The McDonald's Breakfast Sandwich Hack That Will Never Make It To The Official Menu
A new McDonald's hack is circulating TikTok: A sausage, egg, and cheese McMuffin, but sandwiched between two hash browns instead of an English muffin. To order this off-menu item, you go up to the counter and, very nicely, ask the staff for a sausage McMuffin with egg and sub the muffin for hash browns. The original TikToker who posted this creation mentioned that the workers at his McDonald's were reluctant to make the custom order, and he offered to put the sandwich together himself. Why is this such a sensitive order? Chef Mike Haracz, one of the corporate chefs at Mcdonald's from 2015 to 2019, stitched the video to explain.
When Haracz was working for the fast food chain, he also wanted to put this on the menu but was told no. It had too many calories, it was too "operationally complex," and too many people would order it. It would "make the kitchen crash and burn." For something that's more than halfway to New Zealand's Big Brekkie Burger, commenters far and wide — understandably — had a lot of questions.
What's the big deal?
What makes this dish so difficult to put together? Workers and ex-workers of Mcdonald's weighed in to answer. The McDonald's kitchen layout, which is organized to maximize efficiency for existing menu items, keeps the fryer on the other side of the room. Getting the hash browns to the sandwich assembly station would take workers away from their stations, slowing down production. According to one commenter, it's already hard enough to get hashbrowns cooked during a very busy rush — and as another points out, potatoes have a short shelf life once cooked, so they'd all have to be made to order.
@chefmikeharacz #stitch with @Diegos_eats They didn't let me have any fun. #McDonalds #mcdonaldsbreakfast #mcdonaldsbreakfastsandwich #mcdonaldshashbrowns #mcdonaldssausagemcmuffin #SausageMcMuffin #sausagemcmuffinwithegg #McMuffin #EggMcMuffin #fastfoodbreakfast
With how popular this idea is in both videos' comment sections, the concern that too many people would order it seems accurate. And with such high popularity, the operational concerns compound. Multiple people who work or have worked in the kitchen at a McDonald's corroborate Mike Haracz's claim that the kitchen would crash and burn.
Given the loud outcry from McDonald's workers over the chaos this innocuous-seeming sandwich has induced, there's an easy trick to ordering this gluten-free McMuffin. Your best bet is self-assembly. Never ask the kitchen to assemble it for you during a rush, either at the counter or the drive-thru. Two hashbrowns, please, and a sausage McMuffin with egg — hold the muffin. You'll take care of the rest, and thanks so much.