13 Unique McDonald's Burgers You Can Only Try Abroad

McDonald's is reportedly the largest restaurant chain in the world, with Statista claiming that it has over 41,000 locations around the globe. McDonald's has had its share of failures, but one of the reasons for the franchise's success is that it adapts its menu to the culture and taste preferences of each country's market. This means that there are some McDonald's burgers that even the most passionate U.S.-based McDonald's burger fan might never get to try, since they're only available in one or, at best, a few countries, none of which are America.

Even if you were to go to one of the destinations on our list, you still may not be able to taste the burger that's most popular there, since many of the chain's most elaborate burgers are seasonal or promotional items. With that in mind, it's a good idea to check a country's McDonald's website to see which burgers are currently available. One thing is for sure, though: Whether they're only available in one country or several, for a limited time or all the time, these unique McDonald's burgers offer a flavor experience that could be well worth checking out during your travels.

The Kiwiburger (New Zealand)

New Zealand is known for its magnificent natural landscapes and interesting wildlife, but one other specifically New Zealand phenomenon is the Kiwiburger. A beef patty topped with cheese, an egg, and beets, along with garnishes like lettuce and tomatoes on a hamburger bun, the Kiwiburger is looked upon fondly by most New Zealanders. The New Zealand Herald, for instance, dubs it "a classic" and "full of Kiwi flavor."

That said, there's a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg phenomenon with the Kiwiburger. While it's a famous McDonald's menu item in New Zealand, it was actually invented by Bryan Old in 1976. A few years later, he would become a McDonald's franchisee and eventually convince the company to release the burger in its restaurants in 1991.

Despite its many fans and even a famous jingle, the Kiwiburger is a bit elusive, frequently removed from the McDonald's menu, and then re-released, sometimes years later.  While this could be bad news for anyone who desperately wants to taste a Kiwiburger while on a trip to New Zealand, there is some hope: you'll find versions of the Kiwiburger in all sorts of restaurants throughout the country. And if you live in or are headed to Australia, you may be able to try a variation on the Kiwiburger at that country's McDonald's. The McOz is the same burger but without the egg. Like its Kiwi cousin, though, the McOz is also often removed from the McDonald's menu and periodically re-released. 

The Shrimp Beef Burger (South Korea)

If you're a foodie, you may know that South Korea is home to some of the most creative menu items you'll find at international fast food or franchise restaurants, from Baskin-Robbins to Costco's Food Court. McDonald's is no exception. South Korea's McDonald's menu includes a number of unique and tasty items, one of which is the Shrimp Beef Burger, also called the Shrimp and Beef Burger.

This regular menu item consists of a beef patty topped by a crunchy, breaded, fried patty filled with shrimp, topped off by lettuce, tomato, and a special sauce, all on a sesame bun. As Tessa Nguyen, a chef and former South Korea resident, aptly puts it, the Shrimp Beef Burger is "Surf and Turf, McDonald's style."

The Samurai Pork Burger (Thailand)

No matter how much you might love a traditional beef burger, sometimes it's nice to change things up. Luckily, some McDonald's burgers in overseas locations replace the typical beef patty with a pork patty. If you happen to be in Thailand, you can try a pork-based McDonald's burger that veers off the predictable path in all ways except deliciousness. The Samurai Pork Burger features a pork patty covered in teriyaki sauce, for an intense sweet and savory flavor combination.

The "Samurai" in the Samurai Pork Burger's name references the legendary warriors from Japan, where teriyaki sauce originated. If you're wondering if there's an equivalent to this burger at McDonald's in Japan, there is ... sort of. The Teriyaki McBurger is a regular menu item at McDonald's restaurants in Japan that also consists of a patty covered in teriyaki sauce, but in this case, it's a traditional patty made of beef.

The McSpicy Paneer (India)

McDonald's restaurants in India feature the menu with the largest number of burgers you won't find anywhere else. That's because a large portion of the country's population either doesn't eat beef or pork, or is entirely vegetarian. When McDonald's branched out to India in the mid-1990's, the chain had to not only adapt its menu to local tastes, but also to these significant dietary restrictions. This challenge has led to a lot of creative (and delicious) results.

