As a bacon lover, I’m always on the hunt for the perfect slice – crispy yet tender, smoky and salty. And in my opinion, some of the best fast food bacon can be found at McDonald’s! Their applewood smoked bacon has just the right amount of fat, packs a ton of flavor, and adds the perfect crunch and smokiness to so many of their menu items.
But if you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered – what kind of bacon does McDonald’s use exactly? Is it available for consumers to buy? In this article, I’ll demystify the bacon at McDonald’s and share some tips on how you can recreate their iconic bacon flavor at home!
An Overview of McDonald’s Bacon Menu
Let’s start with an overview of how McDonald’s uses bacon across their menu. Some of the most popular bacon items at McDonald’s include:
- Quarter Pounder with Cheese Bacon – Their classic burger topped with a slice of crispy bacon
- Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles – Breakfast sandwiches with soft griddle cakes and bacon
- Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit – Flaky biscuit sandwich with bacon
- Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bagel – Bacon topped bagel sandwich
They also offer bacon as an add-on option for burgers, sandwiches, salads, and more It’s clear that McDonald’s leans heavily on bacon as a flavor booster for many of their most iconic and craveable menu choices
The Bacon McDonald’s Uses
So what is the exact type and brand of bacon at McDonald’s? Here are the key details
- Pork Bacon – McDonald’s bacon is made from pork, not turkey or other meats
- Applewood Smoked – The bacon gets its signature smoky flavor from being smoked with applewood.
- Thick Slices – Each slice of McDonald’s bacon is thicker than average fast food bacon.
- Pre-cooked – The bacon arrives at restaurants pre-cooked then reheated on the grill when ordered.
- OSI Brand – McDonald’s works with food supplier OSI Group to produce their custom bacon.
Buying McDonald’s Bacon in Stores
The bad news is that the exact OSI bacon McDonald’s uses is not available for direct purchase by consumers. It is a proprietary product made exclusively for McDonald’s.
However OSI does produce a line of bacon products under the Brand 77 label that are sold at some retail outlets. The applewood smoked bacon from Brand 77 would likely be the closest match you can buy in stores to mimic McDonald’s. But it still won’t be exactly the same.
Your best bet is to read on for tips on replicating the taste at home!
Tips for Making McDonald’s Style Bacon
While not identical, you can come very close to the McDonald’s bacon experience using grocery store bacon with these tips:
- Buy thick-cut bacon – Choose a pork bacon slab that is roughly 1/4 inch thick. Thinner bacon won’t crisp up the same.
- Use applewood smoking – Seek out applewood smoked bacon for the signature flavor. Or add applewood smoked salt to unsmoked bacon.
- Partially pre-cook – Frying the bacon halfway before finishing on a grill or oven will mimic McDonald’s process.
- Use lower heat – Cook the bacon at around 325-350°F instead of higher temps to achieve crispy but not burnt.
- Add seasonings – Sprinkle on a bit of brown sugar, maple, cinnamon, or thyme to complement the applewood.
- Drain excess fat – Remove some of the grease during cooking for a less oily bacon like McDonald’s.
With the right thick-cut, applewood bacon and using these tips, you can make McDonald’s-quality bacon at home! It may take some trial and error to perfect your technique, but you’ll end up with crispy, smoky, sweet bacon.
Top Uses for McDonald’s Style Homemade Bacon
Once you’ve nailed cooking up excellent McDonald’s-esque bacon at home, here are some of my favorite ways to use it:
- Breakfast sandwiches – Bacon, egg, and cheese on an English muffin or biscuit
- Burgers – Add crispy bacon to your favorite burger recipes
- Salads – Crumble over lettuce, veggies, eggs, and avocado
- Baked potatoes – Chop up bacon for loaded baked potatoes
- Mac and cheese – Mix into ooey-gooey mac and cheese
- Bacon and Brussels sprouts – Toss with roasted Brussels sprouts
- Pasta carbonara – Use in an indulgent carbonara sauce for pasta
- Bacon jam – Make a spreadable sweet and salty bacon jam
- Candied bacon – Coat with brown sugar and cinnamon and bake into candied bacon
McDonald’s USA breakfast menu doesn’t offer bacon on its most iconic sandwich.
