First introduced in 1968 by Jim Delligatti, a McDonald’s franchise owner in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, the Big Mac has forever changed the way Americans think about hamburgers—we now consume 550 million Big Macs annually. In honor of this American icon, we’ve included all the essential elements in our Big CHOW: two all-beef patties, American cheese, and, yes, even our own special sauce. Satisfy your next Mac attack at home.
This recipe was featured as part of our Hamburger Through Time feature.
- Yield: 1 burger
- Difficulty: Easy
- Total: 15 mins
- Active: 15 mins
Ingredients (9)
For the burger:
- 2 tablespoons Thousand Island Dressing
- 1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish
- 3 ounces lean ground beef
- 2 (4-inch) bottom halves of 2 sesame seed buns
- 1 (4-inch) top half of 1 sesame seed bun
To assemble:
- 1/4 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1 slice American cheese
- 1 tablespoon minced sweet onion
- 4 (1/8-inch-thick) dill pickle slices
Instructions
For the burger:
- In a small bowl, mix dressing with relish until evenly combined; set aside. Shape beef into 2 (4-inch-wide) patties (the patties will be very thin). Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Heat a griddle or a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add patties and press on them with a metal spatula to flatten. Cook until patties are almost done through and most of the red has turned to brown, about 4 minutes.
- Flip patties and move to one side of the pan until second sides are browned, about 1 minute more. Meanwhile, place bun halves cut side down on burger juices in the pan to lightly toast while burgers finish cooking.
To assemble:
- Spread 1 tablespoon of the dressing mixture on 1 of the bottom bun halves, then top with 1/2 of the lettuce and the cheese slice. Lay 1 burger patty on top of this.
- Place remaining bottom bun on first burger patty, then spread remaining dressing mixture on bun. Top with onion and remaining lettuce. Finish off with pickle slices, remaining burger patty, and top half of the toasted bun.
