Ryuji Recreates the McPork He's "Eaten 250 Of" at Home: Generic McPork and McPork Rice Bowl

According to Ryuji, McPork was originally a 100-yen menu item, and because they ate nothing but cheap food during a period when they had no money, they've eaten at least 250 of them in total. Incidentally, Ryuji also says they've eaten more than 500 bowls at the beef bowl chain Sukiya. They recall that a regular hamburger cost around 80 yen back then, and even so, they felt McPork was "way better" than the hamburger. The current price is 230 yen.

According to the staff, this is its first return in five years, and it was apparently also sold once five years ago. Ryuji was already working as a culinary researcher by then and wasn't eating McDonald's, so they didn't know about that previous revival.

Opening up the reheated McPork, Ryuji notes that the patty is the same one used in the Teriyaki McBurger. What Ryuji praises most is the sauce, describing it as a strongly aromatic flavor like a combination of garlic, pepper, and teriyaki sauce. Ryuji is enough of a pork patty fan that they named the Teriyaki McBurger the best in a previous McDonald's championship, so they say "of course this one's good too."

Ryuji describes the patty as softer and juicier than beef. Asked whether the taste has changed from the old days, Ryuji answers that it seems better than before, citing the amount of sauce as the reason. In Ryuji's memory, there didn't used to be much sauce, but this time "there's twice as much as before." The rating: "S by my standards."

Ryuji also tries the Crème Brûlée Hot Donuts, released at the same time. They're a limited-time item at 260 yen for three pieces, more expensive than the McPork. Ryuji remarks that they have a sweet aroma like custard cream and smell like the churros at Disneyland, but the verdict after eating is "They're average." Ryuji says frankly that they're expensive so they personally wouldn't get them, and gives them a B.

The whole staff, including Taisho, who says they don't usually eat McDonald's, tasted the McPork. In response to someone saying "Was it always this good?", Ryuji says that back then they ate it because it was cheap and decent, but today's McPork might actually be good. The staff also commented that it didn't used to have this much sauce, and that, to put it bluntly, it used to feel a bit cheap. One staff member said they were a chicken person back in the 100-yen days, and overall the consensus was that it "has leveled up."

At this point, Ryuji proposes recreating it at home. McDonald's beef patty can be pretty closely replicated by just flattening and grilling ground beef, but the pork patty needs to be kneaded, Ryuji says. Tasting it, it's soft, which wouldn't happen from simply grilling pork, so Ryuji speculates there must be some secret to the patty. While the beef is dry, the pork is very juicy, and Ryuji's assessment at this point was that it might contain potato starch or a binder like milk, as in a hamburg steak.

If you know how to make it, you can mass-produce it at home as much as you want, and enjoy it in ways like a McPork Rice Bowl. The fact that there's no telling when McPork will be discontinued again is also given as a motivation for the recreation.

Ryuji reveals that the recreation took three days. It didn't come together on the first try, and both the patty and the sauce were difficult. The first attempts were apparently too salty or lacked enough ginger. While you could just buy it for 230 yen, the advantage of making it yourself is that you can eat a big patty, Ryuji says.

In the course of researching, Ryuji found out that the patty in the breakfast menu's Sausage Egg McMuffin and the Teriyaki McBurger patty are the same. The pork patty seems to be used in the breakfast menu and other burgers too, and since Ryuji considers this pork patty the best thing at McDonald's, they say being able to recreate it alone is worthwhile. It also came up that sandwiching it with egg and sausage would make something like a Sausage Egg McMuffin, and that you could probably make a Teriyaki McBurger as well.

The ingredients are ground pork, two slices of thick-cut bread (sliced six to a loaf), garlic and ginger, and a "token amount" of lettuce. One serving is a generous 120g of ground pork, and this time Ryuji makes two servings with 240g. Ryuji cautions that ground meat spoils more easily where it's touched by hand, so it's better not to touch it directly.

