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Oct 5, 2010

veg mac

Sing with me:

Two no beef patties
special sauce
lettuce
non-dairy cheese
pickles
onions
on a sesame seed bun.

When I was growing up, we were so poor that we only went to McDonald's on very special occasions. In fact, I can only remember going there a mere four times during my childhood. My favorite thing there was the Big Mac. Unusual, I know.

The good news is, I think my kids have patronized McDonald's about the same amount of times in their lives, and most of those were for a bottle of water because the restrooms aren't free.

It is not unusual to make a Big Mac at home, so if you ever have a hankering for it, make it!

It is pretty simple, really, but up the generic ingredients to romaine lettuce, whole wheat bun (sesame seeds or not), use a veggie patty and veganaise or nayonaise for the base of the 'special sauce', which is really 1,000 Island dressing with a tad more vinegar. Use dill pickle slices, not the bread and butter ones, because it makes your sandwich way too sweet. And to have the whole Big Mac experience at home, wrap your burger in a wax or parchment paper and nuke for 10 seconds to give it that hot-out-of-the-box taste.

The patty is your biggest challenge. Just grab a veg-burger patty, frozen, pan fry or nuke until almost thawed, and slice it in half horizontally. That is the tricky part. Make sure to put your palm on the top and cut with a serrated knife gently. Rotate the patty once you have cut a part way through and keep cutting until you have rotated all the way around and the patty is in two halves. Now add some Daiya and nuke or cover with a lid (one that is concave so the lid doesn't touch the cheeze) in your pan, add a little water (which will instantly turn to steam) and cover the patty. This will melt your cheeze fast and you have a cheeze-patty to put on your Veg Mac.

Order:
top bun
cheeze
burger
pickles -3
lettuce, minced
onion, minced
special sauce
middle bun
 (either another bottom bun or a top bun with the top cut off)
cheeze
burger
pickles- 3
lettuce, minced
onion, minced
special sauce
bottom bun

Cost Breakdown
buns: $4
burgers: $4
lettuce, onion, pickle: $.75
veganaise, ketchup, relish, onion, vinegar: $1.50
Daiya: $1
Total to make 4 Veg Macs:
$10.25



16 comments:

  1. You know I love your food, but you may have just outdone yourself with this one!

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  2. Thanks, Tasha!

    Tami! Well, from you that is high praise, indeed! This is right up your alley, ey? Me, too :)

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  3. That looks so good- and we just ate!

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  4. I've been flirting with veganism and I'm really glad I came across your blog! All your recipes look great! I cannot wait to try the Veg Macs!

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  5. I wasn't a fan of the special sauce (I ordered a mac once and was thoroughly disappointed). But without the sauce this could be an interesting creation. Yours looks almost like I remember the real thing looking. I love how you add the microwave step in there. Truly making it seem authentic.

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  6. I cannot believe how authentic that looks! Big Macs were my favorite too! I'm definitely going to have to try it. My 10-year-old is a huge 1,000 Island fan (??) so I know he'll totally go for this.

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  7. Thanks, Katja, VegSpinz!

    Becky, your son should like it! My 10 yo daughter thoroughly enjoyed it.

    Thanks, Noelle! Nice to see you here :)

    Lauren, I'm glad you are flirting with it and hope you will adopt more and more vegan dishes. Let me know if I can help in any way.

    Thanks, Tender Branson. 1,000 Island is not everyone's fave so try the Veg Mac but skip the 'special sauce.' If you like ketchup, add that since it would deliver the same sweetness the sauce is supposed to deliver. Or switch to bread and butter pickles.

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  8. I just made a vegan Big Mac too. Check out my blog.

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  9. Wow! I did these for my family tonight. My 19 month old son (who only had simple veg burger instead of the super loaded Veg Mac) kept saying.. "Yumm.. Mic Mac". This was a real treat! My husband and I loved it! Thank you so much for your creativity. Nathalie from www.livelyfoodmadefresh.blogspot.com

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  10. Very neat! He must have been sooo cute saying that! I'm glad you guys enjoyed it and for letting me know :)

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  11. Replies
    1. Hi Kristy,

      Since the burger is pretty simple, there is no actual recipe, but more of a process that I share with you in the post. There are some tips and tricks to making it and I hope I've conveyed those ideas well. Please let me know if you have any specific questions. Thanks for visiting!

      Zsu

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Thanks for your comment! I'll check if it's spam and post if it is not. I appreciate your time and effort for commenting! ~ Zsu