Big Jack Angus Recipe: Hungry Jack's Copycat

This Big Jack Angus recipe makes two copies of Hungry Jack’s limited-edition double burger at home in about 45 minutes. Each burger gets two 150 g (5.3 oz) Angus patties grilled at 260 °C (500 °F), processed cheddar, shredded iceberg, chopped raw brown onion, pickles and a tangy special sauce of mayonnaise, blended pickle and mustard, all on a toasted sesame bun. It is my copycat, built from Hungry Jack’s official ingredient sheet dated 26 September 2026. The chain has never published its recipe, so the quantities below are mine, not theirs.

Never been to Australia? The Big Jack is Hungry Jack’s answer to the Big Mac, and Hungry Jack’s is the name Burger King trades under there. The Angus edition keeps everything else and swaps the two regular patties for two thick Angus ones, which adds 152 g to the burger. To my mind that swap fixes the classic’s weak point: two thin 4-inch patties have to compete with three layers of bun, and the extra beef tips the balance back to the meat. You will find more copycats like this one in our burger recipes section.

A Hungry Jack’s outlet in Terminal 2 at Melbourne Airport, September 2012. Hungry Jack’s is the name Burger King trades under in Australia, and it is where the Big Jack Angus is sold. Alt: Hungry Jack’s restaurant counter at Melbourne Airport, the Australian Burger King brand behind the Big Jack (Photo: Mr Stan Zemanek, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hungry\_Jack%27s\_Melbourne\_Airport.jpg)

What is the Hungry Jack’s Big Jack Angus?

The Big Jack Angus is a limited-edition burger from Hungry Jack’s Australia: two thick flame-grilled Angus patties with melted cheese, special sauce, lettuce, pickles and onions on a toasted sesame seed bun. Hungry Jack’s own product page describes it as ‘two thick and juicy flame-grilled Angus patties, topped with melted cheese, special sauce, fresh lettuce, pickles and onions on a toasted sesame seed bun’ (Hungry Jack’s).

It came back on Tuesday 25 August 2026, alongside the Big Jack and the Double Big Jack, for a limited time, for dine-in, drive-thru and delivery across Australia. Crumbwire’s launch report called it ‘a richer, juicier version’ (Crumbwire). On 18 October 2026 it was still on the official beef menu. No end date has been announced.

Big Jack Angus vs Big Jack: only the patties change

The Big Jack Angus uses the same club bun, special sauce, cheese, lettuce, onion and pickles as the classic Big Jack. Only the patties change: Angus beef replaces the two 4-inch beef patties. That adds 152 g, 1,952 kJ and 40.2 g of protein per burger, according to Hungry Jack’s nutrition sheet of 26 September 2026 (PDF).

At 4,286 kJ, one Big Jack Angus covers about 49% of the 8,700 kJ average adult daily intake that Hungry Jack’s uses as its reference (nutrition info). It also carries 36.6 g of carbohydrates, 8.6 g of them sugars. Half a day’s energy in one burger: I cook it for a weekend lunch and skip the fries.

Energy and weight per burger across the Big Jack range. The Angus patties take the Big Jack from 2,334 kJ to 4,286 kJ and from 210 g to 362 g, which is about 49% of the 8,700 kJ adult daily reference. Alt: bar chart comparing Big Jack, Double Big Jack and Big Jack Angus energy in kJ and weight in grams (Chart: Burger Breton, data from Hungry Jack’s nutrition guide of 26 September 2026, rendered with QuickChart)

Big Jack Angus ingredients: official vs homemade

Hungry Jack’s lists seven components for the Big Jack Angus: Angus beef patty, club bun, special sauce, iceberg lettuce, processed cheese, fresh brown onion and pickles. The chain publishes the ingredients but not the quantities or proportions. The homemade column shows my choices, not confirmed specs.

The bun: sesame crown and a club layer

The Big Jack sits on a ‘Bun Club’, which the nutrition sheet lists separately from the ‘Bun Glazed 5”’ used for the Whopper. When the Big Jack launched in July 2020, it had three layers of bun: a heel, a middle slice and a sesame crown (The Brag, Beef Central).

I found no official source that says whether the 2026 Big Jack Angus still has that middle layer. The product page only mentions a ‘toasted sesame seed bun’. I keep the club layer anyway. It is the Big Jack as it launched, and it soaks up the second spoonful of sauce instead of letting it run down your wrists. If you prefer a two-piece bun, skip it.

Ingredients for 2 Big Jack Angus burgers

For two burgers you need 600 g (21 oz) of Angus ground beef, three sesame buns, processed cheddar, iceberg lettuce, a brown onion, dill pickles and a small bowl of homemade special sauce.

