A Better Big Mac Recipe

A better Big Mac that starts with the great original concept and fixes up everything that's wrong with the execution.

A better Big Mac, served on a white plate.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Why It Works

  • A soft hamburger bun is studded with extra sesame seeds to recreate the taste, appearance, and squishy texture of a Big Mac bun.
  • Burger patties made from ground short rib are extra flavorful and stay juicy, even when cooked past medium-rare.
  • Onions are microwaved to tame their pungency and bring out their natural sweetness.
  • A clone of the Big Mac sauce stays true to the original with the help of a little Marmite.
  • Layers of shredded lettuce under each patty collect their precious juices, ensuring that all of the flavor stays in the sandwich.

So yeah, the Big Mac is an undeniable American icon, inextricably tied with our image, but that doesn't make it a good thing—after all, so are poor foreign policy and the Kardashians, right?

That said, in concept, the McDonald's Big Mac is a pretty beautiful thing. I mean, who could really say no to two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions, all on a sesame seed bun? And there are certain things the clown does very well—the proportions, for example. There's just the right amount of beef to cheese to sauce to onion. Even the triple-layered bun, which may look overwhelming, is made of sweet, squishy bread that melts down into practically nothing as you bite into it, neither overwhelming nor getting lost in the other flavors.

A Flawed Classic, Examined

Closeup of a store-bought Big Mac.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

But just like many great ideas squandered before they fulfill their destiny, it's in the execution that things start to go awry. Luckily, execution is precisely where you Serious Eaters can make things right. The goal is to build a better Big Mac by taking that great concept and fixing up everything that's wrong with it. There's certainly no shortage of Big Mac clones on the internet, but, in my humble opinion, every single one I've seen misses the boat, opting for larger patties or other such "improvements" that only really serve to throw off the proportions of a perfectly conceived sandwich.

The first step was to take a close look at the original sandwich to determine exactly what needs improving.

An overhead view of a Big Mac that's been separated into top and bottom layers. The image is labeled with the burger's flaws: "bland, overcooked, underseasoned, badly textured beef;" "tasty-but-gloppy sauce;" "flavorless onions;" "unmelted cheese under patty;" "wilted lettuce;" "fine, well-toasted sesame bun."

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

  • Two All-Beef Patties: All-beef, maybe. But it sure ain't the tasty, juicy, well-seared, well-seasoned beef that you want in your burger. We can definitely do better here.
  • Special Sauce: This is the key to the Big Mac—tangy and sweet, it's what takes a normal burger and turns it into a Classic. Indeed, the only way I can see improving this sauce is its texture. More on that later.
  • Lettuce: Shredded iceberg that usually has seen better days.
  • Cheese: In perhaps one of the greatest crimes against burgers, McDonald's not only places a cold slice of cheese onto the sandwich, but it gets placed under the bottom patty. WTF Ronald?
  • Pickles: A couple of dill chips that are nice and crispy. I could do with a couple more.
  • Onions: The Big Mac gets dehydrated onions that are rehydrated in the store. Decent flavor, but not quite as powerful as I'd like them to be.
  • Sesame Seed Bun: The one factor that I really see no way of improving. It's soft, it's slightly sweet, it's giving, it's got untoasted sesame seeds that don't overpower, it's just about everything you'd want in a burger bun. Replication will be the goal here.

With analysis complete, I moved on, tackling one element at a time.

Recreating the Sauce

Closeup of Big Mac sauce smeared on a white plate.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

The Big Mac sauce has been a closely guarded secret recipe for many years. At least, that's what many on the internet will have you believe. And if you are to believe those same people, then cloning Big Mac sauce is as simple as combining mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip!) with ketchup, pickle relish, and a few other flavorings, making the sauce essentially a Thousand Island-type spread.

