McDonald's mashups: The best off-menu hacks on social media

Last week, US McDonald's added a handful of “hacks” to its official menu, including recipe-bending items like the triple-layered fish, chicken and beef patty Big Mac, a hashbrown-stuffed McMuffin, and a cheeseburger lined with chicken nuggets.

The food hacking hobby, which has blossomed on social media, is usually the domain of food bloggers . It’s where creative diners swap, stack, and freestyle their way to a unique order.

But the Golden Arches’ official hacks menu has been widely panned as inedible and grotesque, and criticised for the self-assembly still required.

Dive a little deeper into the #maccashacks rabbit hole, though, and there are plentiful golden nuggets to be found.

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Saving a few bucks is part of the food hacking appeal. A widely shared recipe for a "poor man's Big Mac" is to order a double cheeseburger and ask for it to be served with Big Mac sauce. The result is a close dupe (minus the middle bun of McDonald's iconic burger) for about half the price.

Likewise, a soft serve in a lid plus a $1 side of Oreos becomes a cheaper mini McFlurry (although soft serve can’t be sold at the Red traffic light setting).

But food hacking is driven by a hunger for novelty, with the most widely shared hacks on TikTok coming from current and former fast food employees themselves.

"People like feeling like they know secrets – things the regular crowd can't get," Kiley Libuit, the creator of Hackthemenu told the Washington Post. His website catalogues hundreds of hacks for major fast-food chains.

McDonald’s New Zealand spokesperson Simon Kenny has seen food fads like the popularity of southern fried chicken and waffles spawn takeaway variations.

“For a while there we had people ordering their hotcakes with a side of chicken nuggets. Or finding other ways to mix savoury and sweet, like dipping fries and hashbrowns into sundaes,” Kenny said.

Adding fries to burgers is another popular choice.

At $4, the McCafe espresso shot is one of the more affordable takeaway coffees on the market.

Dessert lovers have trialled-and-errored their way to Starbucks-esque creations with it, by pouring it over milkshakes, or on top of a soft serve in a lid for an affogato.

To DIY the classic Australasian kid’s treat, combine a $1 frozen coke with soft serve, and you’ve got yourself a spider.

Some hackers swear by simply ordering fries without salt (plus a salt packet in the bag).

Maccas keep their hot chips in a warmer, and swap them out in big timed batches. Nearing the end of a batch, you roll the dice on receiving the limp dregs. But because all the chips get salted together, ordering saltless guarantees they’ll come fresh out of the fryer.

However, the same can’t be said for the mythical steamed buns.

“People started ordering steamed buns in the 80s and 90s,” Kenny said, “because the burgers used to be made and then kept in a warming bin.

“People asked for steamed buns to ensure they got a fresh one, but that’s a legacy thing. Today, all the burgers are made to order, toasted or steamed.”

For the sauce lover: Add sauce and fries to the paper fries bag, and give it a good shake for an even tomato sauce-to-potato ratio.

Vegan and gluten-free TikTokers are repurposing the humble hash brown for their dietary requirements. Vegan cheeseburger? Swap out the beef patty. Gluten free burger? Swap out the buns.

Weird and wonderful creations, like 100 beef patties in a single order, are dime a dozen on social media, Kenny said, but done for the video views.

“They’re stunts. Very rarely would someone actually order that because it’s pretty hard to eat.

“Most people do it once, and then they go back to their favourite.”

But for the trailblazing few, the base McDonald’s products are simply building blocks to be incorporated with other food trends.

Like this Bobba tea McFlurry. Or a savoury breakfast McMuffin with a side of raspberry jam.

It could be said they’re loving it.

What’s the weirdest or best McDonald’s food hack you’ve ever tried? Tell us in the comments.