It does feel a little bit of a cheap shot to join the queue of people hammering the McDonald’s franchise. Eddie Abbew and various world doctors shed light on what we all knew: McDonald’s is unhealthy. But, I have to comment as my last experience at one of the motorway services branches led me to many thoughts in post. One of these was about the actual intake of real food at the franchise and whether or not it exists. I ordered a McCrispy on Deliveroo to my home last night to dig deeper. The results funneled me into a spiralling evening of research down various rabbit holes.
What is McCrispy Exactly?
With so many names being thrown out into the world by McDonald’s year after year, I can forgive anyone without a clue. It is a chicken burger, but we will get into the fine details throughout this review (rant), whatever you want to call it. The franchise already has the Chicken Mayo, Chicken Big Mac (at limited times), and the McChicken Sandwich in the poultry burger lineup. The McCrispy, at least in my opinion, seems like another desperate attempt to expand the menu. Compared with the McChicken Sandwich, there appears to be very little difference except the black pepper mayo and bun. But, to adhere to the narrative, The McCrispy is another Maccie D’s chicken burger, supposedly different from the others.
The McCrispy Bun
One of the key differences in this bun is the Sourdough-style burger bun that it is stacked in. The minute I saw the addition of the word “style,” I knew it wasn’t sourdough. McDonald’s is a master of marketing; I can only imagine the marketing spend annually. In an ever-evolving health-conscious world, including sourdough as an attention grabber is a slight stroke of genius. And while I would concur that it needs to be done by the franchise, the reality of execution is ridiculous.
Based on my limited experience with bakeries (I like going to my local for sourdough every weekend), I have been told sourdough contains 3-5 ingredients. A basic sourdough should, apparently, contain three. Have a look at this:
I gave up counting at 19 ingredients. It also seems that there are a couple of different combinations. I will not join the bandwagon of slamming McDonald’s for all the ingredients they use; there is enough of that on social media. However, it is slightly worrying that the bread can’t just be bread, especially when marketing to a more conscious demographic.
So, How does it taste?
The bun tastes surprisingly better than the bun used on the McChicken Sandwich. It has a slightly heavier composition, meaning it is a little more challenging to get down. The bread is denser than the bun on something like the Double Cheeseburger. Some people may like that, and some may not. For me, this bun does leave you feeling a little more full than usual after a standard meal. But, to get this fuller feeling, you need to navigate a bread that is quite bland in flavour. And god forbid there is any element of staleness in the bun (as in mine) because chewing seems to take an eternity. Overall, I can see why the franchise has tried to jump on the trend of sourdough. In reality, however, this is just a normal bun with some chemical additions to achieve a slightly more dense consistency.
The Elusive Lettuce Addition
The marketing photography always looks good, but the product seldom looks similar. I had to search on Reddit to see if others had moaned about their experience, too.
Well, this guy managed to nick a couple of gherkins but was missing the lettuce and the mayo!
The generosity of my local McDonald’s allowed me to grab at least a fingerful of greenery—not enough to make any difference to the textural bite into the stack. Shredded lettuce always goes well in a chicken burger, and I expected a massive stack with a mound of mayo. I got nothing of the sort. I am not sure that lettuce is supposed to do anything for the overall flavour, but the texture against a crispy chicken is delightful. Combine that with an oozing layer of mayo, and Bob’s your uncle. Maybe McDonalds does away with the lettuce because it is the only 100% ingredient?
The Patty that Should Be Meat
It sounds patronizing, given the exposure online about Maccie D’s not serving real food. However, in the case of McCrispy, it is another conversation that should be directed at that point.
Chicken Meat at 58% or Chicken Breast Meat at 58%, which is it?
Even more worryingly, the McChicken Sandwich has only 53% chicken breast meat.
Even the worst hole-in-the-wall chicken shop in London fries 100% chicken and serves you up for a couple of pounds. So, why would a mega-corporation only offer you up to 58% of your meat as real food? I am not a scientist or a mathematician, but it does seem that the McCrispy is only up to two-thirds real food. The rest of what I consumed last night is all sorts of components that shouldn’t be in a piece of chicken.
But what did it taste like?
I have to admit that it tasted great. Maybe that is why writing something as complex as this article isn’t easy. Owning a food review site is a contradictory endeavor if what I am reviewing is only up to 58% real food and the rest is not.
The patty tasted everything McDonalds stands for. It was a chemically induced flavourful patty that left me wanting to bite again and again. Immediately after finishing the stack, I wanted to order another. I could have eaten three in quick succession had I had the chance. The McCrispy epitomizes the sugar rush synonymous with the franchise. Even as an adult, my sweetie taste buds were tingling, and this was because I was eating a burger. It’s pretty scary, but denying that the patty tasted great is difficult. At the time, I paid no mind to the patty made up of elements you may find on the periodic table. After, the feeling of regret sets in and with ferocity. The stomach cramps were enough for the buyer’s remorse to set in quickly. Sitting on the toilet researching what was in what you just ate is a telltale sign of regret!
Is the McCrispy worth it?
My tongue would tell you one story, and my stomach would tell you a completely different one. If I could grab this burger or the 53% meat McChicken Sandwich, I would choose the latter. When I have spoken of the great flavour, it seems counterintuitive to make a statement like that. But, there is a theory in the madness. The McChicken Sandwich is always available at McDonalds, and the McCrispy represents a trend. Sourdough is supposed to be a healthier bread than others; it is in the name. You get nothing more than regular bread with some components to make it taste more like sourdough. The whole reason for choosing sourdough is to benefit from the healthier properties. But, if they are omitted, would you choose sourdough for flavour?
McCrispy is another marketing strategy McDonald’s uses to achieve market share in every country. I wonder if the Philippines Maccie D’s has sourdough and a McCrispy. I doubt it, last time I was there I picked up a Big Mac and rice! Imagine going into Leicester Square and asking for rice and a Big Mac! It makes me sad that one of the biggest franchises in the world cannot even muster up the integrity to serve a real piece of chicken. Unfortunately, this is the world that we live in these days. I have to review the good, the bad, and the ugly. As for this particular burger, I am glad it is over after reading the ingredient list. But, at the time, it was a good burger. I am just not sure I am willing to sacrifice my health too many times a year to enjoy it.