Patties, bun and toppings

• 600 g (21 oz) Angus ground beef, about 80% lean, shaped into 4 patties of 150 g (5.3 oz)
• Fine salt, to taste (optional, see step 5)
• 3 sesame seed burger buns: 2 for heels and crowns, 1 for the two middle layers
• 2 to 4 slices processed cheddar
• 60 g (2 oz) iceberg lettuce, finely shredded
• 1/2 small brown onion, finely chopped (about 40 g / 1.4 oz)
• 8 to 12 dill pickle slices
• A little neutral oil for the grill

Homemade Big Jack sauce

My homemade Big Jack sauce is mayonnaise sharpened with blended dill pickle, yellow mustard and vinegar, then rounded off with a pinch of sugar, onion, garlic and paprika. The ingredients follow the order of Hungry Jack’s official list. The paprika stands in for color 160c, which is paprika extract. The proportions are mine, because the chain does not publish its own.

• 80 g (2.8 oz) mayonnaise, about 5 tablespoons
• 20 g (0.7 oz) dill pickles, blended to a coarse puree
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated onion
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 pinch of salt

Big Jack Angus recipe step by step

Make the sauce first, then grill four thick Angus patties hot and fast, melt the cheese on top and stack everything on a toasted three-layer sesame bun. Allow 25 minutes of prep and about 15 minutes of cooking.

1. Make the special sauce

Stir the mayonnaise, blended pickle, mustard, vinegar, sugar, grated onion, garlic powder, paprika and salt together until smooth. Cover and refrigerate while you prep everything else so the onion and garlic can soften into the mayonnaise.

A bowl of Thousand Island dressing, a mayonnaise-and-pickle sauce close in color and texture to the homemade Big Jack special sauce. Illustrative photo, not the recipe’s sauce. Alt: creamy pale orange mayonnaise and pickle sauce, similar to homemade Big Jack sauce (Photo: Rainer Z, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thousand-Island-Dressing.jpg)

2. Prep the lettuce, onion and pickles

Shred the iceberg as finely as you can, chop the brown onion into small pieces and pat the pickle slices dry. Wet toppings slide off a double burger and turn the bun soggy.

3. Shape the Angus patties

Divide the beef into four 150 g (5.3 oz) balls. That weight matches the 1/3 lb (about 151 g) raw Angus patty Hungry Jack’s uses in its Grill Masters range (Hungry Jack’s). Press each ball into a patty about 1.5 cm (0.6 in) thick and slightly wider than the bun, since it shrinks on the grill. Make a shallow dimple in the center so it stays flat, then chill the patties until the grill is hot.

4. Heat the grill to 260 °C (500 °F)

Heat a barbecue or a ridged cast-iron grill pan to 260 °C (500 °F), the same high heat I use for my Ultimate Double Whopper copycat. Brush the grates with a little oil just before the patties go on.

5. Grill the Angus patties

Grill the patties for about 4 minutes, until the underside has clear char marks and releases easily. Flip them once and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more, to 71 °C (160 °F) in the center. Hungry Jack’s says it adds nothing to its beef apart from flame grilling. I still add a light pinch of salt after flipping, because supermarket mince tastes flat without it. Leave it out if you want to stay strictly faithful. For thick patties, my burger patty internal temperature guide explains how to check doneness without drying the meat.

Thick beef patties marked by a hot grill: let them char for about 4 minutes before the single flip, then cook to 71 °C (160 °F) in the center. Photographed in Montreal, not the recipe’s own cook. Alt: thick burger patties with char marks on a hot grill, the grilling step of the Big Jack Angus recipe (Photo: Maude Frédérique Lavoie, Unsplash License, https://unsplash.com/photos/haAhKtXcdgM)

6. Melt the cheese

During the last minute, lay a slice of processed cheddar on two of the patties, one per burger. Cover them with a lid or a metal bowl so the cheese melts evenly. Want it cheesier? Put a slice on all four.

7. Toast the buns

Split two buns into heels and crowns. Slice the third bun horizontally and trim both halves flat to make two middle layers about 1 cm (0.4 in) thick. Toast every cut side on the grill or in a dry pan for 30 to 60 seconds, until golden.

8. Assemble the Big Jack Angus

Build from the bottom: heel, a spoonful of sauce, lettuce, onion, the cheese-topped patty, the middle bun layer, more sauce, lettuce, onion, pickles, the second patty and the sesame crown. Hungry Jack’s does not publish its stacking order, so this one is mine. Press down gently and serve straight away.

Why this recipe tastes like the original

This copycat gets close to the Big Jack Angus because every component comes from Hungry Jack’s published ingredient list, and the patty weight follows the chain’s own Angus spec. Where it falls short is smoke: a home grill pan cannot give you an open flame.

