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The Famous McDonalds "Special Sauce"

By John Mitzewich, About.com

The top-secret sauce for this American food icon is not so secret after all!

Photo © Flickr user The Duke of URL
This "top-secret recipe" is from a McDonalds Manager's Handbook published in 1969. It was meant to be used only as an emergency recipe for stores that ran out of the pre-made sauce that each store used on the Big Macs®. But, this page in the handbook was quickly removed for fear of other burger chains learning and using the top-secret sauce. But, it was too late. The recipe somehow got out and was made public the next year, and has been available ever since.

Yields: 1 cup, or enough for 8 burgers

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 01 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup salad dressing (like Miracle Whip®)
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 3 tbsp French salad dressing
  • 1/2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
  • 1 1/2 tbsp dill pickle relish
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp dried, minced onion
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • 1 tsp ketchup
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Preparation:

  1. Mix all ingredients, and stir well in a small container.

  2. Microwave on high for 25 seconds, and stir well again.

  3. Cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

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