McDonald's testing 'gobsmacking' British-style burger

(Within the Empier blog/Burger Business)

McDonald's is piloting a new English-style pub burger in the US that comes complete with a translation of British English.

Perhaps riding high on the renewed interest among Americans in all things Britannia following the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the fast-food giant is reportedly testing out an English Pub Burger, made with a 1/3 of a pound of Angus beef, hickory-smoked bacon, white and American cheese, grilled onions, and Dijon mustard, all on an artisan roll, reports industry website Burger Business.

The British part of the burger? The addition of steak sauce, also known as brown sauce in the UK. The most popular brand of steak sauce there is HP, and comes with a picture of the Houses of Parliament on the bottle. HP Sauce is is made with malt vinegar, blended tomatoes, dates, tamarind extract, sweetener and spices.

First spotted by blogger Within the Empier who sampled the new product in Illinois, McDonald's burger ode to Britain also comes wrapped in exclamation-marked advertising that tries to emulate Brit-talk, with terms like "gobsmacked," "fancy" and "smashing," all of which come with translations.

The burger, which costs $4.49, won over Within the Empier, who says he ate three in one week.

As Burger Business points out, the marketing of a British sandwich is not unexpected, given that the chain currently has a promotion in the the UK and Ireland for US-themed sandwiches called "Great Tastes of America" that play on regional tastes like the Miami Melt, Chicago Supreme, Texas Grande, New York Classic and New Orleans Deluxe.

Likewise, Burger King recently offered the Spicy New Orleans burger in Germany and the Whopper Texas BBQ in Portugal, Burger Business reports.