UAE · McDonald's UAE · Recipes
Big Mac-Style Burger (Copycat)
A structure-demo recipe, written to show how this section will work. It recreates the well-known double-decker format at home, two thin beef patties, a three-part sesame bun, shredded lettuce, cheese, pickles and a tangy burger sauce. It has not been kitchen-tested for this site yet, so treat quantities as a starting point until the tested version replaces it after launch.
What it costs: restaurant vs home
| Option | Cost |
|---|---|
| Non-VegBig Mac at McDonald's UAE (typical price, from the menu page) | 22 AED |
| This home version, per serving | 11 AED |
| You save | 11 AED (50%) |
Restaurant price is the typical figure from our McDonald's UAE menu data (prices vary by location). Home cost is an estimate for the ingredients listed, per serving.
Ingredients
| Amount | Ingredient | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 300 g | beef mince (about 20% fat) | divided into 4 thin patties |
| 2 | sesame burger buns | plus 1 extra bottom half for the middle layer |
| 2 slices | processed cheese | n/a |
| 1 cup | iceberg lettuce | finely shredded |
| 8 slices | dill pickles | n/a |
| 2 tbsp | white onion | very finely diced |
| 4 tbsp | mayonnaise | for the sauce |
| 1 tbsp | finely chopped pickles | for the sauce |
| 1 tsp | yellow mustard | for the sauce |
| 1 tsp | white vinegar | for the sauce |
| 0.5 tsp | garlic powder | for the sauce |
| 0.5 tsp | onion powder | for the sauce |
| 0.5 tsp | paprika | for the sauce |
| n/a | salt and black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Make the sauce first: stir the mayonnaise, chopped pickles, mustard, vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika together, then rest it in the fridge for at least 20 minutes so the flavours settle.
- Build the three-part buns: for each burger you need a bun top, a bun bottom, and one extra bottom half acting as the middle layer. Lightly toast all cut sides in a dry pan.
- Divide the beef mince into 4 equal balls and press each one into a patty slightly wider than the bun, they shrink as they cook. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook the patties in a hot, dry frying pan for about 2 minutes per side until cooked through. Lay a cheese slice over two of the patties for the last 30 seconds.
- Sauce the bottom bun and the middle layer generously. Add onion, shredded lettuce and pickles to both layers.
- Stack in this order: sauced bottom bun with toppings, a plain patty, the middle layer with toppings, the cheese-topped patty, then the bun top.
- Rest the assembled burger for a minute so the layers settle, then serve straight away.
Tips
- Thin patties are the whole trick, thick patties make it taste like a regular homemade burger instead of the layered original format.
- Shred the lettuce finer than feels reasonable; chunky lettuce pushes the layers apart.
- The sauce improves noticeably after a few hours in the fridge, so making it ahead is worth it.
Recipe credit: adapted in our own words from the tested recipe by CincyShopper. Their CopyCat Big Mac was developed and tested in their home kitchen (published 2014); it was the reference point for the sauce balance and the stack order here. Our wording, quantities and method above are our own. The recipe above is complete as published here; the original is credited only as a reference for readers who want to compare: original tested recipe at CincyShopper.
See the full McDonald's UAE menu & prices The original item: Non-VegBig Mac