Review of McDonald’s Festive Deluxe Burger
Website: http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/product_nutrition.beef.233.festive-deluxe.html
What they say:
‘Tis the season to savour our 100% beef patty with all the trimmings, like bacon, cheese, Batavia lettuce, red onion, honey BBQ glaze and a smoky peppered mayo, all in a cheese-toped bun.
Price: £4.19 for the burger only (price subject to variation).
Calories: 780 kcal.
McDonald’s launches its Festive Menu for 2013 and Burger Lad® was there on day one to check out the Festive Deluxe Burger. Joining this for the seasonal period is the Chicken Celebration and Cheese Melt Dippers.
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| Copyright McDonald’s 2013… |
I passed on the drive-thru today and decided to go on foot into my nearest McD’s (this one is definitely more expensive than some others I have known to frequent). Inside I waited a good five minutes to be served as there was one person in front of me. Yes this is the slowest McDonald’s in history.
No matter. I had plenty of time and once I received my order I trotted back to the fat-mobile and parked up in my secret burger location to film our latest episode of Burger Lad® TV which as ever you can see below.
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| McDonald’s Festive Deluxe Burger… |
Unfortunately as I waited I counted four of my festive friends already made-up waiting for the midday Maccies marauders. Again this didn’t faze me too much despite a whisper in the back of my mind… “burger slide”.
Let us now analyse this latest limited time offering from McDonald’s which I predict will be around until Wednesday 1st or 8th January 2014.
1.1 Price
At £4.19 this is quite an expensive High Street burger. Not as expensive as the Winter Whopper or Smokey Mountain Whopper but still a fair increase on the flagship Big Mac at approximately £2.59.
1.2 Calories
At 780 calories this has got bacon, cheese and a mayo variant pushing it up to nearly one third of a recommended daily intake for an adult male. Probably best to avoid eating them advent-calendar style leading up to Christmas day.
1.3 Packaging
I love McDonald’s promotional packaging. Blimey that is a sad statement in itself. For goldfish memory “reviewers” such as myself it really helps having that description on the box in-case you happen to feel the need to film yourself, in a car at lunch with a burger. The pictures of the ingredients on the side of the box are a great reminder in case they leave anything off!
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| I like the bag and the box… |
2.1 Bun
A cheese-topped bun never has a cheesy taste at McDonald’s and this was the case today. However it was very fresh, springy and held firm throughout. Good size too and perfect for the beef patty.
2.2 Beef patty
A good size – slightly blackened but not tasting burnt if that makes sense. Slightly dry but with a hint of beef flavour. If you had this with just the bun I’m not sure you’d finish it without the condiments and salad on-board but then why would you try?
2.3 Bacon
Didn’t really notice the bacon. However, it was there as I saw it halfway through the burger. If you’d told me it wasn’t on there I could honestly have said I would agree with you. Pigs in blankets on this next year please.
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| Despite the slide I was happy inside… |
3.1 Cheese
As this had been sat around for anything from 10-20 minutes (I hope no longer than this) there had been some of my living nightmare “burger slide” but it had melted nicely inside and despite not hitting you in the face with a cheesy taste is still always a firm favourite of mine. I would like to see one made-up fresh for comparison.
3.2 Batavia lettuce
Sat around for a while pressed up against the other hot (OK warm) components the lettuce looked sadly at me as I devoured the Festive Deluxe. Possibly an argument to bring back the McDLT.
3.3 Red onion
The onion on the Festive Deluxe was thick cut, a generous amount with not too much which had its distinctive flavour. Didn’t leave you driving away with onion breath. Really complimented the smoky peppered mayo (see 4.2).
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| At 780 calories this is not what you want in your advent calendar… |
4.1 Honey BBQ glaze
I wondered what was different about this “sauce” – I didn’t realise it was “honey BBQ”. That saying it was pretty tasty, quite thin compared to a regular sauce which is, I guess why it is promoted as a glaze. Assumption is that hams are glazed at Christmas hence the use of the description.
4.2 Smoky peppered mayo
Last but by no means least is the mayo. This was great and is the (Bethlehem) Star of the show. Really tasty, quite a kick and as stated in 3.3 really hit-it-off with the red onion. I’d like to see this feature on more burgers in the future please if possible. This sauce on a Big Mac with Bacon and red onion could be special.
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| In 2013 we coined the phrase “lifting the lid”… |
Overall the Festive Deluxe is a pretty decent burger and I would recommend trying it although mine had waited for me and was lukewarm. At the high-ish price and 780 calories I will not be participating again but I was very pleased to have been here on day one to try it. The bacon was lost but the real highlights of this are the red onion and mayo – it really did have a peppery taste.
We present you our Festive version of Burger Lad TV. Please note there may not contain anything festive in the actual video (that includes the burger):
Pros: Red onion, mayo, cheese, overall great tasting limited time promotion.
Cons: Price, waiting, calories, burger slide, bacon indistinguishable.
2013 has been the year of the burger and we’re feeling a bit of “burger blowout” and “patt-igue” so we’ll be taking a well-deserved break for a bit but do not fear… Burger Lad® will return.
Big love to my fans in the Ukraine!
And with that let us take one last look at the Festive Deluxe currently available for a limited time only at McDonald’s – we’re loving it.
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| The very latest High Street burger bling… |
Burger Lad®