When I first came to the United States and was a student, I worked at a McDonald’s fast food restaurant for a period of time. Their most famous sandwich is probably the Big Mac. This is a towering sandwich with two patties and three buns. This was too much for me (and still is!) but there is something about the unique flavor of the Big Mac sauce that I have always liked. When I took my lunch break, I would ask my co-workers to make a regular hamburger for me, but with the Big Mac sauce that I liked. I don’t know if that is something that you can still do, but for me it’s what I liked at McDonald’s back then.

I got a craving for that special sauce and decided to make my own version of a Big Mac for this blog. As part of my research, my family and I went through the drive through of a local McDonald’s and ordered two. To be honest we were a bit disappointed in the quality of the burger — perhaps because the thin patties had been overcooked — but the Big Mac sauce was good; it was just as I remembered from long ago.

There is a lot of debate on the internet about the Big Mac sauce, such as whether it is simply Thousand Island dressing and whether it uses tomato or not. In my opinion it does taste like Thousand Island dressing but is not as tangy; the Big Mac sauce is a touch sweeter. I made my own version of this sauce from scratch.

I think my version of the sauce turned out pretty close. Most of the ingredients might be on your pantry shelves.

My overall burger was so much better than McDonald’s, for probably less cost. My advantage was to control the freshness and quality of the meat, cheese, and other ingredients.

Instead of making a double decker, you can make this as a single burger, of course. Also, if you don’t like burgers you might also try drizzling this sauce over your favorite greens or veggies to make a delicious salad.

Left my version / Right original Big Mac

Ingredients

Big Mac sauce

• 1 cup full fat mayo
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup sandwich pickles kosher, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1tsp celery seed
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried mustard powder
• 3 tbsp white sugar

Burger

• 2 sesame seed buns, plus two each bottom bun
• 4 (1/4 lbs) beef patty
• 4 each cheddar cheese, slices
• Big Mac sauce
• Shredded romaine lettuce
• Small diced yellow or white onion
• Kosher sandwich pickle slices, (4 each) cut in two

Instructions

Big Mac sauce

Combine all the Big Mac sauce ingredients in a bowl. Mix well and then taste for seasoning. Cover and keep it in the refrigerator for later use.

Burger

Make sure to bring the beef patty out of the refrigerator at least 30-40 minutes before you are ready to cook.

Get all the condiments ready for the burger and set aside.

Heat an indoor grill to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray the grill grates with a non-stick cooking spray or brush the grate with cooking oil. Cook the burger to your liking. I cooked mine medium-rare.

At the very last minute of your cook time, top the cooked patty with cheese. Once the cheese is melted, transfer the patty to a clean plate.

Wipe down the grill grates with paper towel. Be careful when wiping as it will be very hot. Butter the cut side of the bun liberally. Place the buttered side down on the grill and grill until light golden brown.

Bring out the mac sauce from the refrigerator.

Building the burger

Follow the assembly process below in order:

• bottom bun
• mac sauce
• chopped onion
• shredded lettuce
• pickles
• 1 burger patty
• bottom bun
• onion
• lettuce
• pickles
• 2nd burger patty
• mac sauce
• top bun

Repeat the steps to make the 2nd burger.

Makes 2 Big Mac OR 4 Regular Burger

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram.