Currently, McDonald's has committed to stop sourcing eggs from battery cages in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Latin America, but not in Asia.
Does McDonald's use Freshly Cracked Eggs? We use a freshly cracked, Grade A egg for our famous Egg McMuffin® sandwich. It gets its iconic round shape when we cook it on the grill with an 'egg ring. ' And that's just the start of your favorite morning sandwich!
All of the eggs on our menu - even those we use in coatings and dressings - are free-range.
“They come pre-cooked,” he says. “All we do is throw them on the grill.” Meanwhile, workers cook the round eggs fresh. As @ essentialmcdonalds shows in his clip, those eggs are made by simply cracking a raw egg into a circular mold on the griddle.
Cage-free eggs indicate that hens were not kept in battery cages, allowed instead to move about the egg production barn. But cage-free does not mean hens were given access to the outdoors. They were also likely stocked at high densities, meaning there was no limit to the number of birds in a given barn.
In fact, many scientific studies have shown confining hens to battery cages can actually increase the risk of salmonella. There's no nutritional difference between cage and cage-free eggs (though some people think cage-free eggs taste better).
Eggs laid from hens kept in cage-free or pasture raised environments aren't significantly more nutritious than regular eggs laid by hens kept in a cage, chicken researchers and dietitians say. "The bottom line is there is no difference," poultry specialist Darrin Karcher said of cage-free eggs verses cage eggs.
Folded eggs are pre-cooked outside of your local McDonald's and arrive at the restaurant in bags. They get heated up on a grill with a little bit of water and are stored in a tray until needed for a dish. In comparison, round eggs are made on site every day.
As a McDonald's supplier for nearly 25 years, Cargill was selected for the U.S. Supplier of the Year award for its leadership in supporting the launch and execution of McDonald's “All Day Breakfast,” and pledging to supply 100 percent cage-free eggs for dedicated supply by 2025.
Round Egg: We use a USDA Grade A cracked into an 'egg ring' to get that iconic round shape for our Egg McMuffin®. Scrambled Eggs: Our scrambled eggs are made with liquid eggs that are cooked fresh on our grill with real butter.
This includes reducing the levels of sodium, sugar and artificial colours and flavours in menu favourites such as Happy Meals; and leading the way with the move to 100% cage-free whole eggs and RSPCA Approved chicken.
Barn-laid eggs, sometimes also called cage-free eggs, are produced in a farming system that allows the hens to wander freely within a shed. Barn-laid eggs make up 10 percent of supermarket egg purchases in Australia. As with all egg production systems, barn-laid egg farming has both benefits and disadvantages.
Our smiley Free Range eggs are laid by happy country hens on farms with a maximum outdoor density of 1500 hens per hectare. That's over 6 times more space than the Australian National Free Range Standard Limit and lots of room to roam, peck and play with their friends during the day!
Making the egg “the McDonald's way” involves two simultaneous cooking techniques: frying and steaming. That is what gives the egg its soft, fluffy texture. Immediately cover the pan so the steam can build and help cook the egg.
As @ essentialmcdonalds shows in his clip, those eggs are made by simply cracking a raw egg into a circular mold on the griddle. Employees then pop the yolks and pour water on top of the grill, creating steam. The egg difference may be a secret to some, but McDonald's has long been transparent about it.
McDonald's source their (real!) eggs from poultry ranches, where the eggs are so fresh they are usually laid on the same day they are shipped off to the restaurants. The egg shells are cleaned at the ranch with a warmy soapy water solution.
“If you want real eggs on your breakfast sandwiches instead of the liquid stuff, you can put a round egg onto any breakfast sandwich,” former McDonald's employee Chuck Chan reveals on Quora. “Just ask for a 'round egg' on it.” Check out these other 17 things McDonald's employees won't tell you.
There are several reasons why McDonald's eggs are so good. Firstly, McDonald's uses freshly cracked eggs in their breakfast items, which means that the eggs are not pre-cooked or pre-packaged. This ensures that the eggs are fresh and of high quality, resulting in a much better flavor and texture.
If you want a real egg with your breakfast meal, there's your hack: just order a round egg on your sandwich or biscuit. It's easy and free of charge. The difference between the egg sheet and the real, round egg is in more than just the shortened ingredient list.
“We found that small changes, like tweaking our process to get hotter, meltier cheese and adjusting our grill settings for a better sear, added up to a big difference in making our burgers more flavorful than ever,” said chef Chad Schafer, senior director of culinary innovation of McDonald's USA, in a statement Monday.
As for the scrambled eggs, they're made with the same liquid egg mixture as the folded eggs, meaning that you can also find sodium acid pyrophosphate and monosodium phosphate in them to maintain their signature yellow color and fluffy texture.
So the results were clear: For the best tasting eggs, go for pastured chickens. Barring those, choose whichever eggs have the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Where flavor is concerned, it doesn't matter if the eggs are organic, cage free, or from a cage battery.
Egg quality and health
Numerous studies have found free-range eggs or cage-free eggs to have a healthier overall nutritional profile. Benefits found include less saturated fat and cholesterol, and higher levels of protein.
Pros of cage-free eggs
Cage-free systems provide hens with more space to exercise and opportunity to perform their normal behaviors—they can stretch out their wings and freely explore their environment. There is a wide variety of cage-free systems, with some providing better conditions for laying hens than others.