41 Vegetarian versions of classic recipes

'I Worked At McDonald's – How To Make Big Mac Sauce At Home And One Item To Leave Out'

Would you try recreating this McDonald's meal at home? (stock) (

Image: DDP/AFP via Getty Images)

Whether you're a fan of the quarter pounder or a chicken nuggets meal, most McDonald's aficionados would agree that its Big Mac sauce is legendary.

Every year, tens of thousands of people Google 'How to make Big Mac sauce at home', prompting chef Mike Haracz to share his take on the recipe online. Mike Haracz, who was a corporate chef at McDonald's until 2019, has been revealing alleged insider secrets on his TikTok channel – including the ingredients needed to whip up your own version of the scrumptious sauce.

In one video Chef Mike pours one cup of mayonnaise into a bowl, followed by a 1/4 cup of sweet pickle relish, two tablespoons of Dusseldorf mustard, and one teaspoon of white wine vinegar. He then adds one and 1/4 teaspoon of paprika, one teaspoon of onion powder, one teaspoon of granulated garlic, and 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper.

He said: "All you've got to do is mix it all together." He also shed light on one ingredient many people mistakenly think is in the sauce – ketchup.

"As you can see, there's no ketchup in this recipe," he explained. "The colour you get from Big Mac sauce is just from paprika. You're going to let this sit for half an hour before trying. This is as close as you are going to get."

One user commented on his video: "You sir are a hero." Another added: "McDonald's should bottle and sell Big Mac Sauce." A third queried: "Where the hell do I get Dusseldorf mustard? " One more user remarked: "I loved when people asked for no pickles in the Big Mac lol I was like what the hell bro?! You know the sauce is pickles."

In another video, Mike debunked myths about how long it takes for a McDonald's burger to get mouldy. It came after customers began questioning the contents of McDonald's food and whether it actually decomposes. Mike stepped in to address the debate sparked by YouTuber DebunkerSam's video titled 'The decomposition of McDonald's burgers and fries', which gained renewed attention despite being uploaded 13 years ago.

In the video, Sam observes the decay process of various McDonald's items over several weeks. Two weeks in, the fries remained unchanged, while the quarter pounder, chicken, and fish burgers showed mould. The Big Mac, however, looked as fresh as day one, with Sam noting: "it hasn't even started to mould yet". Three weeks later, only the lettuce had begun to mould, leaving the rest of the burger looking untouched.

After 10 weeks, Sam was astonished by the fries' preservation, remarking: "Look at that! What is wrong with that? There's not even one spore on there, it's not breaking down – nothing. It looks like we bought them yesterday." Mike quickly chimed in with his own experience, stating: "In response to somebody saying McDonald's burgers never go mouldy or go bad, buns do mould, actually. I've worked at multiple fast-food places and seen multiple mould-ridden buns."

"They come into the store with mould sometimes. Well, that last part, that's not great. That means you're being shipped old buns or they have not been stored properly. But when anyone talks about the McDonald's burgers never going bad, that is false. A lot of times, what is happened is that the bun or burgers are becoming dehydrated."

He further explained how McDonald's incorporates mould inhibitors into its food to prevent them from moulding for a week or two when kept in the right conditions. After this period, he anticipates the food will mould as usual – with bread taking just a few days past its use-by date to start sprouting green and white mould spots.

The same applies to its cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes, which will begin to show signs of moulding just like the products would if left in your fridge at home. He added that the meat would dry up and become hard to the touch within days if left out of a fridge.

He continued: "When everyone talks about them pulling out food from behind a seat that's been there for a year or whatever, it's a combination of dehydration and the fact McDonald's cooks their burgers and its meats well done so there's no raw protein. There's a lot less moist and fat in there. The fact they salt and season after it's cooked – so that salt is dropping the water activity. Salt absorbs any free moisture and that free moisture is what microbes and things use to grow."

McDonald's has been contacted for comment.

Ex-McDonald's Worker Spills 'special' Big Mac Sauce Recipe And You'll Need Eight Items

After it was invented in 1967 by Jim Delligatti, the Big Mac became one of the most iconic fast food burgers in the world.

McDonald's sells an estimated 900 million Big Macs every year – with happy customers in five continents and more than 100 different countries.

Inside a stack of three sesame buns, you'll find two patties, cheese, lettuce, pickles, onions, and a mouthwatering "special sauce" that keeps people coming back for more.

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So what exactly is inside that addictive relish? Mike Haracz, who was a corporate chef at McDonald's until 2019, spilled the recipe details people are desperate to know.

Instructing his followers on TikTok, chef Mike pours one cup of mayonnaise into a bowl, followed by a 1/4 cup of sweet pickle relish, two tablespoons of Dusseldorf mustard, and one teaspoon of white wine vinegar. He then adds one and 1/4 teaspoon of paprika, one teaspoon of onion powder, one teaspoon of granulated garlic, and 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper.

