McDonald's Big Mac Sauce Vs Big Arch Sauce: What's The Actual Difference?

It's not often McDonald's tinkers with its core menu items, but it's quietly been testing new burgers in international locations. After all, one can't live on McCrispy chicken strips alone. One particular burger that's been tested in countries like Portugal and Canada is called the Big Arch. It's a hefty boy comprised of two quarter-pound patties, three slices of white cheese, a double attack of crispy and fresh slivered onions, pickles, lettuce, and a new Big Arch sauce served on a sesame and poppyseed bun. The experimental product is clearly set up to feed those who want more than just a Big Mac.

The Big Arch sauce is what holds the proverbial room together. Though it might be easy to assume it's just Big Mac sauce, it's not. It's a formulation all its own, which makes it worth looking at a little more closely. Its ingredient list, based off of McDonald's Canada's website, include "Soybean oil and/or canola oil, Tomato concentrate, Water, Sugars (sugar/glucose-fructose, sugar), Vinegar, Liquid egg yolk, Salt, Mustard seed, Spices, Onion powder, Modified corn starch, Natural flavours, Garlic powder, Turmeric, Yeast, Xanthan gum, Propylene glycol alginate, Yeast extract, Extractives of turmeric."

Right off the bat, I can see one big thing that makes it different from Big Mac sauce, and that's the inclusion of tomato. That's a key component you won't find in Big Mac sauce, despite what some might already believe. But there's slightly more to it than that.

One misconception that people have about Big Mac sauce is that it's a straight dupe of Thousand Island dressing (not to be confused with Russian dressing), but it's not. Thousand Island dressing can have some slight variations to it, but its base is a mix of mayonnaise and ketchup along with some pickle relish. A Thousand Island-style dressing is what some burger joints label as their "secret sauce," but it's not what McDonald's uses for its Big Mac. 

Big Mac sauce is indeed a mayo-based dressing, but it gets its sharp flavor from mustard and vinegar instead. This info comes straight from McDonald's former corporate chef. That slightly orange coloration is from the simple addition of things like extractives of paprika and turmeric, which add color to the finished product. That's why the Big Arch's mayo and tomato-based sauce stands out as a more standard secret burger sauce, with the exception that it doesn't contain pickle relish in it. 

As to whether or not the Big Arch is coming stateside, that's a whole different story. McDonald's has suggested it could make an appearance in new markets, but never quite mentioned the United States by name. Again, considering the chain is hyper-focused on chicken right now (with the McCrispy strips and Snack Wraps sure to follow soon), the beef might have taken a backseat for a while. But if we do get our hands on it, we already have an idea of how that Big Arch sauce is going to taste — likely creamy, tangy, savory, and sweet.