One unique burger you'll find at McDonald's locations in India is the McSpicy Paneer. This regular menu item features a patty made of paneer (a mild cheese that's common in many Indian dishes) mixed with spicy seasonings and fried until it's crispy. The burger is topped off with lettuce and a special creamy tandoori sauce. The end result is an amazing blend of flavor, spice, and texture.

The McKroket (Netherlands)

A common food in many countries, a croquette is a typically round or cylinder-shaped breaded snack with a crispy fried exterior and some kind of filling inside. Known as a kroket in Dutch, the croquette is particularly popular in the Netherlands, where the typical filling is beef and gravy. So it's only natural that McDonald's restaurants in the Netherlands serve a burger based on this beloved food.

The McKroket, a permanent menu item that the McDonald's Netherlands website calls "the real traditional Dutch burger," features a traditional-style Dutch kroket patty filled with beef and stew. It's topped with a creamy mustard sauce and served on a steamed bun. Most people who have traveled to the Netherlands and tasted the McKroket seem to love it, so if you're a McDonald's fan headed to Holland for a few days, you may want to give it a try.

The Bulgogi Burger (South Korea)

Another unique burger served at McDonald's outlets in South Korea is the Bulgogi Burger. McDonald's attempted its own interpretation of this iconic South Korean marinated meat dish for its local restaurants, but the eponymous burger doesn't exactly copy the dish that inspired it in the same way something like the McKroket does. 

A notable difference is that the Bulgogi Burger includes a pork patty, not the beef patty you'd expect. The patty is covered in typical bulgogi marinade, with a dollop of mayonnaise and topping of lettuce adding a pleasant and unusual contrast to the taste profile.

Many McDonald's customers seem to like the Bulgogi Burger, including Business Insider correspondent Kate Taylor, who tried it during a trip to South Korea and deemed it "a perfect example of how the chain has adapted the menu to win over locals — and a pretty tasty example at that."

The Big Tasty Mushroom burger (Saudi Arabia and Jordan)

Fellow mushroom fans can find their bliss at McDonald's restaurants on both sides of the world. A beef patty generously topped with mushrooms, emmental cheese, tomatoes, and what the restaurant describes as "a unique smoky flavored sauce," the perfectly named Big Tasty Mushroom burger is a permanent menu item in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. 

If you aren't planning to travel to either of these countries, there's still some hope. You can find another mushroom-garnished McDonald's burger at franchise restaurants in Costa Rica. Similar to the Big Tasty Mushroom burger, the Hongos Deluxe (Deluxe Mushrooms) burger features two beef patties topped with emmental cheese, mushrooms, and crispy onions. It's then drizzled in aioli sauce and served between two steamed sweet buns.

The Double Köfte Burger (Turkey)

In keeping with their strategy of putting their spin on local specialties, McDonald's restaurants in Turkey serve up the Double Köfte Burger. The burger features two marinated beef patties whose taste is inspired by köfte (or kofta, in English), traditional ground meat patties or balls popular in a number of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries, as well as Pakistan and India. This burger's name is often translated as the Double Meatball Burger, which makes sense, since the word köfte is considered an equivalent to "meatballs" in English. Fittingly, though, most Turkish köfte are closer in shape to handmade patties – albeit not the round, regularly shaped ones you'll find on your McDonald's burger.

The patties in McDonald's Double Köfte Burger are topped with lettuce, onions, and a slice of cheese, as well as two different sauces: an onion yogurt sauce and a spicy tomato sauce, perfectly capturing typical Turkish flavors. Interestingly, rival chain Burger King's Turkey locations also offer a köfte burger, with almost the same name: the Double Köfteburger. If you're in Turkey and craving some international fast food, it could be a fun (and potentially delicious) experiment to try each burger and see which one you like best. And of course, don't forget to try some traditional köfte at a local, traditional restaurant or Turkish fast food place as well.

The Big Beef Cheese burger (Ukraine, Romania, and Poland)

McDonald's cheeseburger fans looking for a new spin on their favorite menu item would be thrilled (though probably jealous) to know about the existence of the Big Beef Cheese. Also known as the Xmas Beef Burger at Romanian McDonald's and The Lumberjack Burger (Burger Drwala) in Poland, it features a beef patty topped not with a simple slice of cheese but a fried cheese patty. Garnishes include fried onions, lettuce, and a cheesy onion sauce.

