The Big Mac – Cowboy Style
Y’all we don’t have a drive-up window here but we’re making an iconic American burger….The Big Mac. But we’re going to fix it up cowboy style. What does that mean? First off more beef and we’re throwing it on the grill for more flavor!
Where’s the Beef?
One big change we will be making to ours is the meat. Now they are using 1/8 of a pound hamburger patties- thats only 2 ounces folks! Even with 2 of them per burger that’s not even a 1/2lb. So, we will actually load this thing up with some beef. We are using 1/2 pound patties of good 80/20 Certified Angus Beef.
You always want to wait to season a patty right before you throw it on the grill.
If you season it and let it set too long, that’s going to dry out your burger. And of course, we will be using, Original Seasoning to season as everyone should.
Special Sauce (Cowboy Style)
What makes the Big Mac so unique is the sauce and we’re going to be using their main ingredients but we’re adding a little something extra. Smoked paprika and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to kick in that added spice. We have the actual recipe below for amounts we used. Now you will want to set this aside in the icebox for about two hours to let all those flavors blend together.
Grilling Time
Make sure that grill is clean, make sure it is “awled” (thats okie for Oiled) and make sure its HOT
Once you have your grill nice and hot, and by nice and hot I mean, if you can hold your hand down close to the grill for more than 5 seconds, it ain’t hot enough.
Now, once we throw these patties on here we will grill them about 3-4 minutes per side. Please, whatever you do people, do not mash ya’ burger with that spatular ’cause that’s mashing all those good juices and flavors out.
Flip the burger as much as you want… it ain’t going to hurt it.
There’s a myth in grilling that turning a burger too much is bad- folks it’s not going to hurt it. JUST DON’T MASH THE BURGER.
Once you start to see that glistening on the top of the patty at about the 3-4 minute mark, and some of those juices start seeping through, you can go ahead and flip it and let it cook for another 3-4 minutes on the other side. What I like to do is take the edge of the spatula and just kinda press down slightly in the middle of the patty. When you see clear liquid come out, that’s what you call a just right burger.
Show me your buns!
Now you may be asking, “how do you make that middle bun Kent?” Well, I’ll tell you, you take that good bread knife and you shave the top part of an extra top bun off. That will create that middle bun. Make sure you butter both sides of the cut bun and also the underside of the other top and bottom bun. If you’re doing your math… that’s three buns total.
Assembly Line
First, we take the special sauce on the bottom bun, next up finely chopped lettuce. They use American Cheese, but the ol’ cowboy is using cheddar, then we add a patty. Bring on the middle bun, more special sauce, more lettuce.
Now, they don’t call for it but ol’ Kent’s giving you a bonus slice of cheese at this point. Then we add the final patty, pickles on top and let’s do some more of that special sauce to the top bun for final assembly.
Ronald McDonald Shuffle
McDonald’s as been in business for a long time and I’ve eaten my fair share of their burgers going up and down the road. But, I want y’all to see the difference here. That McDonald’s burger is half the size. Not only is the cowboy version bigger is size- but also in flavor!
The Big Mac - Cowboy Style
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise Duke’s preferred
- 2 tablespoons sweet relish
- 1 ½ tablespoons mustard
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ white onion diced
- 4 ½- lb. hamburger patties 80/20 blend
- Red River Ranch Original seasoning all-purpose seasoning or salt and pepper
- 4 sesame seed buns
- ½ stick butter melted
- 1/2 to 1 cups finely chopped lettuce
- 4 slices cheddar cheese
- Sliced pickles for topping
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, relish, mustard, adobo sauce, vinegar, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika. Stir in the diced onion. Cover and place in the icebox for at least 2 hours or until ready to serve.
- Preheat the grill to medium heat. Clean and oil the grates.
- Sprinkle both sides of the patties with the Red River Ranch Original Seasoning, blend of your choice or salt and pepper.
- Immediately place the patties on the grill and grill for about 3 minutes on each side. Grill to at least medium.
- Meanwhile, take one of the top buns and cut off the top fourth (this will make the middle bun for the Big Mac). Discard the excess.
- Take another top bun, bottom bun and the bun you cut and brush with melted butter. Place on the grill to toast. Be sure to toast both sides of the bun you cut.
- To assemble: Spread a layer of the sauce on the bottom bun and then add lettuce, a slice of cheese, burger patty and the cut bun. Spread another layer of sauce on top of the cut bun followed by lettuce, slice of cheese, burger patty, pickles and the top bun. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to assemble the other Big Mac.
- Serve immediately.