Some McDonald’s customers have been noticing that their Quarter-Pounders are raw or undercooked. While some people love this—especially the crowd that likes their beef on the rare side—others are put off by having pink spots in their fast food burgers.
Former McDonald’s corporate chef Mike Haracz gave two reasons for why this is happening with the quarter pounders. He made this TikTok in response to a commenter who said, “I swear every time I get a quarter of pounder. It’s always under cooked!!!”
@chefmikeharacz Replying to @urfavbaddie_222 Former #McDonalds corporate chef talks about the #QuarterPounder patty. #mcdonaldssecrets #McDonaldsSecret #mcdonaldslife #McDonaldsTikTok #McDonaldsMenu #FastFood #fastfoodsecrets #FastFoodMenu #mcdonaldsquarterpounder #quarterpounderwithcheese #quarterpounders #quarterpounderwithbacon #quarterpoundermeat #Doublequarterpounder #doublequarterpounderwcheese #doublequarterpounderwithcheese ♬ original sound – Chef Mike Haracz
Haracz explained that this complaint has become more common in the United States now that the U.S. locations have switched from frozen beef patties to fresh beef. The switch happened back in 2020, right before COVID-19 lockdowns, according to a CNN article.
The chain seemingly introduced fresh beef as a way to compete with other rising burger chains like Five Guys and Shake Shack, as well as fast casual dining spots known for their fresh ingredients, like Chipotle.
But with a new ingredient (even if it’s the same ingredient in a fresh versus frozen format) come new cooking challenges. Haracz noted that it’s possible the cooking crew is pushing the wrong button, or there may be something wrong with the cooking setting.
Haracz added that McDonald’s did a lot of work to try and cook the thicker patty as “fast as possible.” He estimates it takes about 80 seconds to cook. Because of that, small errors can throw off the cooking time, leaving customers with an undercooked patty. That includes if the grill is not properly cleaned or set up.
Haracz speculated a chemical reaction could be the other cause of the patties looking underdone even if they’re fully cooked. He explained that the patties are prepackaged and put in a container that’s flushed with gas to keep the meat shelf stable for longer.
The downside of this process is that once the stabilized package is opened, it starts to turn a “very bright red.”
“So there may still be pink in the Quarter-Pounder patty, even though it’s cooked all the way through and food-safe,” Haracz said. He added that while some people complain about seeing a “touch of pink” in their burger, others “like their burger rare and think this is awesome.”
He concluded: “That’s cool, that is not the standard that McDonald’s is using for their fresh beef Quarter-Pounders.”
The video has more than 20,000 views and over 100 comments. Some people in the comments speculated why they think the burgers may not cook properly.
“It could also be the teflon being worn out with carbon buildup. When it’s worn the teflon doesn’t transfer heat properly,” wrote one person, referring to the grills used to cook the burgers.
Others shared their experiences with the classic burger.
“Quarter Pounderd are my preferred burger at McD, it’s ALWAYS pinkish inside, and I like it that way. Truly,” a commenter wrote.
“84 seconds and I still sit in the drive thru for 10 minutes!?” another exclaimed.
“I actually prefer the old qp patty. the new ones I got were super greasy, I couldn’t eat them,” a viewer shared.
The Daily Dot reached out to Haracz and McDonald’s for comment via email.
In an email, Haracz said the following:
“McDonalds like every other restaurant needs to adhere to national food safety regulations along with there own corporate food safety policies when coming up with procedures and cook times for all of their food items. A lot of time is put into developing cooking procedures for this reason.
When employees or managers choose not to follow these protocols, it could potentially cause a health risk for consumers.”
