Can You Order Wendy's Burger Patties A La Carte?

Wendy's year-round best-selling item may be its french fries, but the fast food chain is arguably more famous for its unusually square burger patties. While those patties anchor a range of both standard and limited-time-only items, is it possible to order just the patty? According to Wendy's Customer Care, it's up to your local Wendy's.

If you want to order a Wendy's burger patty a la carte, Wendy's recommends going to your nearest restaurant and asking an employee either at the register or the drive-thru in order "to make a local call on your customization request," a customer care representative told Daily Meal via email. Since it is an individualized judgement call, the availability of a la carte burger patties varies by location.

Ordering in person would likely be the smoothest way to get this unusual custom request, as a la carte burger patties may not be available with online ordering or in-app menus. However, some Wendy's fans have said on Reddit that they successfully ordered a single patty as a customized burger with everything but the meat removed.

Fast food can have a reputation for low-quality food, but that's not the case when it comes to Wendy's burger patties, which are all made of either prime- or choice-grade beef. Prime beef is the best, with quality fat marbling throughout, and choice beef has less marbling while still being good quality. 

Wendy's uses choice beef in its famously square burger patties to balance the price of beef with providing a quality product. And as the chain proudly advertises, the beef is never frozen and always cooked fresh — for burgers, at least.

When a Wendy's burger does not sell, either in a sandwich or on its own, the patties don't go to waste. They are crumbled up by staff and used to provide the beef for Wendy's chili. However unappetizing that may seem, it's an effective way to reuse unsold burgers for a chain that avoids freezing beef.