The Angus burger (Burger King)

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The Angus Burger
Serving size 1 sandwich (273 g)
Calories 640
Total fat 33 g ( %)
Saturated fat 10 g ( %)
Trans fat 1.5 g
Sodium 1.26 g ( %)
Dietary fiber 3 g ( %)
Sugars 10 g
Protein 33 g
Source www.BK.com (PDF)
Notes May vary outside US market. US % Daily Value based on 2000 calorie diet.

The Angus burger is a burger sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King as an "indulgent product".[1] It is one of their larger, adult-oriented products made with higher quality ingredients than their "standard" menu items.

In North America the sandwich has been replaced with the Steakhouse Burger, which uses a larger square patty instead if the thicker, round patty found on the original sandwich. The sandwich replaces the raw onion with fried onion strings among several other changes. All variations of the sandwich use meat from Angus cattle.

The Angus sandwich is part of a series of sandwiches designed to expand Burger King's menu with both more sophisticated, adult oriented fare and present a larger, meatier burger that appeals to 24-36 adult males[2]. Along with the TenderGrill and TenderCrisp chicken sandwiches, these sandwiches are intended to bring in a larger, more affluent adult audience who will be willing to spend more on the better quality products[3]

Contents

[edit] Product description

The original sandwich has been phased out in the US and Canada. The new Steakhouse Burger has mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, A1 brand steak sauce, American Cheese and fried onion crisps served on the same style corn dusted potato roll.

The European and Asian versions of the sandwich are still made with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, steak sauce and raw onion, however local builds may vary in regards to size and weight of the patty and bun.

[edit] Variations

  • The Loaded Steakhouse burger - Mashed potatoes with bacon bits, cheese and chives, bacon, American cheese, A1 brand steak sauce and fried onion crisps.
  • The Angus with bacon and cheese - Bacon and American cheese are added to the main sandwich. This version has been discontinued as a main menu item, but it is still sold as a special request. In the UK this variant has natural, white Cheddar cheese instead of American cheese.
  • The Low-carb Angus - The bread and mayonnaise are removed and it is served as a small salad.[4] Created as part of the low carb movement.

Limited time offerings (LTO):

Regional variants:

  • The Three Pepper Angus Burger - cheese, peppercorn sauce, crispy strips of onion and pepper and sweet pepper.
    Available in the UK as an LTO product.
  • The Double Angus - two Angus patties.
    Available in the UK and Sweden
  • The Chorizo Angus - mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes, raw onion, chorizo sausage and a spicy steak sauce.
    Sold in the UK/Ireland as an LTO product
  • The Angus Six-pack - Six mini Angus burgers, two plain, two with cheese and two with cheese and bacon.
    Sold in the UK/Ireland[6]

[edit] History

The Angus was first introduced into the North American market in 2004. In 2006 it was added to parts of the European markets.[7]

The sandwich was first made with fire-grilled 1/3 pound (150 gram) patty, whole leaf iceberg lettuce, tomato, sautéed onion and steak sauce on a corn-dusted bun. The sandwich was reformulated to include mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, raw, sliced onion and steak sauce on a corn-dusted bun in 2006, most likely for either a cost cutting measure or product simplification. Beginning in January 2008, Burger King began to phase out the Angus burger in the US with the intention of replacing the sandwich with a newer Angus based product in the second quarter of 2008. In the interim, BK began substituting it with the bacon and cheese Whopper.

[edit] Advertising

[edit] US/Canada

  • Dr. Angus
Dr. Angus was a CP+B creation launched in 2004 to promote the new Angus line of Sandwiches. Played by comedian Harry Enfield, the character is a smarmy self-help "doctor" with gleaming white teeth and a starched toupee who encourages eaters to "sit down" and enjoy the BK's large Angus burgers. In 2006, the character was again used to advertise BK's new Cheesy Bacon Angus and TenderCrisp sandwiches.[8]
In addition, CP+B added a viral marketing web page The Angus Diet. Designed to work with the larger Angus campaign, this site featured the such things as the Angus diet testimonials, a faux diet book and Angus interventions. The "interventions" could be sent to people via e-mail by filling out several fields on the page. As CP+B stated: "They were a way of getting people to spread the idea of the basis of the Angus Diet - just enjoy life. Do whatever you want. Eat whatever you want as long as it makes you happy."[9]
  • The Western Barbecue Angus
In a cross promotion with the 2005 season of the Apprentice, the two teams, Magna and Net Worth, competed in a contest to design a sandwich for BK to sell. The wining product was the Net Worth team and their "Western Angus Steak Burger". As a promotional stunt, the new sandwich was introduced as a nation-wide, limited time offering the day after the episode aired. [5]

