Here’s What You Need to Know About Grilled Fast Food

Photo Credit: Chase Clausen/Shutterstock

Many fast food restaurants step up their grilled menu offerings for summer. But are the grill marks you see on the food really from sizzling on a grate over an open flame? It’s no secret that stylists utilize tricks of the trade to make food appear more appetizing in commercials, but what about in real life? Turns out, you might not be getting grilled meat at all. Here’s what you need to know about grilled fast food.

Faking the char

For consumers, it’s often about visual perception over the actual taste when it comes to grilled fast food. Food stylist Claudia Ficca shared with Thrillist that: “It’s important to see the grill marks [on food products] because that is what makes it ‘grilled.’ Even if the brand uses a smoke flavour and doesn’t actually grill the meat, in advertising and on packaging the grill marks work as a visual cue for the consumer.”

A lot of the frozen meat that ends up in chain restaurants goes through a branding machine that applies near-perfect grill marks onto the product before it’s frozen and packaged. These pre-made grill marks save time for line cooks in the kitchen, but give the same visual appearance to customers.

This philosophy extends past fast food menus to the frozen section of the grocery store, too. Many frozen foods are treated by the same branding process. But the next time you’re hitting the drive-thru, try these healthy alternatives.

The real grillers

Not all fast food restaurants use grill stamps on their patties. Burger King, for example, is one of the largest chains that flame-grills their beef—and has been doing so since 1954.

If you’re planning on grilling this summer, check out these 21 insanely delicious burger recipes. Plus, don’t forget to read up on the grilling mistakes that can make you sick.