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[jdmessner]

I am starting to make plans for the Gargantuan Big Mac. Has anyone attempted to recreate the "special" sauce? The easiest thing to do would be to just use 1000 Island dressing, but I think I will try a couple different recipes to see what I can come up with.

This is going to be my round. They are both supposed to be based on the actual ingredients of Mac Sauce by someone in the know:

Recipe 1 Big Mac Sauce
1 cup Mayo
¼ cup Sweet Relish
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 teaspoon Onion Powder,
1 tsp garlic powder,
1 ¼ tsp Paprika
1/8 tsp white pepper
2 TBSP Dusseldorf Ground Mustard

Recipe 2 Mac Sauce
½ cup Mayo
2 TBS Sweet Relish
½ Tbsp white vinegar
½ teaspoon Onion Powder, garlic powder, Paprika
½ TBSP Yellow Mustard



This is the latest plan for building the burger:

Bottom Bun: 20" Pizza with pickles and onion
10 lb. Burger
3 lb. Slice of American Cheese
Special Sauce
2.5 lbs. Bacon
Lettuce
Top Bun: 20" Pizza with Pepperoni and tomato

Repeat and stack on top.

[jdmessner]

As it gets closer to the burger day on May 19, I think everything is good to go. I still have not tried making any Mac Sauce yet, but I do not think that will be a big deal. The only problem is, there is too much time between the practice run and the actual event. This means my mind is able to wander down some crazy rabbit holes. The other day, out of the blue, and without warning it hit me: A big burger needs a side order of extra large fries.

There are several videos on YouTube that show people making large fries using mashed potatoes. Some worked out better than others. I consulted with Larry about whether or not his latke recipe would work. He thought the mush would be too thin to fry in strips.

After pondering on that for a bit, I came up with an alternative that I may try. Instead of grating potatoes, I will substitute instant potatoes. This will give me control over the consistancy of the mush. If I make the fries approximately 18" in length, I can fry them in my cast iron frying pan. However, if I wanted to bake them, instead of frying them, I could make them even longer.

I did recieve word from the engineering department (my wife Sally), that if the large large fries work out, she would design a fry box to put them in. I love the engineering department!

[jdmessner]

Starting the extra large fries experiment. I decided to modify Larry's latke recipe and see what happens.

I used 1 box of instant potatoes (13.75 ounces), rather than grated potatoes. I do think it will give me a better shot at hitting the right consistency for the mixture. I also used 1 egg, 1/4 cup bread crumbs (to try and absorb moisture and help as a binding agent), and just under six cups of boiling water.

The French fry is about 18 inches long, which is what I was shooting for. It's in the freezer overnight. We will see how it fries up tomorrow.

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[urnmor]

WOW

[pmillen]

This is soooo inventive.  I'm super interested in the final photographs.  (Not that I'll ever attempt to duplicate your work.)

[jdmessner]

Getting ready for the initial run. Going to use a chafing dish to fry in. Waiting for the temp to get to 350* F.

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[jdmessner]

Epic fail! Or at least I now know one way not to do it!

The fry started to disinigrate as it cooked. I ended up with a lot of potato pieces floating around in the pan that were a nice golden color. However the fry itself remained white and the center was still frozen. I saw this happen to a guy on YouTube, but he was more interested in making loud comments instead of looking at what he thought went wrong.

My next attempt will be to see if I can bake the fry first and then fry it to give it a bit of color. A friend also suggested broiling it. I don't know if real potates would make a difference over instant. I will give it a couple more tries before throwing in the towel.

[BigDave83]

Real potatoes would have the starch in them. Maybe work on some smaller versions until you find one that works. I would see if I could find some potato starch, or even some tapioca starch to see if it may help hold them together.

Try it with some real potatoes, I know I have tried to make potato cakes from instant and they would not hold together even adding in an egg and some flour.

I have to say you are a very inventive person and thoughtful also, going through all of this to make the parties a hit.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Real potatoes would have the starch in them. Maybe work on some smaller versions until you find one that works. I would see if I could find some potato starch, or even some tapioca starch to see if it may help hold them together.

Try it with some real potatoes, I know I have tried to make potato cakes from instant and they would not hold together even adding in an egg and some flour.

I have to say you are a very inventive person and thoughtful also, going through all of this to make the parties a hit.

He's an even better in person.  Spent half a day with him in Detroit a year or so ago and had a great time.

[Kristin Meredith]

I think baking is a good idea.  You may want to try an egg wash on it and then bake to see if i9t adds some color. Broiling after also sounds like a good idea.  Or, if you have a big enough flat iron surface, bake and then fry/grill on the flatiron.

[jdmessner]

Lou - That was a great day hanging out in the Motor City, I really enjoyed the Motown Museum. I hope we can reconnect sometime.

It looks like there is a new twist in the French Fry saga. I was texting with the youth director this morning about the fries. We have not had much of a chance to talk about this part of the project. I wanted to make sure I could pull it off before I said too much. Apparently he has also been thinking about fries and has secured the use of a fryer and is thinking about cranking out massive quantities of regular fries to go with the burger. This will make life much easier for me, especially given the recent results. 

At some point I may go ahead and try the baking a fry, just to satisfy my own curiosity and to see if it will work. I do think adding potato starch sounds like a good idea. We'll see what happens, I am just not sure when!

[jdmessner]

Sunday is the day of the Big Mac attack.

Phase 1: Cheese slices!
The American cheese came in two pound bricks, so I thought I would start with that. Melted it down in a double boiler, poured it out on parchment paper, and spread it out to size. It was a little thin. For the next slice I will use 3 lb of cheese.

Tomorrow I will finish the cheese slices and go into Phase 2.

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[BigDave83]

I see Big Mac Attack. Are you doing the double deck or just a top and bottom with a single burger?  Can't wait to see this.

[jdmessner]

I see Big Mac Attack. Are you doing the double deck or just a top and bottom with a single burger?  Can't wait to see this.

We are going for the double decker. There will be four 20" pizzas to be used as buns for two hamburger patties that will be 10 pounds each. One sandwich will be placed on top of the other for the Big Mac effect.

[jdmessner]

No good deed goes unpunished. Last night I made the patties and cooked 5 pounds of bacon. Things were looking good.

Around 8 p.m. my wife said she had not been feeling well and we decided to go to the ER. They ran all kinds of tests, but they couldn't rule anything in or out. One of the the things that was in play can be kind of nasty and contagious. The tests won't be back for three days.

It's a long shot that she has it, and a longer shot that I might have it or could be contagious. However, as part of full disclosure, I told the leaders of the youth group what was going on. We decided it was best if I didn't show up.

I think I will freeze the patties and try to come up with a new plan. Father's Day might be an option.