Problem is, even a cursory bit of research on the Mcdonald's website reveals that the sauce is actually nothing of the sort. Rather, it is a mayonnaise-based sauce with no ketchup or tomato to speak of consisting of:

Soybean Oil, Sweet Relish (diced Pickles, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Distilled Vinegar, Salt, Corn Syrup, Xanthan Gum, Calcium Chloride, Spice Extractives), Water, Egg Yolks, Distilled Vinegar, Spices, Onion Powder, Salt, Propylene Glycol Alginate, Garlic Powder, Vegetable Protein (hydrolyzed Corn, Soy And Wheat), Sugar, Caramel Color, Turmeric, Extractives Of Paprika, Soy Lecithin.

It's a frightening-looking list, but it's not really as bad as it seems. Calcium chloride is used to keep pickles crunchy (you'll find it in your canned tomatoes), xanthan gum and propylene glycol alginate are both thickeners derived from corn and kelp, respectively.

"Essentially, it's a mix of mayonnaise and relish with sugar, onion, turmeric colorings"

When you look at what's left, you've basically got soybean oil, pickle relish, vinegar, egg yolks, sugars (including HFCS), onion, vegetable protein, colorings, and emulsifiers. Essentially, it's a mix of mayonnaise and relish with sugar, onion, turmeric colorings, and a bit of hydrolyzed vegetable protein thrown in. It's this last bit that might throw you for a bit of a loop.

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein is made by breaking down proteins into their constituent amino acids, resulting in a product with a distinctly savory flavor. Indeed, it's very similar to bottled yeast extracts (which are made by autolyzing yeast) such as Marmite, Vegemite, or Maggi seasoning. Any of those will do.

Split image of microplaned onion and a bottle of turmeric.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

For the onions, rather than using powdered or dehydrated onions, I found that I got better flavor out of simply grating fresh onion on a Microplane grater. Combining this with the remaining elements and fiddling with the ratios got me a sauce that taste-wise was almost identical to the Mac sauce, though it lacked the characteristic pinkish hue, no doubt from the caramel color. No worries—I could live with yellowish sauce.

As for the thickeners, I also gave them a miss. My theory is that McDonald's only thickens their sauce so much in order to make sure it doesn't drip onto Drive-thru customer's laps on the freeway. I, on the other hand, like my burgers like I don't like my ice-cream cones: drippy.

A Soft, Sesame-Coated Bun

Author carefully slices the bottom off of a bottom bun.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

"use a very sharp knife to cut the very bottom off of the bottom half of a regular bun"

The key characteristic when it comes to the Big Mac bun is the center "club" layer, consisting of a single circular piece of bread with crumb exposed on both sides. Simple enough. All you've got to do is use a very sharp knife to cut the very bottom off of the bottom half of a regular bun. Sunbeam or Wonderbread seemed the natural choice for these burgers because of their diminutive size and ultra-squishy nature (I went with Wonder because my local supermarket doesn't carry Sunbeam).

Problem is, neither of these brands have sesame seeds, which means that to get seeded buns, I'd have to self-apply.

Interestingly enough, if you start typing "How many sesame seeds..." into a Google search bar, the very first suggested autocomplete is "...on a Big Mac bun," and according to Answers.com, it's about 178. Now I may not have the very best vision in the world, but I call BS on this. Glancing at my bun, I'd guess there are at least twice as many.

An overhead view of the sesame-studded top bun of a Big Mac. A 1/8 slice is highlighted and labeled "75 seeds." The bottom reads: "Total seed count = 75 x 8 = 600 seeds."

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

I did some very quick calculations via the standard bacterial colony plate-count approximation technique: Just divide the circular plate into quadrants (or 1/8ths in this case), count the seeds in that section, and multiply. 75 seeds on 1/8th of the bun, which means that a Big Mac bun has actually got closer to 600 seeds on it.

Moral of the story: Never ever trust random sources on the internet to relay vital pieces of information.

Image of a pack of Wonder Bread brand hamburger buns. Nearby is a plate with a sesame-encrusted top bun.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

To apply the seeds to the bun, I used a very simple egg white wash, applying it sparingly with my fingertip (a brush left too thick a coating, resulting in an inappropriately glossy bun top), after which I carefully applied precisely 600 untoasted sesame seeds with a pair of fine tweezers.* A quick 30 seconds under the broiler and my seeds were fixed.

