The classic Big Mac is one of the worlds most popular hamburgers served in almost every country around the world. It boasts a wildly delicious ingredient combination that is layered to perfection. Though these are readily available at any McDonald Restaurant, I wanted to make my own replica in the comfort of my kitchen. I wanted to focus on LOCAL FRESH ingredients that I know whats in them and where I got them.

This intractable will detail how to make a Big Mac at home that is as close as possible to the real deal but with substantially less preservatives and fats.

Now just a head up I was not originally planning on making this into an instructable I just wanted a tasty burger, but after going through the process and seeing how easy and AMAZING it was I just had to share my findings. I did however do my own research / prep-work into the Big Mac. I bought one and took it apart to see the exactly what made it tick so I could be as close as possible to perfection!!

Materials Needed

Cast Iron Pan
Parchment paper
Rolling Pin

Ingredients Needed

Hamburger Bun - Sesame Seed (conventional) or Egg Bun, which I used because I just love them- local baker
Ground Chuck - This is entirely beef and will allow me to cook the burger medium rare and has a great fat to meat ratio of about 80% meat to 20% fat- from local butcher
Iceberg Lettuce - Shredded- bought locally
Dill Pickle - Sliced - Homemade
White onion - Diced- bought locally
Cheddar cheese slice - bought locally
Thousand Island salad dressing - store bought not local
A little bit of butter
Salt and Pepper

*** All the amounts of the ingredients are respective to the amount of burgers you are making***

Step 1: Step by Step Process

The process is very easy and does not require going outside to the grill. After all we want to recreate the Big Mac and they do not use a grill in their kitchen.

***Before starting, prep the ingredients ie; slice the lettuce, dice some onion, slice the pickle and have the cheese and dressing ready***

Step 1 - Begin by grabbing 1/4 lb of ground chuck and divide it into 2 equal parts. Now put some parchment paper down and place the ground beef on the paper at least 4 " apart and begin to flatten them out. Once your patties are beginning to take shape, place another piece of paper over top and using a rolling pin work the patties flat. The finished patties should be just larger then your bun so when they shrink during the cooking process they will be the perfect size. Season Patties with salt and pepper then set aside

Step 2 - With a sharp bread knife cut your bun 2 times creating 3 pieces of bun, a TOP, MIDDLE and BOTTOM. Now place your cast Iron pan on the stove top and turn the heat to medium high heat. As the pan is heating up butter all cut faces of your buns with a small amount of butter and place them in the now warm (getting hot) cast iron pan. Lightly toast the buns until they are golden brown. Do not flip the top or bottom buns only flip the middle bun so only the CUT sides are lightly toasted. Set the buns aside

Step 3 - Now that your cast iron is hot place your patties into the dry pan. No oil is needed when using ground chuck. Cook the Patties quickly remembering that they are thin and will only need 2 minutes per side in the pan, the ideal burger will have a little pink still left in the patty.

Once the patties are cooked removed from heat and place on a paper towel to remove any unnecessary grease.

Step 4 - Build the Big Mac, This is the funnest but also most crucial part to making your own Big Mac. You have to order the ingredients a specific way to ensure the most realistic replica Big Mac. Follow the picture I have uploaded to make sure the ingredient order is correct. I have placed the images in the exact order then are to be placed onto the buns.

**Pro Tip - Always build from bottom up!! because of gravity building a burger from top down is physically impossible**

Once you have assembled this homemade fast-food legendary burger take a second to admire its glory then take a bite of succulent bliss !!!