McDonald’s and Wendy’s are ready to give away the whole hog.
The fast food giants are both squealing to be the first to give customers free bacon. Thankfully, there’s enough to go around for everyone.
From 4 to 5 p.m. Local time on Tuesday, McDonald’s will offer customers free bacon during the aptly-named “Bacon Hour.” Customers can throw their two free slices of Applewood smoked bacon on anything their heart desires, not just burgers. They can find out what happens when bacon and apple pie come together or perhaps even dip their bacon strips in a McFlurry. The entire idea, according to McDonald’s, is to let customers bring home the bacon, any which way they like.
The bacon promotion is to draw attention to three new, limited edition menu items that are arriving at McDonald’s later this week. They are Cheesy Bacon Fries, the Big Mac Bacon burger and the Quarter Pounder Bacon burger.
Wendy’s customers will have a little more time to enjoy their free bacon, but they’ll have to order it through delivery service DoorDash. For every $10 Wendy’s order, delivery customers can get a free Baconator cheeseburger with the code FREEBACONATOR. That’s a half-pound patty, cheese, and six crispy strips of bacon. The promotion runs until February 4.
So why all the free bacon? It seems McDonald’s idea for a Bacon Hour might have ticked off Wendy’s, which has bragging rights as the No. 1 seller of bacon cheeseburgers, according to a report by the NPD Group.
Kurt Kane, Wendy’s executive vice president, said in a statement that Wendy’s has “always owned bacon and that’s not changing because our competitors are throwing a happy hour to celebrate its importance.”
He added: “Bacon is at the core of what we do at Wendy’s, and we aren’t afraid to throw down the gauntlet.”
Your move, Hamburglar.