Homemade Quarter Pounder with Cheese

Homemade Quarter Pounder

Back in the day, before CHF, my husband enjoyed getting McDonald's Quarter Pounders with Cheese. The funny thing is that even though he enjoyed eating them, they never really satisfied him. They just didn’t seem to have any staying power. He got hungry again very quickly. Plus, each burger contained 730 mg sodium. Add a regular order of French fries, and you’re eating a salt bomb.

A couple of months ago, I tried my hand at creating the Quarter Pounder experience at home. I wanted to duplicate the taste, or at least come close. But I also wanted to make it healthier and low sodium. It’s a simple sandwich: just a hamburger patty, with 2 slices of processed American cheese, some dill pickle chips, a couple of squirts of ketchup and mustard, topped off with a sprinkle of diced onion.

Sandwich Ingredients

The first thing I did was to use one of my own homemade burger buns – low sodium and 50% white whole wheat flour. Of course, I didn’t salt the burger, used salt free ketchup, and sliced a Healthy Heart Market salt free dill pickle. I chopped a white onion and used a lower sodium yellow mustard. I realized that this was one situation where Swiss cheese simply would not work, so I used a 1 ounce slice of Tillamook Colby Jack. So far, so good.

Steaming in Plastic Wrap

I remembered that the burgers were wrapped immediately after cooking and kept warm under heat lamps. This allowed the buns to soften and the sandwich to steam a bit before being eaten. I tried to duplicate that effect by microwaving the assembled burger for about 12 seconds and then wrapping it in plastic cling wrap. By the time I plated the accompanying NSA potato chips and some fresh fruit or vegetables, the sandwich was ready for eating.

Ready to Eat

My husband’s verdict: He thinks I’ve captured the essence of a Quarter Pounder, and that my version is better due to the tastier and more substantial bun. This has now become a regular lunch and dinner option. So if you ever get a hankering for a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, try making your own low sodium version.