*This may or may not be true.

Getting the Onions Just Right

My initial reaction was to simply replace the dehydrated-rehydrated onions with fresh ones, but it didn't quite work out. The flavor was simply too pungent and not at all right for the Big Mac. Sautéed onions weren't quite right either. You see, when onions are dehydrated, a lot of the volatile, sulfurous compounds that give them their pungency get evaporated, so what you're left with is onion pieces that exhibit mostly sweetness, with a very faint, underlying onioniness.

Diced onion in a bowl.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

100 percent dehydrated-then-rehydrated onions are pretty lacking in flavor and texture, but what if I were to just dehydrate my own onions partially in order to concentrate their flavor and cut down on some of their pungency?

I placed a paper towel-lined plate of minced onions in the microwave and zapped them on low power for 10 minutes in order to drive off their moisture. The result was onions with a distinct sweetness and just a touch of the sharp pungency of fresh onions. Perfect.

A Cut That Keeps Small Patties Juicy

Closeup of two slabs of well-marbled boneless short rib.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Here's where we can really improve matters. McDonald's may use 100 percent beef, but it's pretty awful stuff with an odd, mash-like texture. We're much better off starting with fresh meat and grinding it ourselves. While most of my burgers get the blue label burger blend, this time I opted for 100 percent straight-up short rib, figuring that the sharpness of the pickles and sauce would cut through the otherwise overwhelmingly beefy and rich ribs.

Obviously, no additional fat was necessary, due to the insanely high amount of marbling in these ribs.

Overhead view of all the ingredients needed to make a better Big Mac arranged on a wooden work surface: sauce, onion, buns sliced into three, lettuce, cheese, and two patties.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

McDonald's Big Mac patties are the same patties used on the regular hamburgers, known in McD's lingo as "10 to 1's"—that's ten patties per pound of beef, or 1.6 ounces per patty. The amount of beef may seem tiny (even two patties is less than a single quarter-pound Shake Shack patty, for instance), but after trying to increase the amount of beef, I found that any more, and the sandwich's flavor balance went way out of whack. Don't get me wrong—a bigger burger can certainly be delicious, but it loses its essential Big Macness when the beef overwhelms the other ingredients.

Cooking and Construction

Two ground short rib patties are pan-fried in a skillet.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

McDonald's uses a proprietary double-sided griddle to cook both sides of their burgers simultaneously. The cooked patties are then held in a temperature and vapor-controlled warming drawer until your sandwich gets assembled. This is clearly sub-optimal.

Much better is to sear the thin patties over insanely high heat in order to build up a substantially browned crust. With 1.6 ounce patties, there's no way to expect a medium-rare center, but with beef this heavily marbled, even well-done meat stays plenty juicy.

"We're not trying to build a fancy-pants Big Mac"

You could go all fancy-pants and use "real" cheddar cheese, but that'd be missing the point. We're not trying to build a fancy-pants Big Mac, just a better one, and there's really no way to improve upon the glories of good, well-seared, well-seasoned beef and perfectly melted, gooey American cheese. The one improvement we make here is to actually melt the cheese on top of the patty as it cooks rather than placing a cold slice on top of cold lettuce and pickles like the Clown does it.

My only guess as to why they perform this logic-defying move is that it's an artifact of the assembly-line style construction process at the store.

The two bottom-most buns of the better Big Mac are topped with lettuce and pickle slices.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

As for bun placement and stacking, toasting is essential, and I'm in 100 percent agreement with their decision to place the sauce, onions, lettuce (ours is freshly shredded), and pickles (I use four chips instead of their two) underneath the patties. Not only does it protect the buns from burger juices, it also keeps everything crisp and fresh longer, allowing the hot beefy steam from the patties to be absorbed by the buns instead of by the lettuce.

