McDonald's Rolls Out Fresh Beef Quarter-Pounders In NYC

NEW YORK, NY — New Yorkers in search of a fresh burger can now skip the line at Shake Shack and head to McDonald's. The fast-food chain is serving quarter-pounders using fresh beef without preservatives in 570 New York City area restaurants as of Wednesday.

McDonald's said in March that it would switch from frozen to fresh beef for its quarter-pounder and "Signature Crafted Recipe" burgers. The five boroughs get an early taste before the the burgers arrive at every restaurant in the 48 contiguous U.S. states by early May.

"We are proud to bring our customers a hotter and juicier quarter-pound burger at the speed and convenience they expect from us," McDonald’s USA President Chris Kempczinski said in a statement.

McDonald's says the fresh-beef rollout is the biggest change to its restaurants since it started serving all-day breakfast in 2015. It also gives the burger behemoth a menu item that competes with Shake Shack, New York City's darling fast-casual chain that says it serves fresh Angus beef.

The fresh burgers satisfied 90 percent of customers who tried them in Dallas and Tulsa, Oklahoma, McDonald's said.

(Lead image: McDonald's is now using fresh beef for its quarter-pounder sandwiches at all New York City-area restaurants. Photo courtesy of McDonald's)