smashing expectations
'We Tried Jack In The Box's First New Burger In Eight Years, And It's Way Better Than A Big Mac'
The Smashed Jack, the first new burger by Jack in the Box in eight years, is already smashing expectations.
The chain sold 70,000 Smashed Jacks in just one day, and in two weeks, the burger was sold out everywhere.
What's so special about the Smashed Jack, and is it worth all the hype? Business Insider's food correspondents Anneta Konstantinides and Nancy Luna had to find out.
[The lobby of the Jack in the Box headquarters in San Diego. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider]
Konstantinides and Luna were greeted in the lobby by an original Jack in the Box two-way drive-thru speaker from 1951, the year the chain first launched in San Diego.
Today, there are 80 items consistently rotating on Jack in the Box's menu, including 12 different burger variations.
[Libby Rourke, the senior product developer, building a Smashed Jack burger. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider]
Konstantinides and Luna then headed to Jack in the Box's test kitchen to learn all about the creation of the Smashed Jack patty.
Jack in the Box's kitchen went through 60 different versions before landing on the final Smashed Jack, which took two years to develop.
The Smashed Jack features a loose-grind, quarter-pound, smashed-style beef patty, which Ostrom said was prepared at a factory off-site that used a "first-of-its-kind piece of equipment."
[Jack in the Box's Smashed Jack took two years to develop. Nancy Luna/Business Insider]
The new Boss sauce — inspired by Thousand Island dressing — was made internally in the chain's test kitchen by trained chefs and developed specifically for the Smashed Jack, said Libby Rourke, the senior product developer. It's mayonnaise-based and also features relish.
[The Smashed Jack patty was juicy and indulgent. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider]
It was time for the tasting to begin — and BI's correspondents were impressed with the Smashed Jack patty from the very first bite.
Konstantinides said the Smashed Jack patty has a fantastic taste and texture. It's as thick and juicy as promised, and she loved the crispy edges.
Luna said it was much superior to the greasy revamped Big Mac patty. She loved the grilled onions that topped the Smashed Jack; it gave the burger so much flavor.
[The Boss sauce is inspired by Thousand Island dressing. Nancy Luna/Business Insider]
They were also huge fans of the Boss sauce.
They both thought Jack in the Box's new Boss sauce was reminiscent of In-N-Out's famous "animal-style" spread — sans the chunky relish.