A better Big Mac is held up for the camera. Several bites have been taken from the sandwich.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

The final result is a sandwich that's truly worthy of the title of American Icon. Two all-beef patties diminutive in size but massive with flavor potential. A special sauce that need not hide behind an artificially colored mask with no problems dripping out wherever it wants to go. Fresh, crisp lettuce shredded just before serving. American cheese melted to its gloriously gooey fullest. Sharp pickles. Onions carefully guided to tame their pungency and bring out their natural sweetness. All on a soft triple-decker sesame seed bun made with precisely the right number of seeds.

A package for a Big Mac, emblazoned with the tagline "there is only one Big Mac." The image has been edited to superimpose an X over "is." The word "was" is written nearby.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

If this isn't the American dream, then I don't know what is.

Your move, clown. Your move.

May 2011

Recipe Details

A Better Big Mac Recipe

Prep 10 mins
Cook 20 mins
Active 45 mins
Total 30 mins
Serves 1 serving

Ingredients

  • 3 1/5 ounces boneless beef short rib, well-chilled (see note)

  • 1/4 cup finely minced onion

  • 1 teaspoon onion grated on a microplane grater

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish

  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1/4 teaspoon Marmite, Vegemite, or Maggi seasoning

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

  • 1 egg white

  • 1 whole Wonderbread brand hamburger bun, plus 1 bottom bun

  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds 

  • 1/4 cup shredded iceberg lettuce

  • 4 dill pickle slices

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 slice American cheese

Directions

  1. Pass beef through meat grinder fitted with 1/4-inch plate twice. Form into 2 even balls and flatten into 4-inch patties using wet hands against a cutting board. Scrape patties up with thin spatula and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

  2. Place minced onion on a double layer of paper towels on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 10 minutes on low power until mostly dehydrated but not browned. Set aside.

  3. While onion is dehydrating, combine grated onion, mayonnaise, relish, mustard, sugar, Marmite, and turmeric. Stir to combine and refrigerate until ready to use (see note).

  4. Preheat toaster oven or broiler to high. Use one finger to spread a very thin layer of egg white over the top of the top bun. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and place under broiler for 30 seconds until set. Set aside. Use a sharp, thin knife to cut off the very bottom of the bottom bun half, creating a single circular piece of bread with cut surfaces on both sides.

  5. Toast cut side of top bun and bottom bun, and one side of center bun piece under broiler until light golden brown. Place bottom bun and center bun on cutting board toasted-side up. Spread half of sauce on each. Divide dehydrated onions evenly between bottom and center buns and top with lettuce. Place 2 pickle slices on each.

  6. Season burger patties with salt and pepper. Heat a heavy-bottomed 10-inch stainless steel or cast iron skillet over high heat until lightly smoking. Add patties and cook without moving until first side is crusty and browned, about 1 minute. Scrape up patties with a stiff spatula and flip. Top one patty with 1 slice cheese. Continue cooking until cooked through, about 1 minute longer. Transfer cheese-topped patty to bottom bun and cheeseless patty to middle bun. Place top bun on top of center, then stack center bun on top of bottom. Serve immediately.

    The patties for a better Big Mac are panfried on their second side. A slice of American cheese has been draped over one of the patties.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Special Equipment

Meat grinder (optional, see note), stiff metal spatula or offset turner, microwave, 10-inch stainless steel or cast iron skillet

Notes

Store-bought ground beef can be substituted for the short rib.

Mac Sauce can be used as soon as its made, but it gets mellower if you let it sit in the fridge at least overnight in a covered container.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
808 Calories
51g Fat
52g Carbs
37g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 808
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 51g 65%
Saturated Fat 15g 77%
Cholesterol 281mg 94%
Sodium 1676mg 73%
Total Carbohydrate 52g 19%
Dietary Fiber 5g 19%
Total Sugars 15g
Protein 37g
Vitamin C 4mg 22%
Calcium 616mg 47%
Iron 8mg 47%
Potassium 722mg 15%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)