Ring in the New Year with a bang. Layered Big Mac‑inspired salad for your feast

This layered salad with ground beef, crunchy toast, and vegetables will be an outstanding addition to your New Year's Eve feast. At a glance, the ingredients suggest a deconstructed version of the famed burger. Impress your guests with this unique salad.

The ideal meat selection for this New Year's Eve salad à la Big Mac would not be too lean, such as top round, sirloin, chuck, or rib eye. You can either grind the meat yourself or opt for store-bought ground meat. Homemade hamburger buns deliver the best flavor, while any will suffice for the bread component.

Suppose iceberg lettuce is not to your liking. In that case, other crisp and succulent leaf varieties can be substituted, like romaine lettuce, Chinese cabbage, spinach, or even shredded white or red cabbage to lend some crunch to the salad. Regarding cheese, semi-hard varieties like gouda, edam, or Emmental work well, as does smoked cheddar.

Ingredients:

• 3 buns,
• 1 iceberg lettuce,
• 14 oz ground beef,
• 7 oz cheddar cheese,
• 4 oz pickled cucumbers,
• 3 large tablespoons of mayonnaise,
• 1 tablespoon of mustard,
• 1 tablespoon of ketchup,
• 2.6 oz of natural yogurt,
• 1 onion,
• salt, pepper,
• sweet and hot ground pepper,
• granulated garlic,
• dried thyme,
• oil for frying.

Steps:

1. Heat oil in a pan and fry the ground meat on it. Season with salt, pepper, sweet and hot ground pepper, as well as granulated garlic and dried thyme to taste. Continue frying until all the water evaporates.
2. Cut the buns into large cubes and toast them in a dry pan until they are uniformly golden.
3. Wash and thoroughly dry the iceberg lettuce (this is crucial as excess water can make the salad go bad faster and lead to sogginess). Then tear the lettuce into smaller pieces.
4. Slice the pickles in half. Finely dice one half (for the sauce).
5. Grate the cheddar cheese using a grater with large holes.
6. Finely chop the onion and mix it with the diced pickle. Add mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and natural yogurt. Mix the sauce thoroughly and season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Arrange half of the prepared toasts at the bottom of the salad bowl, followed by the lettuce (saving 1/3 for later), half the sauce, meat, cucumber pieces, cheese, the remaining sauce, and finally, the rest of the lettuce and toasts.