Ryuji's view is that the slight crispness around the edges of the original patty comes from potato starch, so they add 2 teaspoons of potato starch for two servings. Then, mixed in: 2 teaspoons of water for juiciness, 1 teaspoon of sugar because a touch of sweetness makes it delicious, 2/3 teaspoon of salt, 10 shakes of garlic powder, 6 shakes of pepper, and 6 shakes of Ajinomoto, which is "definitely in the patty." The original apparently contains various spices such as nutmeg and red chili pepper, but at a minimum this is enough, Ryuji says. The garlic punch comes from the grated garlic in the sauce.

For shaping, divide the mixture in two, and the key is to make them as thin as possible. Thinner makes it more like a McDonald's patty, and it's good to flatten them once and then tidy up the shape. Since the original patty also stuck out past the bun, make them flat and on the large side as well. It was also suggested that making these and bringing them to something like a cherry blossom viewing party would be a hit.

For two servings of sauce, combine 2 teaspoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 4 tablespoons of mirin, water, 10g of grated garlic, 10g of grated ginger, 12 shakes of Ajinomoto, 1 teaspoon of potato starch for thickening, and black pepper. The original sauce was sweet, so Ryuji adds sugar, and they make extra because unlimited sauce is better. Ryuji felt the garlic was more pronounced than in the version they ate long ago, and the ginger is also key to the spiciness. If you're only making one, half the amount is fine.

As finer points, Ryuji notes that sugar settles at the bottom, so scrape it out thoroughly when transferring, and that the potato starch sinks, so mix well. Ryuji says you need to add the full 12 shakes of Ajinomoto or it won't become that sauce, and that adding quite a lot of black pepper, "about three times more than you'd think," makes it more McDonald's-like.

Toast the bread. Add a little oil to a frying pan and cook the patties while pressing them lightly. Because of the potato starch, they get a sear like the original. It's fine to remove the fat rendered from the ground meat, and Ryuji stresses that since it's pork, it should be cooked all the way through. The aroma comes from the garlic powder and pepper, and since some people have nutmeg at home and some don't, Ryuji says to add it to taste.

Once the patties are out, wipe the pan, add the sauce, and heat it. The aroma of garlic, ginger, and black pepper gives it the "right" smell, and the potato starch thickens it. Ryuji says this sauce can also be used as a hamburg steak sauce, and you could even serve it with the patty as a pork hamburg steak. Ryuji also said they do the Generic series because it's fun for them, and that the process of working out the flavors is really enjoyable.

For the burger, place the toast on parchment paper, add the patty, a token amount of lettuce, and plenty of sauce, sandwich it, and wrap it in the paper. For the rice bowl, layer rice, lettuce, and the patty, then pour over the sauce. Ryuji says you can fit more lettuce with rice. You can add a fried egg if you like.

Everyone who tried the Generic McPork agreed in unison: "That's exactly it." The feel of the sauce the moment you bite in is exactly McPork, and the patty is pretty close too. Ryuji rates their own sauce as "almost perfect" and reflects that it was super easy to make.

Next came the McPork Rice Bowl, and the reactions grew even bigger. People said "Does rice really go this well with it?" and "It's better with rice," and Ryuji went as far as saying McDonald's should offer a McPork Rice Bowl, getting excited with the staff that "it's an invention." Ryuji also said "It's so good it's beyond being a generic or anything like that" and "It might be the best ever in the Generic series." Since it's originally a spicy teriyaki flavor, Ryuji thought it would go well with rice, but the match was better than expected. Ryuji also expressed surprise that a pork patty could go this well with rice. It was also said that if kids ate it, they'd probably beg you to make it every day.

On the other hand, Ryuji adds that the only oil is what comes out of the meat and there's no mayonnaise, so it's not as junky as it looks. Ryuji recommends making a double batch and eating both the burger and the rice bowl, especially recommending the rice bowl, and wraps up with the verdict: "The generic McPork is good too, but as a rice bowl it's insane."