McDonalds – Chicken Big Mac

The Big Mac is probably the most famous burger at McDonalds, and although I am not completely sold on the burger, the sauce is pretty special. One thing I do like, and always have liked, is the McChicken at McDonalds. The mixture of the two could potentially be a pretty big-hitter on my series of reviews so I was actually pretty excited to sit down at the food court in Guildford. Read on to see how it went.

The Bun: 12/20

The bun was ok. I think my expectations of McDonalds are so low that anything that is not stale is a positive for me. In the Big Mac it is the middle bun that sometimes can be a little overbearing if there is not enough Big Mac sauce is applied. Unfortunately in this particular stack, I did find that this was the situation, the bun was a little bready for me. The dryness of the buns was a stickler for me in that I was unable to taste much other than the bread itself.

The Toppings: 7/10

One thing I have always liked at McDonalds is the shredded lettuce and pickles. The shredded lettuce complimented the chicken pretty well but the pickles just made zero sense. The flavour of beef mixed with the acidity of the pickles is a winner for me in any burger, but with chicken, it was about as cohesive as Burnley’s defence.

The Condiments: 5/10

The Big Mac sauce is a winner for me usually and something that offers nostalgia to my childhood days when I could actually afford to go and buy a Big Mac meal. I found that the sauce tasted different on top of chicken patties, and not in a good way. The same ‘burger sauce-like’ flavour was good alone, or scooped off the patties with the lettuce, but with the chicken not at all.

The Cheese: 10/20

I saw the cheese when I opened the box and was actually pretty upset. The plastic look of the unmelted cheese did not sit well with me. I remember looking back up at the lady server as I waited for my drink and was actually upset. However, the cheese actually ‘tasted’ good! Ok, so I was a little angry that I had not had a sexy melted cheese oozing from the side of my burger as we have seen with many of our star burgers; but a 20 strong queue of 12-14-year-olds can hardly be described as a line up for Londons Best Burger!

The Patty (s): 12/20

This was a tricky one to score because I actually like the McChicken patties and they did, independently of the rest, taste pretty good as usual. In this burger they just seemed to make no sense, the Big Mac sauce should be reserved for beef only. With everything I have said so far about the balances being all wrong for this burger, I do also wonder whether or not there is a certain familiarity in the traditional Big Mac that allows the Big Mac Chicken no chance. Seemed unfair to judge the patties in this stack below average because it was not the patties that ruined the flavour of the burger, it was the sauce and the bread.

The Taste: 6/20

Unfortunately not for me. My three bites was enough for me to throw this in the trash in the food court due to the completely incongruous flavours dismantling any chance of harmony. I have had some bad burgers and this is not a bad burger, it is just not the right mix of some of McDonald’s core components.

Our Verdict: 52/100

I think if you are looking for a quick burger to throw in your mouth whilst running through town, the Chicken Big Mac could be marginally satisfying. The convenience of an average grab-and-go burger can be appealing, and to quieten the kids up for 10 mins it wouldn’t be a bad shout. For my tastebuds, the balance of the burger is completely screwed, though the individual components are above average. Honestly, if you could have had this with mayonnaise and without pickles, this would have been low 70’s for me. McDonalds cater to a different audience of burger lovers, not to the real burger connoisseurs that you will find at Cheeseburgerme. Worth a try, but I would save this burger for my 6 year old, not myself! You should check out our Hit List and see our top contenders!