While the Big Beef Cheese remains the same in its Romanian incarnation, Poland's take on the burger is a bit more elaborate. Served on a cheese and bacon bun, it comes with several different garnish options, including bacon, as well as either horseradish, spicy, or cranberry sauce. One version of the Lumberjack Burger even has chanterelle mushrooms mixed into the fried cheese patty.

The Veg Maharaja Mac and Chicken Maharaja Mac (India)

As its royal name suggests, the Maharaja Mac is supposed to be a big deal on McDonald's India menu. In fact, it's the equivalent of the Big Mac, which isn't sold at McDonald's in India. The Maharaja Mac comes in two varieties: the Veg Maharaja Mac features two corn and cheese patties, with cheese, onions, jalapeno peppers, lettuce, and cocktail sauce as garnishes. The burger's other version, the Chicken Maharaja Mac, replaces the veggie patties with chicken patties, and swaps out the cocktail sauce for habanero sauce.

Coming up with the flavor profile and ingredient sourcing for the Maharaja Mac apparently took a long time compared to many other menu items, but both versions of the burger continue to be popular in India today, so it seems like all that hard work was worth it. If you're in India and have a hankering to try a Maharaja Mac, you're in for a unique taste experience. Just a word of caution, though: Like its cousin the Big Mac, the burger is enormous and hard to bite into, with lots of sauce and garnishes falling out along the way. So bring your appetite ... and be sure to grab a few extra napkins, too.

The Prosperity Beef Burger (Singapore)

A seasonal item that McDonald's Singapore describes as a "fan favorite," the Prosperity Beef Burger was released to ring in the new year, as its aspirational name suggests. The burger consists of a beef patty generously slathered in a black pepper sauce and garnished with onions. If you'd like to add an additional taste and texture, McDonald's Singapore also offers the Fortune Prosperity Beef Burger, which is the same as its fellow seasonal item the Prosperity Beef Burger, only topped with a thin egg patty.

Several other Asian McDonald's locations offer versions of these seasonal burgers, too, although sometimes they're more similar in name than in flavor. For instance, while McDonald's Golden Prosperity Burger in Malaysia is more or less identical to the Prosperity Beef Burger, the Golden Prosperity Burger on offer in South Korean McDonald's restaurants features additional garnishes, like lettuce, and a pork patty — rather than a beef one — that many fans say resembles the McRib. And rather than black pepper sauce, it's covered in a garlic sauce.  McDonald's menus in South Korea also include a seasonal Prosperity Gold Special Burger, with a hashbrown patty added to the top.

The Boerie Burger (South Africa)

A permanent menu item at McDonald's South Africa locations, the Boerie Burger is the chain's homage to one of the country's most iconic foods. "Boerie," short for "Boerewors," is a sausage that's a favorite at barbecues, one of South African culture's most cherished social events. Boerie is usually made with a combination of different meats, including beef and pork. Seasonings can vary depending on the cook. Typical choices include coriander and nutmeg, among other spices. 

McDonald's Boerie Burger transforms the sausage into a beef patty seasoned like a typical boerie. The focus of the burger is definitely the patty, with only basic ketchup, mustard, and onions as garnishes. The chain also makes two Boerie breakfast burgers, the Boerie and Egg Burger, which adds an egg patty to the basic Boerie Burger, and the Boerie and Hash Brown Stack, which adds a hash brown patty and changes the sauce to a jalapeño sauce.

The Big Rösti (various European countries)

Its sheer popularity and presence at a number of European countries' McDonald's locations might not technically qualify the Big Rösti as the most unique burger on our list, but it definitely stands out from the usual McDonald's offerings, not to mention the traditional concept of a burger where the potato side would be, well, on the side. A beef patty topped with a hashbrown patty (known as a "rösti" in many European languages), the Big Rösti is most commonly served with bacon, cheese, and a creamy sauce, on a cheese and bacon bun. 

You can order it at McDonald's restaurants in Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Slovenia, and Bulgaria, and you'll find it under a different name, "Swiss King," at McDonald's in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In addition to the classic Big Rösti, Serbian and Bulgarian McDonald's offer a version that includes jalapenos as well.

Despite its popularity, the Big Rösti is a seasonal item, only released in the winter.  But if you can't make it to Europe during that time, you may still have a chance to try something similar. Some McDonald's burgers, including a few on our list, have gotten the "rösti" treatment in recent years, with an option to add a hashbrown patty to them.

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