[edit] UK/Ireland

The Angus burger adverts featured a guy (actor: Sam Punter) asking for an Angus burger in a 'FastBurger' restaurant - a parody of McDonald's - the counter staff laughed presumably because he didn't think you could buy one in a fast food store. The news of the order reached the FastBurger headquarters during the journey up to the top (CEO) floor, the news spread and everyone associated with the fictional chain was laughing. The chairman was by now laughing after being told about the order on the phone and says "An Angus burger is he crazy"?!. An assistant gave him the morning Evening Standard paper and soon started coughing as the front page story reads 'Burger King debuts The Angus'. Then the camera pulls back through the office to reveal a real Angus Burger and the announcer says "The Angus Burger, only at Burger King".

[edit] Naming and trademarks

Burger King currently does not have any trademarks on the Angus line of sandwiches in the US, Canada, Europe or South Korea.

[edit] See also

Similar sandwiches by other sellers:

At this time, major fast food chains in the US, such as McDonald's and Wendy's, do not offer a similar product. Since 2006, McDonald's has test marketing their own version of the sandwich in several markets, including Chicago, Illinois and New York City. The test sandwich was offered in three varieties that had similar makeup of the standard BK version, the mushroom Swiss and the bacon cheese.[10] In Canada, the hamburger chain Harvey's sells an Angus burger on their menu, additionally McDonald's Canada introduced an Angus burger in May 2008.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "U.S. Restaurant Chains Find There Is No Too Much.", New York Times, July 28, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-12-03. "Restaurants say offering lumberjack portions of fat and sodium-laden food is giving customers what they want and providing them with choices. “Some of our most successful products over the past few years have been indulgent products, whether it be the TenderCrisp Chicken Sandwich, the Angus Steak Burger, the Chicken Fries product or the Stackers," said Russ Klein, chief marketing officer at Burger King." 
  2. ^ Bret Begun (2006-05-23). A really Big Idea. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  3. ^ The Gale Group (2004-08-04). Chains beef up with Black Angus. Nations Restaurant News. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
  4. ^ Burger King Angus Steak Burger with Bacon & Cheese - Low Carb Version. The Daily Plate. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
  5. ^ a b Trump, king of burgers: Burger King brings reality TV to your plate after the season three premiere of "The Apprentice.. CNN (2005-01-21). Retrieved on 2007-06-10. “The "Net Worth" team of "street smart" contestants won the meaty challenge against the "Magna" team of college-educated opponents with their " Western Angus Steak Burger" -- a burger loaded with three onion rings, cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce, lettuce and tomatoes, according to a Burger King spokeswoman.”
  6. ^ Gemma Charles Marketing (2008-05-08). Burger King To Offer Huge Burger Meant To Feed 6 People?. the Consumerist. Retrieved on 2008-06-01. “The 6 Pack, which costs £4.49 on its own or £5.69 as part of a meal, comprises one big Aberdeen Angus patty inside six rolls, stuck together to allow consumers to tear off portions. In one pair of rolls the burger is topped with ketchup, the second has a cheese topping, and the third bacon and cheese.”
  7. ^ Fast Food giant launches Aberdeen Angus burger. Life Style Extra (2006-11-22). Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
  8. ^ Newcomb, Kevin (2004-10-07). Burger King's Back With New Buzz. ClickZ.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
  9. ^ CPBGroup. Burger King Angus Interventions. Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
  10. ^ Lomax, Alyce (2006-12-07). McDonald's Angus Angle. the Motley Fool. Retrieved on 2006-06-10.