Being No. 1 means having a target on your back. Last November, America’s third-largest (by sales) burger chain, Burger King, aimed its scope directly at top-selling McDonald’s, bringing back its Big Mac knockoff called Big King. (That sandwich was discontinued in the ’90s.) The two burgers match up component by component — two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame bun. Where Burger King claimed superiority is in its beef patties, which it says are 25 percent larger than McDonald’s (4 ounces vs. 3.2 ounces pre-cooked). So that’s what’s at stake: A bigger sandwich vs. a familiar taste. We tested both side by side.
Burger King’s Big King
Ad copy: “Our new Big King Sandwich features two savory fire-grilled beef patties, topped with melted American cheese, fresh cut iceberg lettuce, crisp onions, crunchy pickles and featuring a sweet thousand island style dressing, all on a warm, toasted, sesame seed bun.”
Pickles: Nothing notable about pickle except for ripple cut adding some texture.
Onions: Thin cut onion rings larger than McDonald’s, leaves biting raw aftertaste.
Beef: Overwhelming taste of flame-licked char from grill.
Special sauce: Neutral-tasting sauce, less sweet than McDonald’s.
Overall: A denser-feeling burger than McDonald’s. Thousand Island sauce not prominent enough to cut through prevailing char flavor.
Nutritional: 510 calories, 29 g fat, 780 mg sodium
Grade: C+
McDonald’s Big Mac
Ad copy: “A double layer of sear-sizzled 100 percent pure beef mingled with special sauce on a sesame seed bun and topped with melty American cheese, crisp lettuce, minced onions and tangy pickles.”
Pickles: Thin and very briny.
Beef: Light taste of black pepper. Texture has granular feel of more-tender ground beef and chewier nubs of fat and/or cartilage.
Special sauce: Mostly sweet, hit of tang, smooth.
Lettuce: Shredded lettuce makes for an overall messier sandwich than Burger King’s.
Overall: Steamed buns give sandwich an overall softer textural feel. Sweetness of special sauce and pickle tang makes for a better-balanced flavor than Big King.
Nutritional: 530 calories, 27 g fat, 960 sodium
Grade: B-
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