McDonald's Is Testing Out Fresh, Never-frozen Beef Patties

.@McDonalds is testing fresh #beef in Dallas. Too early to say if this means an end to frozen patties. https://t.co/R0q8GABTXx #fastfood

— AP Business News (@APBusiness) May 12, 2016

Business Insider — McDonald’s is testing fresh, never-frozen beef patties at restaurants in Dallas.

The test is limited to just 14 restaurants, but it represents the biggest potential change to McDonald’s menu in decades.

McDonald’s has long relied on an extensive network of suppliers who make, freeze, and ship beef patties to its more than 14,000 restaurants in the US.

Expanding the test would require a massive shake-up to its supply chain.

The test, first reported by Jonathan Maze at Nation’s Restaurant News, is limited to Quarter Pounder patties used in the Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Bacon Clubhouse and the Homestyle Burger, which is a regional burger in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

McDonald’s spokeswoman Lisa McComb said it’s too early to tell whether the test will be expanded.

Get the fuck out of here McDonald’s. I’m not buying this for one second. Not one. This is all PR, no substance. Do I believe they’re using fresh, never-frozen beef patties at a couple Micky D’s in Dallas? Sure. Of course they are. But they’re doing it with absolutely ZERO intention of ever expanding this absurd practice to a large scale. It’s ALL PR.

A little leakage about a “test” and all the sudden all the legitimate news websites in the world — Business Insider, Barstool Sports — have worked “McDonald’s” and “fresh” into the same headline. Into the same URL. Their profit margins will drop for a few months in Dallas while they run this “test.” Who cares. For this short time, a few people that are usually turned off by the thought of “McDonald’s” and “how my body will respond for the 48 hours afterwards” just might be swayed by that “McDonald’s” and “fresh beef patties” headline they read earlier.

Too easy. McDonald’s is like the Trump of fast food. Always ahead of the game no matter what it takes. We know they’re perpetually going to crank out billions of frozen beef patties that will engage in all-out war with our intestines. But we’re still willing to give it a shot and always will be. If you can combine great marketing with a decent product, you can grow and grow and grow. One month it’s all-day breakfast. Next month it’s Monopoly. This month it’s the allure of fresh, never-frozen beef patties that we 100% know do not and never will exist.

Touché, McDonald’s. Touché.