Fast Food Review: Carl’s Jr All Natural Burger, the verdict is…

The All Natural Burger

Recently, Carl’s Jr introduced their newest burger, the ” All Natural Burger ” that is made with beef that is grass-fed, free-range, with no added hormones, steroids, or antibiotics.

The famous Bowl add and subsequent commercial campaign is geared toward the young male demographic with a barely clothed busty model with questionable “Natural” curves.

Watch this video on YouTube.

This is a major move for a fast food chain to find a commercial volume supplier of All Natural free range beef.

According to an article in USA today, Chief Operating office Pudzer, said that the beef is imported from Australia because there is not enough natural beef available in the USA. All Natural is a trending, so this is a gutsy move by Carl’s Jr.

Carl’s Jr All Natural Burger Package

But how did it taste?

Is it a good value?

Below is a picture of the online add and my shot. Yes with fast food there is always huge difference between the promo shot and store level execution. With that said, the store did a decent job.

Carl’s Jr All Natural Burger Ad versus real life Side by Side

At a price tag of $4.69 for a single and $6.99 for a double, Let’s break this down. As disclosure, I purchased this burger with my own money and I have not been in contact with Carl’s Jr.

Anatomy of a All Natural Burger

Overall Appearance

The All Natural burger looks like a sexed up version of the Famous Star burger.

Carl’s Jr All Natural Burger

The Bun

The “house made bun looks very impressive, is a dark baked exterior and fluffier than the mass produced version.

For me, the flavor of the bun was disappointingly neutral, it did not contribute to the flavor of the burger, except to provide some extra texture on the bite.

I would not pay for the house made bun upgrade on any of the other burgers.

Carl’s Jr All Natural Burger Anatomy Buns

Carl’s Jr All Natural Burger – Sauces and Cheese Layer

The toasted bun is spread with a combination of, ketchup and mustard and the burger patty is topped with their standard cheddar cheese.

Carl’s Jr All Natural Burger Anatomy Sauces and Cheese

Carl’s Jr All Natural Burger – Beef Patty and Veges Layer

The burger patty itself is shaped oblong with irregular edges on purpose to mimic the look of a Five Guys or Smash Burger approach.

In terms of flavor, the beef patty had a very average flavor and was dry. I ordered a Famous Star Burger to compare flavors and ate the patty’s alone, side by side.

I did not get the amped up flavor that I normally receive when I have eaten free-range, grass-fed beef in the past. Flavor wise, the all natural beef fell flat as a value proposition.

Vegetation wise, the burger is stuffed with Iceberg lettuce, sliced tomato, red onion and pickle chips.

carl’s jr all natural burger anatomy meat and veges

Bottom Layer of the Carl’s Jr All Natural Burger

Carl’s Jr All Natural Burger Anatomy Bottom

Hand Feel

The burger felt like I was holding a slightly larger Famous Star burger. Without the paper wrapper around the burger, it became very wobbly and hard to manage. Trust me, use the paper wrapper and it will not “get all over the place.”

Carl’s Jr All Natural Burger in Hand

Is it worth it?

From a flavor perspective, No.

From a “I feel good about eating a All Natural, grass-fed, free-range fast food burger”, then yes.

Essentially the All Natural burger is a sexed-up Famous Star burger with about a ~60% increased price tag to cover the costs of the All Natural, grass-fed, free-range burger.

To be honest, I would rather pay a dollar more and go to Mick’s Karma Bar and have my burger hand ground and made to order. I would also rather get the Jack in the Box Buttery Jack for the same price.

Although this is just my opinion, the general public is responding very well to Carl Jr’s All Natural Burger. It is performing so well on the West Coast, that CKE brands is pushing it to the Hardy’s label for the rest of the country.