If You Want A Freshly-Cooked Burger At McDonald's, Here's The Only One You Can Order

When it comes the primary avatars of American restaurants, McDonald's is one of the first to come to mind. Famous for its salty french fries cooked to perfection, its iconic McFlurry dessert — now with new cups — and its once beloved all-day McDonald's breakfast menu option, the burger chain has long been a titan in the fast food industry. However, that doesn't change the perception of some who consider its cuisine to be substandard. One of the complaints some folks have about the restaurant is that nothing ever seems to be cooked fresh to order. However, there is one menu item people can rely on if that's a concern.

If you want a hot burger straight off of a sizzling grill, go for the Quarter Pounder with Cheese. The Golden Arches boasts on its website that its QPC is "100% fresh beef that's hot, deliciously juicy and cooked when you order." There are several McDonald's hacks that allow you to get something special made just the way you like it, but for a freshly grilled burger, this is the only choice. You may think preparing menu items fresh to order would be the standard for any burger joint worth its salt, but a quick look at McDonald's other burger options on its website reveals it makes no such claims about the QPC's counterparts.

Those unfamiliar with the inner workings of McDonald's are sometimes surprised to learn that when they put an order in for a cheeseburger, the patty was prepared ahead of time. A regular cheeseburger and the iconic Big Mac are constructed with frozen beef patties that have been pre-cooked and are held hot until ordered. This throws some folks for a loop, wondering why the restaurant wouldn't simply make everything fresh to order.

The reason is simple: time. McDonald's operates under a quick-serve system, meaning employees strive to get customers food as soon as possible. Consider that drive-through orders represent a compelling portion of the company's sales, and drivers looking for a fast lunch on the go expect a burger and fries to be served in a timely manner.

When you request a burger from a typical sit-down restaurant, it can sometimes take around 10 minutes for your food to arrive. Grilling a Quarter Pounder with Cheese likely doesn't take that long, but it does take significantly more time to make than pulling a fully cooked patty out of a warmer. Were the fast food chain to make everything on-demand, patrons would have to wait considerably longer. This would not only eat into profits, but also increase customer dissatisfaction. In a perfect world, every menu item from McDonald's would be made fresh, but as it stands, the Quarter Pounder with Cheese is the only option for folks who want their burgers cooked right when they order them.