I was eating Wendy’s chili for lunch today and was thinking to myself, “You know, this chili is quite delicious.” It was then that I noticed a giant chunk of beef which resembled the corner of a beef patty. It was also then that I remembered someone telling me that Wendy’s chili is made from unused beef patties from the day before. I decided to find out for myself.
According to employees who are quicker to throw their employer under the bus than Mike Vanderjagt, here is how chili is made at Wendy’s:
- All burger patties that were not sold, are broken, or burnt are collected and deposited into a bag. The bag is dated and put into a cooler.
- The next morning employees collect the oldest bag, rinse the meat in hot water, put meat in large pot of water and boil until it becomes granules.
- Meat is then drained and cooled.
- Employees then add a can of pre-made chili sauce from the warehouse, cans of beans, pre-made spice packets, and frozen veggies
- Scary part. According to most of the employees, that mixture is combined with yesterday’s chili. Most call it the “Eternal Chili Pot.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of fast food.. I know most if it is nasty, but I guess I just held Wendy’s chili to higher standards. Damnit.
Comments
2 responses to “Wendy’s Chili”
Yep, I worked at Wendy’s. This is true. We never boiled the patties in water, though. We just chopped up the patties and threw them right into the chili. I actually think it’s kind of a genius way of using up beef patties that got left on the grill too long.
We also threw out the chili every other night. No eternal chili pot for us!
Yep- made it that way in 1988 in Florida. Had a manager that used to take the cold, grease-congeald burgers out and eat them. Disgusting. Still love the chilli though.