To get that lovely creamy consistency, "all you've got to do is mix it all together". And if you want the most authentic-tasting flavour, Mike urges people to avoid squirting in any tomato sauce.

He said: "As you can see, there's no ketchup in this recipe. The colour you get from Big Mac sauce is just from paprika. You're going to let this sit for half an hour before trying. This is as close as you are going to get."

So there you have it – eight ingredients to make a tasty Big Mac-style sauce at home. And judging by the comments section, many people are keen to give it a go themselves!

One user commented on his video: "You sir are a hero." Another added: "McDonald's should bottle and sell Big Mac Sauce." And a third added: "I loved when people asked for no pickles in the Big Mac lol I was like what the hell bro?! You know the sauce is pickles."

Former McDonald's Chef Shares Ultimate Guide To 'recreate Secret Big Mac Sauce At Home'

Big Mac sauce is one of the franchise's most iconic items (stock) (Image: Getty)

Whether you love a quarter pounder or chicken nuggets meal, most McDonald's lovers will agree its Big Mac sauce is up there with the greats. Tens of thousands of people search 'How to make Big Mac sauce at home' on Google every year, inspiring chef Mike Haracz to share his version of the the recipe online.

Mike Haracz, who says he worked as a corporate chef at McDonald's until 2019, has been sharing insider secrets on his TikTok channel – including the ingredients needed to make your own version of the delicious dressing.

In a TikTok video, chef Mike empties one cup of mayonnaise into a bowl, followed by a 1/4 cup of sweet pickle relish, two tablespoons of Dusseldorf mustard, and one teaspoon of white wine vinegar.

Following this, he adds one and 1/4 teaspoon of paprika, one teaspoon of onion powder, one teaspoon of granulated garlic, and 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper.

He said: "All you've got to do is mix it all together. As you can see, there's no ketchup in this recipe. The colour you get from Big Mac sauce is just from paprika. You're going to let this sit for half an hour before trying. This is as close as you are going to get."

Commenting on his video, one user said: "You sir are a hero." Another user added: "McDonald's should bottle and sell Big Mac Sauce." A third user said: "Where the hell do I get Dusseldorf mustard?" One more user said: "I loved when people asked for no pickles in the Big Mac lol I was like what the hell bro?! You know the sauce is pickles."

But this isn't the only McDonald's secret Mike has shared on social media. He previously shared how long it allegedly takes for one of the chain's burgers to go mouldy.

After customers started to question what's actually in McDonald's food, he settled the debate on whether its produce ever 'goes off'. It came as he responded to YouTuber DebunkerSam's video showing 'The decomposition of McDonald's burgers and fries', which resurfaced online after being originally uploaded 13 years ago.

In the five-minute video, Sam put the food into jars and documented how long it takes for them to decompose. After two weeks, the fries look almost identical from the day he bought them while the quarter pounder burger, chicken burger, and fish burger all started showing signs of mould.

However, the Big Mac appeared unspoilt from when he put it in the jar. Sam said: "it hasn't even started to mould yet". After three weeks, the lettuce in the meal had started to go mouldy, but the rest of the burger appeared to remain the same.

Recording his last video 10 weeks in, and speaking about the French fries, he says: "Look at that! What is wrong with that? There's not even one spore on there, it's not breaking down – nothing. It looks like we bought them yesterday."

Mike was quick to respond to the clip. In his video, he said: "In response to somebody saying McDonald's burgers never go mouldy or go bad, buns do mould, actually. I've worked at multiple fast-food places and seen multiple mould-ridden buns.

"They come into the store with mould sometimes. Well, that last part, that's not great. That means you're being shipped old buns or they have not been stored properly. But when anyone talks about the McDonald's burgers never going bad, that is false. A lot of times, what is happened is that the bun or burgers are becoming dehydrated."

He went on to explain how McDonald's adds mould inhibitors to its food to prevent them from moulding for a week or two when stored in the correct environment. After this period, he expects the food to mould like normal – with bread taking just a few days past its used-by date to start growing spots of green and white mould.

The same goes for its cheese, lettuce, and tomatos, which will start to show signs of moulding just like the products would if left in your fridge at home. He added that the meat would dry up and become hard to the touch within days if let out of a fridge.

He added: "When everyone talks about them pulling out food from behind a seat that's been there for a year or whatever, it's a combination of dehydration and the fact McDonald's cooks their burgers and its meats well done so there's no raw protein. There's a lot less moist and fat in there. The fact they salt and season after it's cooked – so that salt is dropping the water activity. Salt absorbs any free moisture and that free moisture is what microbes and things use to grow."

McDonald's has been contacted for comment.

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