This unsuspected twist on the already well-known ‘Burger’ Taco may sound really similar – at first. But the assembly procedure makes it markedly different – and a truly elevated Fast Food experience! Call it ‘El Maco Grande’, if you dare!
I use the term ‘dare’ in the teaser line above because McDonald’s is so touchy about its McCopyrights and McTrademarks. And is known to sue alleged violators at the drop of a McHat. Nevertheless, the suggested hack-name for today’s featured recipe sums up its heritage and nails its distinctive identity perfectly…
Essence of the concept
The essence of this anti-burger hack-cept is that it’s essentially a Big Mac copy-cat with a crucial, but delicious difference.
The key difference is, it uses a small (6 in. / 15 cm) flour tortilla as a wrapper instead of a conven-tional bun. And the tortilla is folded like the corn tortilla shell of a classic taco.
But there are a number of special touches that really set the Tortilla Burger apart from its closest cousins…
What you do
Make up a blend of ground beef and your fave additions for meatloaf/meatballs. Form into big meat-balls, about 3 in. / 7.5 cm in diameter (about 4 oz. / 115 g). Place a meatball in the centre of each tortilla and smash it down into a thin patty that covers as much of the tortilla as possible. The meat layer must be thin enough to cook through quickly. It will only be flipped once.
Now…
Slap that assembly beef-side down on a medium-hot grill or frying pan. Do not fold at this point. Cook a minute or two, until the meat is almost cooked through. by then, there should be a certain amount of beef fat and juices rendered out into the pan.
Flip the tortilla-beef slab over to ‘toast’ the exposed surface of the tortilla in the burger grease. When the meat is cooked all the way through, slap a slice or 2 of American (processed) cheese on top of the meat (which should be on the upper side of the slab, now) to melt.
As soon as the cheese is melted, remove the slab from the pan and dress immediately, before the tortilla cools, becoming too rigid to fold.
Eerie resemblance
Here’s where the similarity to the Big Mac comes in…
Make up some Thousand Islands Dressing (or use Big Mac Sauce, if you have some packets on hand). Cover the meat/cheese patty with chopped lettuce and onion. And dab with the sauce, as desired.
Now, fold the slab in half like a taco, and serve immediately.
Et voilà!
A thing of beauty and a joy to behold…
Dig in and enjoy while it’s still good and hot!
~ Maggie J.