There’s a GQ going about the composition of McDonald’s burgers. It’s pretty much agreed that the company’s claims about it being 100% beef are probably beyond question, particularly given the glee with which Burger King and Wendy’s would report any findings to the contrary.
However, WHAT have they been doing TO this 100% beef to make it taste so TERRIBLE?
I swear, they used to be delicious.
Nowadays it’s just a salty, peppery, nasty mess! Even ketchup won’t help it!
Waddaya mean “now”?
Always, my leedle Junior Woodchuck!
No, you are entirely wrong I’m afraid. McDonald’s have, since the mid-70’s when I first had them as a small child, tasted like crap. I don’t know but I’ve always suspected they steam the patties much like Plankton at the Chum Bucket.
The fries rock, but the sandwiches suck.
I honestly don’t remember the last time I had a fast-food burger. I’m sure it was within the last 3 years, but I don’t recall it.
I’ll move this to our food and drink forum, even though McDonald’s hamburgers are not really food. 
Moved from IMHO to CS.
There’s some bad stuff going on in the food industry. Pre-basted turkeys were bad enough, but now they do some weird stuff to the pork at my supermarket as well. I would not be surprised to learn that they add some sort of “basting solution” to the meat to make it juicier.
I used to think they were delicious too. I suspect my tastes have changed. I still eat them once in a while, when I need something semi-edible, predictable, and fast.
I worked at McDonald’s for quite a while. 6-1/2 years actually but it helped pay for school. I used to love the burgers but can’t stand them now. I think the turning point for me was when they shifted to keeping the meat in the steam trays and assembling them to order. I think that is why I have always disliked Burger King burgers also.
The thing is, everything else on a Big Mac still tastes delicious, just as I remember it from my childhood: The special sauce, the bun, the little dehydrated onions. But the meat is gross. And I remember the meat being delicious in the past. Probably just my faulty memory, though.
I eat at McDonald’s burgers about once a year, and they seem to taste good at the time. Then I feel sluggish and gross for the rest of the day and swear off them for all time. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I do love Sausage McMuffins With Egg and the McRib sandwich, though. Total guilty pleasure food, emphasis on the guilt!
For awhile I thought it was just me. Their burgers absolutely do not taste the same way they used to. they’re just bland. Bland and…grey. I thought maybe my taste buds grew up along with the rest of me but then my kids started complaining about the taste.
I used to like the burgers too, but for the past couple of years, if it has to be McDonald’s, I’ll get the fish sandwich. Which is edible if it’s about 2 seconds out of the bubbling oil.
So they’re on a steam table now? That could be the problem. Seems like they’re smaller too. The regular burger doesn’t extend anywhere outside the bun anymore.
I have them about 2 or 3 times a year. I can’t resist the bargain of a 99¢ double cheeseburger, especially after losing all my money in Vegas. I think they taste like they did when I was a kid, only they were single cheeseburgers back then. Not great by any means, but tolerable in small doses. I’ll still eat the Egg McMuffins, the Filet of Fish, and the fries on occasion. And yeah, I feel a bit lethargic and queasy after eating there.
I agree. All of a sudden they’re just too salty and peppery. It’s not a matter of my tastes changing, I eat the plain burger often enough that I know they changed.
I wonder if it has anything to do with one’s region - it wouldn’t surprise me if they vary suppliers according to area. I’m in the Midwest. They really are much, much worse than they ever used to be. Pepper, salt, and underlying nastiness.
I had one this week for the first time in ages. I thought it was a fluke that it tasted so different but I see it wasn’t.
Some chains (like Hardees and Burger King) are serving Angus beef now. Maybe you had one of those and then went back to McDonalds.
About a year ago they bulldozed the McD’s around the corner from my apartment and built a brand new one on the same site. The burgers in the new place are much blander.
According to this thread, Angus beef can be better, but probably is only marketing when applied to hamburgers.
When I worked at McD in high school, the burgers were cooked *almost * to order. During busy hours, they would be made 12 at a time and would go in a warming bin, but were thrown out if they sat there for more than 10 minutes. Today, I can see that the meat is cooked ahead of time and kept in a warming tray until needed. subsequently, the meat tends to be much drier and less flavorful than I remember. The managers in my store used to make fun of Wendy’s for doing exactly the same thing that McDs does now.