Big Mac-style smash burger tacos go viral on TikTok
The culinary mashups are getting crazier all the time — mustard-flavored Skittles, ranch ice cream, McFlurry hash brown sandwiches — so it takes a truly spectacular mix to stand out. Friends, I give you what is possibly the greatest gustatory hybrid of all time, a dish mightier than the sum of its parts, a meal that indexes childhood favorites, leaves room for a healthier twist and gets dinner on the table in less than 10 minutes flat: the Big Mac taco.
Normally, if you tell your kids you’re not stopping for takeout because you can make a better burger at home, they’re going to roll their eyes so hard they’ll fall over sideways. What if you could not only make a passable homemade Big Mac tribute, but one that is made even more awesome through the modern scientific process of taco-ification? Cookbook author and pitmaster Brad Prose of the blog “Chiles and Smoke” has you covered with his version of the Big Mac-style smashburger taco, viewed millions and millions times on TikTok and Instagram.
There are a lot of Big Mac taco (Big Maco?) videos to choose from on TikTok and Instagram. One of the earliest homemade ones is Joshuah Nishi’s (@nishcooks) from 2020, which uses old-school crumbled taco meat.
Instead of a tortilla, some use hamburger buns rolled flat for a beautiful sesame exterior, and there’s even a vegetarian one made with a black bean veggie burger, from recently featured Feta Fried Egg recipe developer Grace Elkus.
But the beauty of Prose’s version is the smashing technique, wherein you put just a couple of ounces of ground meat on the griddle, top with the tortilla and press down with a burger press or spatula until it’s evenly distributed. It saves a whole step compared to earlier versions that require spreading the patty over the tortilla with your hands, and it helps adhere the patty.
Any way you smash it, though, Prose says this burger taco method works because while it sears in a flash on one side for flavor, the tortilla on the other side seals in the juices to avoid the bane of burger aficionados everywhere: the dreaded dry patty.
If you need to get dinner on the table for a crowd, it pays to use a big griddle. Content creator Caroline Davis (@MississippiKween) was able to make six at a time that way. Just watch this kid swoon! She passes along a convincing burger sauce dupe, too.
Prose suggests using that big griddle, too, so you can set a cooler zone for flipping and melting the cheese; if you turn the tortilla side down in the same scorching hot cast iron pan, it’ll be a fried tostada in no time. If you don’t have that? Prose suggests the method my husband and I used: assembly-line style with two skillets — one really hot for searing and another on medium heat for finishing. When the patty side was done, we flipped it onto the cooler skillet, topped with cheese and moved to a plate when the tortilla charred a bit. Have bowls of toppings read, and everyone can choose their own burger-taco adventure.
Caption: The Big Mac taco: so good it’ll be gone even faster than it cooks.)
How did it taste?
Scrumptious. That familiar flavor enrobed in taco’s clothing is on a whole other level. We started with an all-beef patty, special-ish sauce, lettuce, (American) cheese, pickles, onion, not a sesame seed bun, but it’s fun to riff by switching up ingredients, too. Although you might find the burger doesn’t quite stick to a corn tortilla, it still tastes great, and it’s the perfect choice if you prefer a crunchy shell (fold before crisping!) or need a gluten-free option. If you add tomatoes, opt for diced ones, since slices will resist folding.
Don’t stop there, though: Take inspiration from your favorite burger from anywhere: mustard-fry and add caramelized onion for an In-N-Out taco; fete the Hopdoddy Thunderbird with a chicken patty and Swiss; or get back to Smashburger basics with an avocado bacon club!
What’s next for Prose? He’s no stranger to speedy and unusual techniques, like these grilled butterflied drumsticks, so he’s got a series of videos lined up featuring recipes from his new “Chiles and Smoke” cookbook. A huge range of “fire-friendly” vegetarian, seafood and, of course, red meat options, with fusion seasonings centered on (natch) chile and smoke? Sounds smashing!
As a native Texan who has witnessed far too many avoidable taco-related tragedies, though, I have a PSA: When you chow down, tilt your head and not the taco. No use crying over spilled sauce.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
