Few things are as iconic and instantaneously recognizable as the McDonald's Big Mac.
It has been around for almost half a century, and since its inception, it's inspired spinoffs and copycats by other brands, and numerous copycats.
But we've learned that all McDonald's menu items are irreplaceable. We can try t0 recreate the recipes at home, and sure, they will turn out deliciously. But the ingredient that we would miss, that "special something," is mysterious and intangible.
It is the ingredient produced by a long history, by nostalgia, by the feeling of pure familiarity. A McDonald's Big Mac takes us back to a particular part of our childhood like nothing else does.
We decided to cook up some Big Macs, and had some of our friends do a taste test, in which they compared our burgers to real McDonald's Big Macs. Read on to find out their verdict…
Here's what you need to build the burgers (makes three):
Ingredients:
- 3/4 lb ground beef
- 6 sesame seed burger buns
- Mayonnaise
- French dressing
- White vinegar
- Sweet pickle relish
- A few dill pickle slices
- Finely diced white onion
- Chopped lettuce
- American cheese slices
- Sugar, salt, and pepper for seasoning
Please SHARE if you’d love to try to recreate the Big Mac at home!
The first step in recreating a Big Mac is to make the Special Sauce. Very few ingredients are required: mayonnaise, French dressing, sweet pickle relish, minced white onion, and white vinegar.
Start with 1/2 cup of mayonnaise.
Next, add in 2 tablespoons of French dressing.
Add in 4 teaspoons of sweet pickle relish, and one tablespoon of the finely minced onion.
Pour in one teaspoon of white vinegar. We went with a white balsamic vinegar, because that's what we had on hand. Feel free to use whatever kind of white vinegar you have!
Add in one teaspoon of sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of salt, then stir the ingredients together. Leave the sauce in the refrigerator overnight to let all the flavors blend.
Now it's time to form the burger patties. We used 3/4lb ground beef to make six patties for three burgers. Remember, each Big Mac burger has two patties. Try to make them as thin as possible, and shape them a little bigger than the size of your hamburger bun.
Chill the patties in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, toast your burger buns on a grill, griddle, or hot pan. You'll need three buns for each burger: a top bun and two bottom buns.
Here's what you need to build the Big Mac: the patties, Special Sauce, minced onion, chopped lettuce, American cheese, and dill pickle slices.
Over medium heat, cook the patties for one to two minutes on each side. You can season them with salt and pepper.
Now, the assembly begins. For each burger, start by spreading 1/2 tablespoon of Special Sauce over the bottom bun.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of diced onion, and 1/4 cup lettuce.
Layer on a slice of American cheese.
Next comes the first beef patty.
Layer on the second bottom bun for your "middle" bun.
Now, the process will repeat: again, start with 1/2 tablespoon of Special Sauce.
Add on another 1/2 teaspoon onion, 1/4 cup of lettuce, and put in two dill pickle slices.
Finish with the second burger patty. Careful — there is only one slice of cheese in each burger.
And there you'll have it: homemade McDonald's Big Mac burgers!
Here's a side-by-side comparison of our burger (right) — and a real Big Mac from a McDonald's restaurant (left).
We decided to play a blind burger taste test game. Here's Elyse, trying out both burgers. "I could immediately tell which one was the real McDonald's burger," she said afterward. "Both were good. But I'd still go with McDonald's… It's got that warm, familiar feeling."
In the end, we can try to replicate the McDonald's burger all we want, but we can never fully create the classically feel-good taste that a real Big Mac can give. Still, it's great to know that we can try!
What did you think of this Big Mac recreation? Let us know in the comments, and please SHARE!
