Review: Shake Shack's New Big Shack Burger Is A Tasty Twist On A Familiar Favorite

One of the biggest names in hamburgers remains to this day McDonald's Big Mac. This double-decker burger, with a bonus middle bun and special Thousand Island-like sauce, was actually an imitation of a similar one Bob's Big Boy served. Pittsburgh McDonald's franchisee Jim Delligatti willed this burger into being back in 1967 as a way to help feed starving steelworkers. A year later, it was sold at locations nationwide, and ever since, rival chains and restaurants have been trying to mimic or top it. Now, Shake Shack has thrown its hat into the "Big" burger race with its new Big Shack.

On paper, the Big Shack sounds awfully familiar, with two angus beef patties split between three layers of bun, fortified with American cheese, topped with pickles, onions, and tomatoes, and finished off with a secret sauce. The burger totals 940 calories and 56 grams of protein, with an MSRP of $9.99. The Big Shack is rolling into participating nationwide locations starting November 4, but the fine folks at Shake Shack welcomed Tasting Table to its table for a sneak peek. So, is The Big Shack the next "big" thing, or will we all be pining for the Mac? The truth will be revealed in my chew and review.

Recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

The Big Shack looked mighty beautiful, and stacked, with its top bun slightly leaned back to better let me explore and marvel at what's going on underneath. True to its name, there was a lot going on there. The top bun had a buttery, glistening sheen, and below, the leafy lettuce looked like a tussle of hair shading a pair of tomato eyelids and crisp green pickle pupils having a look back at me. Next were a few whiskers of white onion slices, which gave way to the first gooey-cheesed patty, toasted middle bun, and second, even cheesier, entrenched, crispy burger. The whole thing looked like a face dreamed up by Italian Renaissance artist Giuseppe Arcimbold, and it was up to me to eat it before it ate me.

This "Big" fellow was certainly a handful. While the soft buns were comfortably cushiony to hold, it quickly became a blessed mess of drippy, savory juices and vegetables slip-sliding away. My first bite was a delicious success, where all the elements came together for quite a whopping mouthful. The secret sauce was mainly relegated to only the top third of this burger but was nonetheless a surprise flavor sensation. While the sauce is a secret, to me, it was like a sharp, mayo-y Dijon mustard. This sauce definitely had a standout taste, but with only a smattering included, it allowed the rest of the elements to shine, including the fantastically juicy burger patties and pillowy, sweet potato buns. The crisp veggies, along with bits of red pepper, added both a nice break in texture and a welcome dose of cold freshness.

I'm not sure when you last tried a Big Mac, but these days, it's kind of an uninspired, rather doughy affair. While Sir Mix-A-Lot enjoys a good pair of buns, a burger is nothing to write home about unless the beef that resides within provides the needed sizzle to the sandwich. (I don't care what anyone says, a burger is a sandwich.) The Big Mac has sad little patties under its hood and mainly works as a slosh of chopped iceberg lettuce covered in that awesome Thousand Island-y sauce. The middle bun has long felt like a superfluous addition which doesn't really add anything to the affair.

Shake Shack's Big Shack is 90,000% an elevated version of the Big Mac and should definitely be the one to order over the other. It's as if the chain said to McDonald's, "Anything you can McDo, we can McDo better." I was delighted to eat up quite a mouthful of these Shake Shack patties, and I'm glad I didn't have a side of fries; this burger was so mammoth, I wasn't even remotely hungry for dinner later that evening.

However, credit must be doled out where it is due: While Shake Shack's new secret sauce has a nifty uniqueness to it, it's no match for the Mac Sauce. Shake Shack's secret sauce seemed to be missing a sweet, ketchupy element to it to give it some needed tang. I actually asked for a side of Shake Shack's signature Shack Sauce, and it seemed to be a better match for this whopper of a burger. Still, this is a minor quibble, as Shake Shack continues to prove time and time again that it's not clowning around when it comes to delivering excellent burgers.