NEW YORK Burger King showed off its new batch broiler equipment this week, which allows the fast-food chain to expand its menu with items like its new Steakhouse XT burgers and "fire grilled" ribs.
The Miami-based company recently completed rolling out the new equipment to its North American system and on Monday introduced the premium burger line nationally.
“This new broiler is a game-changing piece of equipment and a significant point of differentiation for us,” John Schaufelberger, Burger King’s senior vice president for global product marketing and innovation, said in a statement.
Burger King said it was testing several other items with the new batch broilers, including stuffed burgers, breakfast items, snacks and desserts. The company also said the new equipment is energy efficient, reducing gas consumption by 52 percent and electricity use by 90 percent from past systems.
To show off the new equipment's capabilities, Burger King officials, including corporate chef J. Sullivan, presented guests at a media event in New York with items made in the broiler. Dishes included a dry-aged USDA Prime beef tenderloin with port demiglace, braised pearl onions and baby portobello mushrooms; a mixed grill of Argentinean chorizo, rosemary-scented pork tenderloin, red wine-marinated prime rib eye, cilantro pineapple-infused organic chicken, grilled asparagus and romesco sauce; and s’mores with marshmallows, crispy graham cracker crust and a light chocolate ganache.
The Burger King representatives said those items were served as a demonstration, not as a preview of things that would be on the chain's menu boards any time soon. However, they did indicate that the s’mores were a possible future menu item.
At the media event, they also offered details about Burger King's new ribs, though they did not specify the date of the rollout. The St. Louis-style ribs are char-broiled and served with a side of barbecue sauce and will be offered in three-piece, six-piece and eight-piece portions.
Acompany spokesman said issues with procuring enough ribs for a systemwide offering were resolved with the help of its supplier, Tyson, but that for the time being they would only be available as a limited-time offer.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].