McDonald's BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder

Today, we review McDonald’s BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese sandwich. The BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese is a limited edition offering from McDonald’s. It’s a variant of the longtime popular menu item, the Quarter Pounder with Cheese hamburger. The BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder is being promoted as a combo meal named after WNBA player Angel Reece, called the “Angel Reece Special.” This special includes the BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese, medium fries, and a medium soft drink, with the recommended choice being Hi-C Orange Lavaburst. Our focus here is on the BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese.

The Quarter Pounder was first introduced as a menu item in 1971 in Fremont, California. It was created by Al Bernardin, a franchise owner and former McDonald’s Vice President of product development. Bernardin began experimenting with different menu items when he became a franchise owner. The Quarter Pounder was named because it started with a 1/4 of meat pre-cooked. It was added a nationwide menu item in 1973 with the Quarter Pounder with Cheese the most popular of the menu items.

This review marks our first hamburger review on Cigar Coop.

The Construction

Essentially, the BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese substitutes ketchup and mustard with McDonalds’ new bold smoky BBQ sauce. Bacon is also added to the sandwich.

Single Hamburger (1/4 lb pre-cooked, Default)
Two slices of American Cheese (Default)
Smoky BBQ Sauce (Default
Bacon (Default)
Slivered Onions (Default)
Pickle (Default)
Toasted Sesame Seed Bun (Default)
Size: Single
Length: 4 inches (Diameter)
Weight: 7 ounces
Sandwiches Eaten: 2
Location: Stallings, NC
Price: $5.99

McDonald’s also offers a Double BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese that provides two hamburger patties (1/4 lb pre-cooked). We went with the single offering, which weighed 7 ounces, but that is also factoring in the bun and condiments into the weight.

The Experience

For this assessment, the scoring for a hamburger offering is very similar to what we did with the Turkey Sub Quest:

Meat and Cheese 4 points
Bun: 2 points
Condiments: 2 point
Intangibles: 2 points

Note: For our food assessments, cheese is included with the meat when it is a standard offering and as a condiment when it is an optional offering.

Meat and Cheese

McDonald’s made major changes to its Quarter Pounder hamburgers back in 2018. This included using fresh beef and removing all artificial preservatives, flavors, and coloring.I was surprised by the BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese; it tasted quite good. In fact, it was much better than the Big Mac I had recently. From my understanding, fresh meat is not offered on the Big Mac, and the Quarter Pounder hamburger was far superior to what was provided on the Big Mac. The burger itself was grilled, and it was not dried out. It was slightly seasoned with salt and pepper, which helped enhance the flavor.

Meanwhile, the American cheese was also quite tasty. I like my cheese melted and creamy on a burger – and that’s exactly what you get on the BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese. It’s a milder cheese that is not salty and does not overpower the sandwich.

Score: 2.25 out of 4.00 points

Bun

The sesame seed bun of the BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese is lightly toasted. This made for a decent crust on the outside, but it was still soft and chewy on the inside. There was a subtle sweetness to the taste of the bun, but it was very slight and not anything like a King’s Hawaiian bun (which I find too sweet). The sesame seeds on the bun are plentiful, adding toastiness.

Score: 1.25 out of 2 points

Condiments

One of these big sell items is the new BBQ sauce used on the BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese. I found the BBQ sauce to have a nice smokiness. What I liked about this is the smokiness did not overpower the savoriness or sweetness of the sauce. The onions were not overly sweet but weren’t harsh, so that’s positive. As for the bacon, it was crisp, but it seemed to have a reheated quality to it. The pickle was satisfactory. I like my pickle more on the dill side with a slight bit of spiciness. I didn’t find the pickle had a positive or negative impact on the overall experience.

Score: 1.25 out of 2 points

Intangibles

One key component I look for is whether the overall experience of the sandwich exceeds the sum of the parts. In the case of the BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese, the answer is yes. There wasn’t a single negative aspect to this offering, and the best part was that all the components worked well together in terms of flavor. Additionally, the new BBQ sauce was a significant improvement over the ketchup that typically comes with the standard Quarter Pounder.

On the negative side, this sandwich is messier than I prefer. Either the sauce, cheese, or onions came off of it. I found the single patty offering filling enough, but if you are hungry, the double patty option is there.

Score: 1.25 out of 2 points

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

In terms of fast food, the BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese was one of the big surprises I’ve had in 2025. As I mentioned, this sandwich had some pretty good ingredients – highlighted by the hamburger itself. If you have a notion of McDonald’s hamburgers, you may want to put it aside on this one because it’s pretty good. While this is a limited offering from McDonald’s, it is a good candidate to bring back on a periodic basis or even add as a regular production offering.