I’ll come clean right off the top… I’m not a huge fan of overly spicy breakfast foods. Especially dishes that in my mind would be improved by dialling them a couple of settings to make them swavoury… Or even swicy…
Spicy Ham & Egg McMuffin: Might be just what you were
looking for a zippy, new, wake-me-up breakfast!
The one excep-tion to this rule might be West African Shakshuka. But even with it, I am such a big fan of spicy heat as many others. Nevertheless… I draw a line before we get to the muffins. No burning heat for me here, for sure. But go ahead and make them interesting!
I will actually specify that I prefer my morning stuff swavoury. Like breakfast sausages or bacon with honey on them. Or whipped Maple Butter!
So I’m taking a chance on today’s post titled: McDonald’s Is Turning Up the Heat on Breakfast
There versions…
The new McMuffins come in three versions (which for some reason, Fast Food purveyors are now calling ‘builds’).
Behold the new Spicy Egg McMuffin, Spicy Sausage McMuffin, and Spicy Sausage McMuffin with Egg. All three come with a new, ‘purpose-built’ spicy sauce.
It’s the first time McDonald’s signature Spicy Pepper Sauce has been offered so early in the day. It was actually featured previously on McDonald’s Spicy Chicken Sandwiches.
Mc50th observations
The new spicy variants are an appropriately showy way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the McMuffin!
David Peterson, the son of the sandwich’s creator, reflected on its legacy in a statement of the brands 2025 intentions back at the beginning of the year: “When I watched my father introduce this idea [of the Original McMuffin] to Ray Kroc, we could not have anticipated it would become the foundation for the renowned McDonald’s breakfast menu…”
McDonald’s USA President Joe Erhlinger echoed Peterson’s sentiments: “Breakfast isn’t just a meal; it’s a cherished tradition and cornerstone of our brand…”
Well… I might not go that far, but the McMuff was – and remains – an original concept and a true, instant classic. And I’m sure there are people who will love the spicy versions – even prefer them to the original!
My take
McD’s underlines it’s the first time the brand as experimented with spicy-hot flavour at breakfast. On balance, I do expect the spicy McMuffins will prove successful. Even a jumping-off place for additional swavoury / swicy and who-knows whatsy creations based on the exceptionally egg-friendly egg-friendly biscuit and English Muffin.
We’ll all just have to stick around and see. Even if all of us don’t actually try the new menu items…
~ Maggie J.’s