{"id":5335,"date":"2026-03-30T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=5335"},"modified":"2026-03-30T08:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:00:12","slug":"mcdonalds-japan-releases-intense-mcpork-burger-prompts-michelin-chef-to-create-jam-hack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=5335","title":{"rendered":"McDonald\u2019s Japan releases \u201cintense\u201d McPork burger, prompts Michelin chef to create jam hack"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Can Japanese jam really get this burger out of a jam?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

After a five-year hiatus, the McPork made its grand return to the menu at McDonald\u2019s Japan in February<\/strong>, and since then it\u2019s been generating a fair amount of buzz for its affordable 230-yen (US$1.44) price point\u2026 and its intense flavour<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In fact, the flavour is so strong that Shusaku Toba<\/strong>, a Japanese chef who held a Michelin star<\/strong> for his restaurant Sio<\/strong> in Tokyo\u2019s Yoyogi-Uehara for two consecutive years, came out with a hack to balance out the taste<\/strong>. According to Toba, his simple hack might be the most delicious McDonald\u2019s creation ever, a claim so great that our fast food-loving reporters Go Hatori and Mr Sato decided they had to try it.<\/p>\n

\u25bc The first thing you\u2019ll need for this hack is, of course, a McPork.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Given it had been years since they\u2019d last had a McPork, our reporters decided to eat one totally unadulterated to find out if the flavour really was as intense as everyone had been saying. Though they had an idea that it was going to be rich, nothing could have prepared them for the crazy amount of flavour that flooded their taste buds upon first bite, as it was intensely seasoned, largely due to the garlic pepper sauce inside the burger.<\/p>\n

It seemed like a burger that definitely needed a slight tweak to round out the flavours, and according to Chef Toba, you need just one simple product to do just that.<\/p>\n

\u25bc Apple jam<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Apple has long been a tried-and-true classic pork pairing in homes and restaurants, but for some reason, we\u2019d never have thought to add it to a McDonald\u2019s burger.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Keen to find out what the resulting flavour would taste like, our reporters slathered a generous amount of the jam \u2013 Toba recommends the Aohata brand seen here \u2013 on to the patty\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u25bc \u2026and then popped the top bun back on, making this one of the easiest hacks in food history.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Upon trying it, our reporters found it to be significantly milder and tastier than eating it plain<\/strong>. The garlic pepper sauce, which had previously seemed a bit harsh, became much smoother, and the flavor of the pork patty itself became much more apparent.<\/p>\n

\u25bc The key to this hack, according to Chef Toba, is to be generous with the jam <\/strong>so it doesn\u2019t end up being overpowered by the garlic pepper sauce.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As a licensed chef, Go\u2019s opinion is held in high regard around the office, and this is what he had to say about the hack, and the McPork itself.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe modified version is considerably milder. It\u2019s much easier to eat. But even so, the original McPork is way too rich. Are people still eating it in this day and age?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mr Sato, whose foodie credentials include eating melon buns as big as his face<\/a> and putting a dent in a Whopper with 1,000 slices of cheese<\/a>, had this to say:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI get what Chef Toba is going for \u2014 his instincts are spot on. But honestly, the McPork is just way too strong in flavour, so it might actually taste better if you scrape off about half the sauce beforehand.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Though both our reporters agreed that Toba\u2019s hack was indeed a good one,\u00a0what really stuck with them was the richness of the McPork. <\/strong>Whether this richness is a good or bad thing, well, that\u2019s up for debate, but for our reporters, you can\u2019t go wrong with adding apple jam to the burger, especially when it\u2019s from a Japanese jar with a magical self-closing lid<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related:<\/em> Twitter\/@pirlo05050505<\/a>, McDonald\u2019s Japan<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/span>Photos \u00a9SoraNews24<\/em>
\n\u25cf Want to hear about SoraNews24\u2019s latest articles as soon as they\u2019re published? Follow us on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Can Japanese jam really get this burger out of a jam? After a five-year hiatus, the McPork made its grand return to the menu at McDonald\u2019s Japan in February, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5335\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}