Why McDonald's Won't Serve a "Far Superior" Version Of Its Popular Hash Browns, Ex-Chef Says
To say that McDonald's fans adore the chain's Hash Browns would be a serious understatement. Some customers say it's one of the best items on the entire McDonald's menu, while others swear they're even better than the chain's famous French fries. However, a McDonald's insider just revealed that the chain could actually serve a "far superior" version of the already popular breakfast side, but won't do so in order to save time.
Mike Haracz, a TikToker and former McDonald's corporate chef, recently discussed a popular McDonald's menu hack for Hash Browns that has popped up on social media in recent years. Customers simply need to request their Hash Browns "well done" (aka have McDonald's cook them longer), if they want the absolute crispiest spuds possible.
Haracz raved that well-done Hash Browns are "far superior" to what McDonald's usually serves and encouraged fellow McDonald's fans to give the hack a try. So why wouldn't McDonald's want to serve those top-notch well-done Hash Browns all the time? According to Haracz, it all comes back to the fast-food business model.
Haracz explained that most fast-food restaurants want to serve as many people as they can, as quickly as possible. McDonald's is no exception to this rule. So the chain prioritizes cooking its Hash Browns quickly over making sure they're as delicious as possible, Haracz said.
"If any of you out there have worked at Hash Brown station at McDonald's, you know that sometimes it gets backed up quite a bit. So what's a great way to serve more people quicker? Just reduce the cook time of the Hash Brown even if there's a slight negative effect on the overall light appearance, flavor, texture of the Hash Brown."
McDonald's also knows that customers won't stop ordering the Hash Browns even when they aren't cooked as well as they could be, he added.
"People are still gonna buy it. Some folks might complain a little bit, but they can serve a whole lot more people in that breakfast time frame than if they cook them well done.
Haracz encouraged McDonald's fans to keep ordering their Hash Browns well done in the hopes that the chain will start making it a "regular thing." Still, he admitted that well done Hash Brown will "probably not" become the standard.
This is only the latest piece of exciting McDonald's insider info that Haracz has shared on TikTok in recent months. Back in July, for example, he revealed that he pitched an idea for a McDonald's breakfast sandwich that used Hash Browns as buns instead of English muffins or McGriddle cakes. McDonald's ended up shooting the idea down because "it's too many calories, it's too operationally complex, and too many people would order it," Haracz said.
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