Fast Food Slow: The Big Mac

"Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun." We all remember the jingle, and the iconic Big Mac. But do we really need to give into the siren song of fast food only to have it dash against the rocks. I think not! That's why we are bringing you a new series where we work to recreate classic fast food dishes after reviewing the original. We hope to elevate, but no copycat. There are other blogs for that.

Let's start with the beef.

Really, who needs two patties in this day and age? It's just overindulgence. A serving of beef is about three ounces, but we used a nice six-ounce patty for our recipe (we split the burger anyway). We aren't too picky about the fat content of our hamburger, but we do fry it in bacon or ham fat. We also like to season our patty. Lots of burger places let the meat speak for itself, but a little extra salt, pepper, and other seasonings never killed anybody. I like the patty smooshed thin, but do it ahead, not when it's cooking in the pan.

Next is the not-so-secret sauce.

Essentially, the "special sauce" on the Big Mac is thousand island dressing. I like to bump mine up a bit

though. I start with the basics: equal parts ketchup and mayo, enough to dress however many hamburgers you are making. A squirt or tablespoon of sweet pickle relish finishes off the base. Everything after that is to taste. I love a dash of Worcestershire sauce for some steakhouse flare. Paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, and minced, dried onions finish out the flavor profile.

Lettuce

The Big Mac has shredded iceberg lettuce, which sort of squishes out of the bun when you bit into it. We recommend whole leaves of butter lettuce for a burger. They are the exact right size for the bun, they create a nice cup over the burger, and it holds up well to the heat.

Cheese

On the Big Mac, you're going to find a slice of American cheese. What is American cheese? It's really a "pasteurized cheese product," and contains more ingredients than just milk, culture, rennet, and salt (which is what goes into real cheese). The result is a diluted flavor which seems to rely more on salt than anything else. The benefit (and why it's used at so many fast food restaurants) is that it has a low melting point, so you can throw a slice on a warm patty without having to keep it on the grill or steam it afterward.

We recommend a medium cheddar for our burger. Throw a couple of slices on the burger while it's still in the ban, and then cover with a lid to steam the cheese. That's how you are going to get the best melt on your cheese.

Pickles

You want a crisp pickle chip for this burger that can hold up to a little heat without getting too soggy. I recommend Mount Olive pickles. They always seem to hold their crunch and the flavor is great.

Onions

Our improvement here is to fry the onions along with the burger in the pan. Caramelized onions fried in animal fat...? You don't get much better than that. Make sure to keep the slices thin but large so they don't fall off the burger too easily, but get plenty of browning on them.

Sesame Seed Bun

We noticed the bun on the Big Mac was really sweet and really squishy. Also,

why the extra bread? According to the Thrillist, the middle bun was to soak up the special sauce so the burger didn't get too messy. Really? In general, the bread was a little disappointing.

We made kaiser rolls from the King Arthur Baking Company recipe. This creates a light roll with a good crust that can hold up to a juicy burger. Make sure to toast or grill the cut sides of your roll or bun to ensure it is sealed and a little crunchy. This improves a burger immensely.