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There are few things in this world as satisfying as a Big Mac. Maybe a Chipotle burrito. Or crispy fried chicken from KFC. Or Pinkberry. Okay — clearly, tastebuds vary!
How many times have you had a Big Mac or other fast food delight and thought to yourself, Wow, that was EVERYTHING. I wish I could make this at home? Well, maybe you can.
Todd Wilbur's new book, Top Secret Recipes: Step-By-Step, breaks down 125 recipes from chain restaurants across the country, including Wendy's, Chipotle and, of course, McDonald's. There are also 50 recipes that Wilbur has overhauled since he first started working in the reverse food engineering business 25 years ago.
"I'm not a trained chef and I don't even refer to myself as a chef. I have respect," Wilbur told Refinery29. "I just figure out techniques to create these recipes from scratch."
The best part? They're all easy to do. Seriously! Wilbur even ranks each recipe based on its difficulty and skill level requirements.
Wilbur's methods for food hacking require more than just visiting a restaurant chain's website. He also visits multiple restaurants, where he closely watches the cooks, asks waiters questions about the types of seasoning and milk in a meal, and sometimes — when necessary — it even requires a jump in a dumpster.
"This information can be useful in letting me know what needs to be put into it," Wilbur says. "Any way I can get this information, I'll do it."
If you're asking yourself why you would make all these delicious meals when you can just buy them, that's a valid question. You can adjust recipes to fit your dietary needs, Wilbur explains, and in many cases, it costs less to make the recipe at home rather than buy a meal.
If you've been craving something yummy from your favorite fast food chain restaurant, here's an easy way to recreate some of the best dishes out there, using easy tricks.
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