McDonald's is saying goodbye to frozen beef in the Quarter Pounder

If you like your beef fresh and weighing four ounces, McDonald's will soon be offering what it hopes will be your dream burger.

On Thursday, the company said that starting next year, after using frozen meat for decades, most of its locations in the United States will grill up fresh beef for its Quarter Pounder burgers. McDonald's is trying to shake things up in order to appeal to customers who want their food less processed, and to bring some former fans back into the fold — McDonald's shared earlier this month that in the United States from 2012 to now, the company has lost 500 million customer transactions, The Associated Press reports.

McDonald's USA President Chris Kempczinski said this new version of the burger was tested for around a year in the Dallas and Tulsa areas, and the fast food giant found that customers ordered more of them and made more return visits. It's not known yet if the price will go up, and while the Quarter Pounder is getting the fresh treatment, other Mickey D staples, like Big Macs, will still be made with frozen beef.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up