It always seems like fast food is a total crap-shoot temperature-wise, doesn’t it? Hot and steamy? Cold and dry? Who knows!

But Big Macs are consistently luke-warm. Why is that?

If only we had a former McDonald’s chef like TikTok user Mike Haracz (@chefmikeharacz) to shed some light on the mystery.

Oh wait, we do!

He addresses a question that came through his comments: “Why are Big Macs not usually hot? Because lettuce and so on?”

“So, it’s a variety of things,” he begins.

“First of all, the Big Mac uses their 10 to 1 patties; those are not the ones that are cooked to order in the United States like the Quarter Pounder are – they’re their normal ones that sit in the UHC, so the universal holding cabinet where they are to be held warm. Now, they will not be as hot as if they are taken right from the grill and your burger is assembled, so they usually sit in that cabinet for a little while. In a good, well-run restaurant those are discarded after a certain amount of time but those that are looking to pinch pennies and save a little money, they will hold those for an extra amount of time.”

The other ingredients do, in fact, play a role as well.

“They temper their cheese, they let it sit out for ambient temperature so that it helps melt better, but it’s not hot, it’s not cold, it’s just room temperature. They’re adding refrigerated pickles, they’re adding refrigerated lettuce, they are adding ambient held temperature Big Mac sauce, so it is not hot, it’s not cold, it’s just ambient room temperature. And then they have their bun which is toasted, which should be warm but that cools off in a matter of seconds.”

“All those things combined are the reason why your Big Mac is not so hot. If you want a hot burger, you need to order the Quarter Pounder and eat it right away, otherwise it’s gonna taste like every other McDonald’s burger you’ve ever ordered.”

See his full explanation here:

@chefmikeharacz

Replying to @philipses Former #mcdonalds corporate chef talks about why your #bigmac isn’t so hot. #mcdonaldshacks #mcdonaldssecrets #mcdonaldsccsing #mcdonaldschallenge #mcdonaldstiktok #FYP #fastfood #fastfoodstories #fastfoodlife #fastfoodreview #fastfoodworkers #bigmacsauce

♬ original sound – Chef Mike Haracz

Some debated the merits of the sandwich itself:

Inevitably, fast food battle lines were drawn:

Does anyone remember the McDLT?

Chef Mike was a little flattered by all the attention:

Guess it’s tough to stay so hot.

If you liked that story, check out this one about a couple who forgot to turn off their ice machine and returned home after 4 months to find their freezer had turn into a frozen cavern.