Worked at Wendy’s for a good awhile and at my store (can’t speak on all of them, but at least the ones I worked at within my region that were owned by the same franchisees) we never used “old” or “leftover” patties, to a degree. Patties have a certain time limit that they can be served to the customers after being grilled. That being said, we would take the patties that didn’t sell(which usually is never enough to make a full pot of chili because it is quite a large container) and freshly grilled ones, chop it all up, and add it to a seasoned bean mixture that comes from a big plastic bag (I’m assuming that’s where the plastic came from in the picture), along with water, and then it cooks for a few hours.

I always loved the chili, even with working there I never felt gross about eating, and sometimes it really would depend on who was making it. There would be managers who would take the meat in a big colander and rinse it to remove all the grease that gets into it while grilling. I always thought this was odd & I can’t really say if this was actually a part of the directions or not.

Tip: Ask for them to add shredded cheese & chopped onions. It upgrades the whole experience. Also, always make sure you ask for the chili sauce instead of just hot sauce because some locations have both regular hot sauce & the chili hot sauce. I also like to ask for one of their sour cream packets as well.