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Food

Meet the new Texan McDonald's burger that beat more than 25,000 contest entries

This summer, Texans had the opportunity to create a new addition to the McDonald's menu in Texas. Over 25,000 people entered the competition and over 200,000  voted. The five burgers with the most votes were brought to a panel of judges, who chose the Lone Star Stack as the winner.

Joseph Pena, a 25-year-old virtual assistant from Houston, designed the winning burger of...
Joseph Pena, a 25-year-old virtual assistant from Houston, designed the winning burger of McDonald's "Come and Make It" Campaign. (McDonald's)

Crafted by 25-year-old Joseph Peña of Houston, the burger stacks two beef patties covered in melted American and white cheddar cheese with Applewood bacon, sweet onion BBQ sauce, pickles and grilled onions between two slices of Texas toast.

"I wanted the burger to be as Texas as possible," Peña told McDonald's. "Texas Toast was a must, and from there everything else was really just my personal preference. Turns out in the end, the burger I made was almost an exact match for how my mom would make a burger for me at home, so really I owe her all the credit."

According to judges, this burger won because of its "distinct flavor profile that is truly Texan."

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Unlike 60 percent of entries, Peña's burger had nothing spicy. The name was also unique; by contrast, 2,545 contestants named their burgers Mc(something), 2,522 people put "Texas" in their name and 248 had "Alamo" in their name.

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The winning burger will be available in Austin, Beaumont, Braynt-College Station, Corpus Christi, D-FW, El Paso, Harlingen, Houston, Laredo, Midland-Odessa, San Antonio and Waco until August 28, 2016.

Although a similar campaign has taken place in the Chicago area before, this is the first opportunity Texans had to create a burger for their own menu.

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In addition to having is burger on the menu, Peña also won $5,000.

"I've never won anything, so this was big surprise. I can't wait to see my virtual creation come to life," Peña said.

The other four finalists included the Lone Star Bronc, Dobletxmeet, The McSqually, and The Gourd.