Real fast food you can feel good eating, our Big Mac recipe houses the same classic layers made with buns from a local bakery, grass-fed ground beef, Canadian cheddar and secret sauce, made with homemade mayonnaise, ketchup, onions and pickles.
I can’t remember the last time we had McDonalds. Well, I can. It was December 31st, almost a decade ago; Philip and I vowed to give up the golden arches as a New Year’s Resolution just before indulging in a Big Mac one last time.
Since then, we’ve replaced fast food with real food – you know; pronounceable, good for you kind of food – and replaced our cravings by making our own homemade versions of fast food, like our homemade Big Mac recipe made with secret sauce.
But what exactly is a Big Mac? To most this may seem like a silly question, but an article in the Wall Street Journal reported that only 1 in 5 millennials have ever tasted a Big Mac. For those who haven’t tasted a Big Mac, it is simply: two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun, and from memory, it is delicious.
And for those who have tasted a Big Mac, our recipe houses the same classic burger made with buns from a local bakery, grass-fed ground beef, Canadian cheddar and world famous secret sauce; in essence, it’s real food fast that you can feel good eating. Like any good burger, this Big Mac recipe is all about the layers and the 3 pre-assembly key steps to ensuring your burger is big and mighty.
Big Mac Bun
While McDonald’s uses a sesame seed bun, we opted for a classic bun cutting it into thirds as the top, middle and bottom bun. If the height of the bun doesn’t allow for easy thirds, cut two buns in half using the bottom bun of the second as the middle bun of your burger.
Philip and I LOVE a good toasted bun, so what we do is spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on all cut sides of the buns and grill it on a frying pan for 30 second to 1 minute. The mayonnaise acts like butter or olive oil and gives the bun an added layer of crunch and flavour.
Big Mac Meat
No matter the type of burger you’re eating, the taste really is all in the meat. Seasoned with black pepper and salt just as McDonalds does, our Big Mac patties shine best with grass-fed ground beef from our local butcher. The key though to copycatting is all in the thickness of the meat.
When forming your patties be sure to compare the size of your bun because we all know that the bun to meat ratio must be precise.
When forming your patties be sure to compare the size of your bun because we all know bun to meat ratio must be precise. To reach the ultimate ¼ inch thickness, we place our patties in between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it to thinness with our rolling pin before frying.
Big Mac Sauce
Now to the secret sauce. It’s the one ingredient that separates a McDonald’s Big Mac from a regular burger, but what’s so special about this sauce? While some use French dressing or thousand island dressing, our secret sauce is made with a handful of ingredients: mix ketchup and mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon of the diced onion and diced pickles and spread it on your burger.
Big Mac Assembly
The Big Mac is all about the layers. Starting from the bottom and working your way to the top, spread a little secret sauce over the bottom base. Top with chopped onion, shredded lettuce, beef patty (grilled with a layer of cheese) and three pickle slices. Top with the middle bun layer, and spread with more secret sauce, onion, lettuce, pickles, beef patty and then finish with more sauce.
An added tip: for extra crunch factor, we add a layer of chips on the bottom bun and a layer on the second deck. Serve with chips or french fries, and a side of extra sauce, of course.
Bon appetit,
Chef Sous Chef
PrintReal Food Fast: Homemade Big Mac Recipe with Secret Sauce
Just like the fast food classic, our Big Mac recipe is made with two thin beef patties, topped with cheese, diced onions and pickles, then drenched in our secret sauce. Using all quality, real food ingredients, this burger is even better than the original.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Food + Drink, Main
- Cuisine: Comfort
Ingredients
Secret Sauce
- 1/4 cup mayonaise
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp minced white onion
- 1 tbsp minced dill pickle
Burgers
- ¾ lb ground beef
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ small white onion, finely diced
- 1 large dill pickle, thinly sliced crosswise
- 2 buns, sliced in three
- ½ cup green lettuce, thinly sliced
- 4 slices cheddar cheese
Instructions
No. 1 | Make the special sauce by mixing together the mayo, ketchup and 1 tablespoon each of the diced onion and diced pickles.
No. 2 | Preheat a large skillet to medium high heat. Divide the beef into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a tight ball. Place each piece of beef between two sheets of parchment and flatten into 4 inch rounds. They should be no more than ¼ inch thick.
No. 3 | Once the pan begins to smoke, generously season each patty with salt and pepper. Sear the patties for one minute, then flip, add the slice of cheese and cover for one minute. Remove the patties to rest on a plate.
No. 4 | To assemble, spread one tablespoon of special sauce on each slice of bun. Place a handful of lettuce on the bottom and middle slices, then top with the burger patties. Sprinkle a tsp of diced onion and 3 slices of pickle on top. Gently place the finished middle bun on the finished bottom, cover with the top bun and devour.
Notes
If you like your bun toasted, make it extra crispy by spreading mayo on the buns before toasting on a skillet.
Keywords: Real Food, Easy Recipes, Hamburger, Beef
1 Comment
Patrick
January 17, 2018 at 9:35 amI don’t even know how to describe how awesome this burger is! Much better than a Big Mac.
★★★★★