Big N' Tasty
The Big N’ Tasty is one of the sandwiches sold by the international fast food chain McDonald's. It is designed to compete with the Burger King Whopper sandwich.[1] A similar variation called the Big Tasty, without the center N, is sold in parts of Europe, South America and the Middle East.
Product description
The Big N' Tasty is a hamburger, consisting of a quarter-pound, or 4 ounces (110 g), beef patty, sesame seed bun, lettuce, tomato slice, mayonnaise, ketchup, chopped onions, two pickle slices, and grill seasoning. Cheese can be added on request.
The Big Tasty configuration is somewhat different, consisting of a third-pound beef patty, 5-inch sesame seed bun, square-cut lettuce, two tomato slices, Big Tasty sauce (which has a smoke flavor), sliced onions and three slices of Emmental cheese.
Variants
- Regional variants
- McOz - Beetroot, lettuce, tomato, onion, Cheddar cheese, ketchup and mustard.
Was available in Australia, now discontinued and replaced with McFeast Deluxe which omitted the beetroot and added mayonnaise and pickles. - Big Tasty - As above
In Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Italy, the Middle East, Mexico, the Netherlands (until the introduction of the Big Tasty Bacon in 2006), Norway, Czech Republic, Panama, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and Venezuela. Uruguay ads 1/3oz. of sliced onions to the original recipe. Limited availability in Poland. - In South Korea, presumably to cater to locals' preference of spicy food, the Big Tasty ("빅테이스티 버거") contains a hot "chili salsa sauce" (칠리 살사 소스), and therefore tastes quite different.
- Big Tasty Bacon - three strips of bacon are added.
Available in the Netherlands,Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Germany, Austria and in Sweden. Limited availability in Poland. - Chicken Tasty - Made with a chicken fillet, without the smoke-flavored sauce.
Available in Sweden. - In Spain is called McRoyal Deluxe or McRoyal Bacon Deluxe if served with bacon.
- Discontinued and preceding variants -
- Big Xtra - The Big Xtra included similar ingredients as the current Big N' Tasty. The sauce was a tomato flavored mayonnaise instead of separate ketchup and mayonnaise plus a special grill seasoning only used on the Big Xtra. The patty was a larger three-eighths pound, or 6 ounces (170 g), beef patty verses the quarter pound, or 4 ounces (110 g), patty found in the Big N' Tasty. This sandwich was quite popular in German McDonald's restaurants. This sandwich no longer sold in Canadian McDonald's restaurants, save for certain retail locations, such at the Wal-Mart locations.
- McDLT - The McDLT (McDonald's Lettuce and Tomato) included the same ingredients as the current Big N' Tasty.
History
The Big N' Tasty is the latest in a series of sandwiches that were designed to compete against the Whopper sandwich from Burger King.[1] The first sandwich in this line of products was the McDLT sandwich. The McDLT was sold in a novel form of packaging where the meat and bottom half of the bun was prepared separately from the lettuce, tomato, American cheese, pickles, sauces, and top half of the bun and both were then packaged into a specially designed two-sided container.[2] The consumer was then expected to finalize preparation of the sandwich by combining the hot and cool sides just prior to eating. The company discontinued the sandwich in 1990 to appear more environmentally friendly as it moved away from polystyrene packaging which was integral to the McDLT "experience".[3]
The McDLT was eventually succeeded by the McLean Deluxe in 1991. The McLean deluxe was a lower fat sandwich that included carrageenan to replace the beef fat in the patty and a low calorie mayonnaise.[4] While the sandwich tested well, it failed to catch on after the national roll-out and was discontinued in 1994 in favor of the new Arch Deluxe,[4] an adult oriented sandwich that featured a higher quality roll and a dijon mustard based mayonnaise. This sandwich was also unsuccessful and was discontinued in 1996.[5]
The Big N' Tasty was introduced in 1997 and was originally tested in the California market, while the Big Xtra was test marketed in the Northeastern United States as the MBX;[6][7][8] during the simultaneous testing phase, either one could be sold depending upon the test market.[9] The Big N' Tasty sandwich was phased in nationally 2000, displacing the Big Xtra in the United States.[9] The Big Xtra became the basis for the Big Tasty sandwich in some international markets markets.
Advertising
- The McDLT's marketing focused on variations of the theme "Keep the hot side hot, and the cool side cool." A 1985 commercial released to market the new sandwich featured a young Jason Alexander.
- The 2001 national introduction of the sandwich featured a campaign that starred NBA player Kobe Bryant.
- Due to its bigger patty, the Big Xtra was advertised as being larger than a Whopper.
International
The Big Tasty was first test marketed under a different name in a limited number of McDonald's restaurants in Sweden during the summer of 2003, followed by a national release during the autumn with the current name. In the UK, the Big Tasty launched in December 2003 with the advertising slogan "Sorry Yanks, this one's for us". It was phased out of all restaurants in August 2005 as part of the menu clear up that made way for the launch of the Deli Sandwiches. It was re-introduced to the UK menu as part of the LTO[clarification needed] program in the Autumn 2006. It was again introduced to the menu in the summer 2007.
See also
- McDonald's products
- Whopper, a similar product
References
- ^ a b AP Newswire (1997-07-02). "McDonald's hoping new burger a Whopper stopper". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
- ^ US 4653685
- ^ John Holusha (1990-11-02). "Packaging and Public Image: McDonald's Fills a Big Order". the New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
...the fast-food chain changed course, announcing yesterday that it would do away with its plastic foam "clamshell" hamburger box and switch to paper packaging.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Anthony Ramírez (1991-03-19). "Fast Food Lightens Up But Sales Are Often Thin". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
For its McLean Deluxe, McDonald's uses carrageenan, a seaweed extract, to bind water to lean beef to moisten what would otherwise be a dry patty.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Wally Bach (2003-03-17). "McDonald's: When the Passion is Gone, the Profits are Over". MondayMemo.com. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Burger King Taking on Big Mac". Meat Industry News Service. 1997-08-28. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
"In fact, it's even been dubbed as a potential 'Whopper Stopper'," restaurant consultant Dennis Lombardi of Technomic said of McDonald's "Big 'n Tasty," which is being tested in California.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "McDonald's Is Testing Another Big Burger". the New York Times. 1997-12-29. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
The company introduced the Big Xtra, a 4.5-ounce beef patty on a large sesame-seed bun, Friday in southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Kent and New Castle counties of Delaware.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Arthur Lubow (1998-04-19). "Steal This Burger". the New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
At the end of last year, McDonald's began regional tests of a new lettuce-and-tomato burger, the McDonald's Big Xtra or MBX.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b The Gale Group (2000-10-23). "McD's to test 'Diner,' kiosk; Big Xtra being axed". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
...the chain said it would replace the Big Xtra burger nationwide in January with a faster-selling quarter-pound burger called Big N' Tasty, now sold at more than 2,000 units.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)