• Same build. Two Angus patties, processed cheese, iceberg, raw brown onion and pickles on a club-style bun: the seven components listed on the 26 September 2026 sheet.
• Same sauce logic. An egg-and-oil base with gherkin, mustard, vinegar, onion, garlic and paprika, in the official ingredient order, made with supermarket ingredients.
• Plausible weight. Two 150 g raw patties per burger fit the 152 g gap between the Big Jack and the Angus version. Hungry Jack’s has not confirmed that the Big Jack Angus uses its 1/3 lb Grill Masters patty.
• High-heat grilling. Cooking at 260 °C (500 °F) builds the charred crust that defines Hungry Jack’s flame-grilled beef.
• Processed cheese. It melts smoothly like the chain’s slice because it relies on the same family of emulsifying salts.

Is the Big Jack a copy of the Big Mac? The 2023 court ruling

The Federal Court of Australia ruled that the Big Jack name does not infringe the Big Mac trademark. In November 2023, in McD Asia Pacific LLC v Hungry Jack’s Pty Ltd [2023] FCA 1412, Justice Burley found that BIG JACK and MEGA JACK were not deceptively similar to BIG MAC and MEGA MAC (Proctor).

McDonald’s did win one point. Hungry Jack’s had advertised ‘25% more beef’, and the court held that the claim breached the Australian Consumer Law: tests on cooked burgers showed a difference of only 12.5 to 15.2% (Mondaq). The Mega Jack, launched alongside the Big Jack in July 2020, carried half a pound (about 230 g) of Australian beef.

Big Jack Angus FAQ

How much does a Hungry Jack’s Angus patty weigh?

Hungry Jack’s says its Grill Masters Angus patty weighs 1/3 lb before grilling, which is about 151 g raw. The chain does not publish the patty weight for the Big Jack Angus, so the 150 g patties in this recipe are my own choice.

How many calories are in a Big Jack Angus?

A Big Jack Angus contains 4,286 kJ, or about 1,024 kcal, for a 362 g burger. That is close to double the 2,334 kJ in a classic Big Jack, according to Hungry Jack’s nutrition sheet of 26 September 2026.

Is the Big Jack Angus still available in Australia?

Yes, it was still on Hungry Jack’s beef menu on 18 October 2026. It is a limited-edition burger that returned on 25 August 2026, and Hungry Jack’s has not announced an end date.

Can you get the flame-grilled taste without a barbecue?

You can get close. Heat a ridged cast-iron grill pan to 260 °C (500 °F) and leave the patties alone until they char. A pan gives you the grill marks and the crust, but not the smoke of an open flame.

Which cheese is closest to Hungry Jack’s melted slice?

Use processed cheddar slices. Hungry Jack’s ‘Cheese SOS’ is a processed cheese made from cow’s milk with emulsifying salts, so it melts smoothly instead of splitting the way aged cheddar does.

Are Hungry Jack’s and Burger King the same?

Hungry Jack’s is the name Burger King trades under in Australia, which is why the Whopper is on its menu. My Whopper ingredients guide and copycat recipe covers the Australian version too.

Is the Big Jack Angus halal?

Yes, Hungry Jack’s marks the Big Jack Angus as halal on its nutrition sheet of 26 September 2026. That applies to the restaurant burger, not to the ingredients you buy for this recipe.

What allergens does the Big Jack Angus contain?

Check Hungry Jack’s official nutrition and allergen sheets before you order. The homemade version contains wheat, sesame, egg, milk and mustard through the bun, mayonnaise, cheese and sauce.

More Hungry Jack’s copycat burgers

The same 260 °C grill method runs through my other Hungry Jack’s copycats. The Ultimate Double Whopper copycat is the closest cousin, a bigger flame-grilled stack. The Triple Whopper with Cheese copycat is the one to cook when two patties are not enough.

Sources

• Hungry Jack’s, Big Jack Angus product page and Big Jack product page, checked 18 October 2026
• Hungry Jack’s, Whopper & Beef Burgers nutrition guide, 26 September 2026 and nutrition info page
• Hungry Jack’s, Flame-grilled Aussie beef and beef menu
• Crumbwire, The Big Jack returns to Hungry Jack’s, 24 August 2026
• Beef Central, Bigger is better in Hungry Jack’s new burger offer
• The Brag, Hungry Jack’s Big Jack, 28 July 2020
• Queensland Law Society Proctor, Legal beef over burgers decided, November 2023
• Mondaq, Burger wars: McD Asia Pacific LLC v Hungry Jack’s Pty Ltd [2023] FCA 1412