The secrets McDonald’s employees won’t tell you – from the secret menu to how to get meals for less

McDonald’s employees have revealed some secrets about the fast food chain — and the little-known facts that may come as a shock to some.

Former and current employees revealed how to save money on your favorite meal, why you shouldn’t order apple pies and breakfast burritos, and how to make sure your meal is prepared “fresh.”

McDonald’s is the most popular fast food restaurant in the world, serving more than 68 million people internationally every day.

But only those who have worked behind the counter know exactly what is happening, how the food is made and what the benefits are.

For example, they claim that workers should wash their hands at least once an hour because gloves are believed to contain much more bacteria than fingers.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted McDonald’s for comment.

Ask for a ‘special’ request for a fresher meal

If you want to make sure your meal is cooked fresh and hot off the grill, employees recommend making specific requests when ordering.

One employee on Reddit said if you ask for no “grill salt” on the meat, the employees should “cook the meat fresh.”

“Even if you ask for no salt on the fries, they will have to cook them fresh,” the worker wrote.

‘And the Fries may not sit longer than fifteen minutes, but that is not strictly enforced.’

You can pay less for your favorite meal

Instead of ordering directly from the menu, the workers shared clever ways to save a few bucks on your meal.

US redditors claim that ordering a Sausage McMuffin with a side of a round egg is $1 cheaper than ordering a Sausage Egg McMuffin.

“This goes for pretty much all breakfast sandwiches,” the person wrote.

Sydney financial guru Queenie Tan, who also worked at McDonald’s, also previously noted that the McNuggets Happy Meal for kids and the McNuggets small meal for adults contain the same menu items.

But the Happy Meal for kids is $2 cheaper and costs $8.30, while the adult version costs $10.30.

“I worked at Macca’s and I learned that you can buy nuggets or a cheeseburger Happy Meal, which is the same thing but cheaper!

” Queenie, 26, wrote on Instagram.

Customers get a small fries, Big Mac special sauce and a small drink with both options, but the Happy Meal is slightly cheaper and comes with a toy or book.

Sydney finance expert Queenie Tan (pictured) revealed you can save $2 by ordering a McNuggets Happy Meal for kids instead of the small McNuggets meal for adults

There is no official ‘secret menu’

A Reddit thread from last year resurfaced titled “what’s really on the secret menu?” also delved into the less common menu items.

‘There was no secret menu, but you could ask for pretty much any combination of things and we’d make it at Maccas. The “pounder” was popular,’ claimed one worker.

“In all my years of working at McDonalds, there was never a ‘secret menu’. I honestly don’t know where that idea came from,” said another.

“If you ask for something that’s not on the menu, we may not know how to make it.” Just tell us exactly what you want; we will make almost anything we have the ingredients for,” claimed a third.

A customer also added, “Not a secret menu item, but if you add lettuce, tomato, and McChicken sauce to a quarter pounder, you’ll make yourself a McFeast.”

Avoid breakfast burritos and apple pies

It may come as a shock to some, but employees recommend not adding apple pies and breakfast burritos to your order.

Apparently, these two menu items aren’t as popular as you might think, which means the food can stay on the shelves for a long time.

Employees do not wear gloves

Apparently the staff are not required to wear gloves, but wash and sanitize their hands every hour.

Gloves can contain more germs than fingers if used incorrectly.

“Until recently, employees were not required to wear hair nets and did not wear gloves when handling raw food when working in the kitchen,” a former McDonald’s employee wrote.

But others claim they choose to wear gloves when handing out raw food.