where customers order off the secret menu and baristas make those drinks (as long as they know the recipe), McDonald's secret menu is more do-it-yourself. Essentially, you order everything needed and then construct your own item.
The challenge in building a Big Brekkie Burger yourself is that McDonald's no longer has all-day breakfast. So, to make a secret menu item involving both breakfast and lunch/dinner items, there's only one time of day you can do it and you may have to place two orders.
Basically, you need to obtain the breakfast half of the Big Brekkie Burger right as the chain switches over from breakfast to lunch (10:30 a.m. at most locations, but as late as 11 a.m. at some). To make the sandwich in the most cost-effective way possible you need to order:
- A Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit (this gives you the bacon, the egg, and the cheese)
- a Hashbrown
- A plain Quarter Pounder (this gives you the burger patty and a sesame seed bun)
- A side of barbecue sauce
You can make a variant on the Big Brekkie Burger for a cheaper price if you're willing to order a classic McDonald's Burger Plain, but that would not have the sesame seed bun used in Australia and New Zealand.
