Chicken Mini Mac

I have to be honest…I went back and forth on what to call this sandwich. It has all the components and flavors of the ever so popular Big Mac, but we’re swapping out ground beef for ground chicken and slimming things down to make one burger patty instead of two. But other than those few small tweaks, when you close your eyes, this chicken burger transports you straight to those big golden arches.

So, let’s get into making our own!

Let’s start with the special sauce. You know the one. We’re going to make our own version of that classic sauce by mixing together a handful of ingredients like mayo, mustard, and ketchup. Then, we’ll add in some seasoning components like vinegar, dried minced onion, sweet relish, and french dressing. Mix it all together, give the flavors some time to meet each other, and you have a pretty spot on replica of that creamy, tangy burger sauce. (And yes, I know that McD’s doesn’t add ketchup to theirs, but it works great in this copycat version!)

For our burgers, we’re going to lighten these burgers up a little bit by making ground chicken burgers instead of beef. Ground chicken is known for producing a dry burger, but I have the fix for that with 2 special ingredients: minced onion and mayonnaise. The natural juices from the onion help to moisten up the meat while the fat in the mayo adds the fatty component that ground chicken naturally lacks. We’re also going to add some Worcestershire sauce to the burger to add a “meaty” umami flavor to the chicken. Then we’ll gently mix it all together, form the chicken into burgers, and cook the burgers on a grill pan.

Now once the burgers are finished cooking, I like to turn off the heat, add a slice of good ol’ American cheese to each burger, cover the pan, and let the steam melt that cheese until it’s ooey and gooey. I know that the cheese is not typically melted onto the burger in the OG sammie. But, this is our burger and we can do what we want!

To finish off the burger, we can sing the song and add some of everything. “Two all beef patties…” or one chicken patty…check! “Special sauce…” Check! “Lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions…” Check! “On a sesame seed bun.” CHECK!

Listen, I don’t even like pickles. I peel them off of any sandwich I get that has them. But, even I loved the pickles on this sandwich. It just works!

Between the fluffy bun, the juicy burger, the gooey cheese, the crisp veggies, and the tangy sauce; this burger is EPIC. I like a good burger, but I’m not one that could eat them every day. This burger, though. I could eat it every day, twice a day. It’s the perfect balance of all the flavors and textures. And, it truly does taste JUST like that traditional fast food burger. It’s pretty magical, actually!

Ok, everyone. I had a lot of fun recreating this fan favorite burger. What fast food chain item should we try recreating/lightening up next?

In the meantime, enjoy! And, let’s eat!