Homemade Big Mac and the Viral Big Mac Taco
Most of us have tasted it, but only a few know how to make it at home. This homemade Big Mac recipe is my most accurate copycat that's still easy for anybody, no grinding your own meat or baking buns from scratch. I bought a real one to benchmark it against, and honestly, it tastes like carton next to this. Same burger, ten times better. The viral TikTok Big Mac Taco is in here too, since you'll have all the ingredients at hand.
Ingredients
- 120 ml mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tsp white distilled vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 2 sesame buns
- 140 g ground beef, shaped into 2 patties of 70 g
- 1 slice of American cheese (more if you like)
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 1/8 head iceberg lettuce, cut into fine strips
- a few pickle slices
- a knob butter, for toasting the buns
- to taste salt and pepper
- 1 medium tortilla
- 140 g ground beef, rolled into a ball
- 2 slices of American cheese
- 4 pickle slices
- to serve Big Mac sauce, diced onion and lettuce from above
Method
The sauce
- 1
Mix the mayonnaise, relish, mustard, vinegar, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder in a bowl. That's the secret Big Mac sauce, you won't use all of it, but throw it on any other sandwich and it works.
The Big Mac
- 2
Prep the toppings: dice the onion, cut the lettuce eighth into fine strips, slice the pickles (or buy them pre-sliced like I did).
- 3
Build the iconic three-layer bun: cut one bun in half, and cut a middle disc out of the second bun.
- 4
Weigh the patties at 70 g each, McDonald's uses 50 g, but my buns are bigger, so a few extra grams. Season with salt and pepper.
- 5
Put a cast-iron pan or griddle on medium heat and toast the buns in melted butter until golden brown. Set aside.
- 6
Add the patties and smash them down flat. After 2 minutes, flip, and lay the American cheese on one patty. Grill a few more minutes with the lid on until done.
- 7
Assemble: bottom bun, spoon of sauce, teaspoon of diced onion, a good dot of lettuce, then the cheese patty upside down, McDonald's puts the cheese cold under the patty, but cheese needs to be melted, let's be honest.
- 8
Add the middle bun, more sauce, onion, lettuce, then two (officially) or three pickles, the second patty, and crown it with the top bun.
The Big Mac Taco
- 9
Put the 140 g meatball in the middle of the tortilla, lay parchment paper over it, and press it flat with something heavy like a cutting board so you get a round meat disc on the tortilla.
- 10
In a cast-iron pan on medium-high heat, cook the tortilla meat-side down for a few minutes with the lid on.
- 11
Scrape the meat off the bottom, flip, and immediately add the two slices of cheese. Lid back on for 2–3 minutes, the tortilla should be lightly crunchy, but not so crunchy it breaks.
- 12
Assemble on the cheese: a strip of sauce, diced onion, four pickle slices, a good amount of lettuce, one more drizzle of sauce. Fold, and hold it up in a taco holder if you have one.
6 tools I used.
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