I’m avoiding fast-food drive-thru’s for several reasons these days. For one thing, we’re all trying our best to limit contact with others during this pandemic. And for another, fast food is never a healthy option.
The Big Mac is one of my guilty pleasures. Created in 1965, it’s not-such-a-big Mac anymore, having shrunk quite a bit from its original size. That probably explains why they offered the Double Big Mac, containing a total of 4 patties, a few weeks ago.
Burger King made their attempt at recreating the Big Mac a few years ago, with little success.
I figured it was time for me to try my hand at it, the biggest challenge, of course: recreating the Special Sauce that goes on every Big Mac.
Some research on line brought me dozens of recipes, and after much trial and error, I came up with what I think is a pretty good copy of that famous sauce…good enough to make me forget about the drive-thru under those golden arches for a while.
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons French dressing
4 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon finely minced onion
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
When I first tried making this recipe at home, I realized I didn’t have any French dressing on hand. But I did have the ingredients to make it! So my first step was making French dressing. To keep a more neutral flavor, the recipe calls for vegetable oil, but I don’t use canola, corn, safflower, or any of those other highly processed vegetable oils. So I chose to use olive oil. (Avocado oil or grape seed oil would be other good choices.)
3/4 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup ketchup
3/8 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend them until smooth. Keep the French dressing refrigerated.
We all know the jingle: “Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.”
The Big Mac has 2 very small beef patties, nasty American (or whatever it is) cheese, and 3 pieces of bread in that bun. It weighs in at 563 calories, which is a lot for a small sandwich.
Although bigger on the calories (740), my sandwich is a lot larger and healthier. My jingle would be: “Two quarter-pound (before cooking) 93% lean grass-fed beef patties, special sauce, locally sourced greens, cheddar cheese, pickles, onions on a toasted brioche bun.”
Now that’s a mouthful!
The final result: a delicious burger. It didn’t really taste like a Big Mac…but it satisfied the cravings…for now!
Live the Live ™ 