Wendys recently announced it would be adding two new permanent English Muffin Sandwiches to the breakfast menu. An Egg McMuffin with Sausage from McDonald’s is one of them. It has sausage, a freshly cooked egg, and American cheese. The only difference between this Wendy’s sandwich and the other is that the bacon strips are used instead of the sausage patty. Its hard to say no to bacon.
It makes me wonder about McDonalds own McMuffins. When ordering an Egg McMuffin, customers in the U. S. have two meat options: a sausage patty or a circular slice of Canadian bacon. Why is there no option to order a McMuffin with regular bacon? That seems like a no-brainer, right?.
Which McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches contain bacon?
Things would be different if McDonald’s didn’t have bacon, but bacon is already on a lot of their menu items. In fact, some of their other breakfast sandwiches already have bacon on them. Advertisement.
There’s streaky, salty goodness on the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit, the Bacon McGriddles sandwich, and the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Bagel sandwich (but only in some stores). In 2018, bacon was also a key feature of the limited-time Triple Breakfast Stacks. If bacon is so plentiful at McDonalds, why doesnt it ever nestle into an English muffin?.
It turns out that bacon is present on McMuffins, just not in the United States. The McDonalds Canada menu features a Bacon N Egg McMuffin as part of the regular breakfast menu. And no, you smartasses, its not Canadian bacon up there, but rather the crispy strips. How ironic that the US is stuck with Canadian bacon and Canada enjoys the streaky stuff. Advertisement
It’s possible that the bacon strips cost more to buy and take longer to cook on the flattop. However, McDonald’s wouldn’t say anything about the lack of Bacon McMuffins, so these ideas are still just that—guesses.
You can make this breakfast sandwich at home, but there’s only one way to get what you really want at McDonald’s. Fair warning, though: itll cost you.
McDonald’s POV: Breakfast Grill (Sausage, Bacon, Eggs, Crispy Chicken)
Does McDonald’s have Bacon?
From breakfast to burgers, our tasty McDonald’s bacon makes everything better. Enjoy it on delicious sandwiches such as Quarter Pounder® * with Cheese Bacon and Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles®. Find a McDonald’s location near you and place your order from our full menu in the app using contactless Mobile Order & Pay^ for pickup or McDelivery®.
How many calories in a bacon McDouble?
You’ll want to double down on this one. The Bacon McDouble is made with two 100% pure beef patties seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper and topped with melty American cheese, thick cut Applewood smoked bacon, minced onions, tangy pickles, ketchup and mustard on a toasted bun. There are 470 calories in a Bacon McDouble.
What goes well with McDonalds bagel sauce?
The rich, tangy flavor of McDonalds Bagel sauce pairs well with an ice-cold Summer Ale or chilled glass of Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. This flavorful sauce goes great with so many of your favorite foods that you’ll want to make sure you always have some on hand. However, you don’t want to be caught waiting for the flavors to meld.
Does McDonald’s still sell bagel sauce?
McDonald’s Bagel sauce, aka breakfast sauce, became a victim of the pandemic when McDonald’s stopped selling this popular breakfast sandwich. Though recently spotted at a few locations around the country, McDonald’s has yet to say whether they’ll roll it out nationwide anytime soon.
Can you use dried dill in Mcdonalds bagel sauce?
Fresh minced dill is a crucial ingredient in McDonalds bagel sauce. If you can’t find fresh, you can use dried dill. However, be sure to reduce the amount by half and taste it before adding more because dried dill has a more intense flavor than fresh. I recommend using coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
What is a McDonald’s egg dish?
The other McDonald’s egg dishes are made from liquid eggs that contain additional ingredients, similar to the ones used in Burger King’s eggs, to create an egg-like texture and flavor, and to preserve the eggs, per McDonald’s.