With the Big Mac it’s the special sauce that sets it apart. Without the sauce it’s just a double-decker burger. Get the sauce right and any burger will taste like a Big Mac.

There has been much discussion on the web and many, many recipes attempts for the secret sauce. Many people claim it is just Thousand Island. While in the broad sense of the term this is true (The definition of 1000 Island is – in a few words – tartar sauce with tomato sauce) there is no store bought 1000 Island that tastes quite right. There is something else there.

That “something else” is what has been debated so heatedly on the web. And to tell the truth I hope that this post generates some discussion. Below is the recipe that I feel comes closest to the taste of McDonald’s Secret Sauce.

McDonald’s Big Mac & Secret Sauce Copycat Recipes

BIG MAC SECRET SAUCE

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons French dressing (this is the key — tomato based but not ketchup)
• 4 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
• 1 tablespoon finely minced white onion
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

McDONALD’S BIG MAC

Ingredients

• 1 regular sized sesame seed bun
• 1 regular sized plain bun
• 2 previously frozen regular beef patties
• 2 tablespoons Big Mac sauce
• 2−teaspoons reconstituted onions
• 1 slice real American cheese
• 2 hamburger pickle slices
• 1/4 Cup −shredded iceberg lettuce

Directions

1. Discard the crown half of the regular bun, retaining the heel.
2. Toast all the buns
3. Cook the two−all−beef−patties just like the regular burgers.
4. After the bun parts are toasted, put 1 tablespoon of “Mac sauce” on each of the
heels (toasted side.)
5. Add 1/8 cup shredded lettuce to each.
6. On the true bottom bun, place one thin slice of American cheese on top of the lettuce.
7. On the extra “heel”, the middle bun, place two pickle slices on top of the
lettuce.
8. Place the patties one at a time on both prepared buns. Stack the middle bun on top of the bottom bun, and put the crown on top.