By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Fast food burgers hit the spot on road trips and when you’re pressed for time. But given most sandwich buns are made with wheat, there often aren’t a lot of options for those with gluten allergies.
These burger spirals are an acceptable gluten-free solution: They’re made with rice paper wrappers.
Usually the thin, transparent rounds made from rice, water and salt are the foundation for Vietnamese summer rolls — fresh spring rolls filled with shredded vegetables, fresh herbs, noodles and proteins like shrimp and pork and served cold.
Here, in an attempt to replicate the flavor of McDonald’s signature burger, the wrappers are stuffed Big Mac-style with ground beef, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions, rolled burrito-style into a tight cylinder, curled into a spiral and baked to a golden crisp under a sprinkle of sesame seed.
A tangy, mayo-based special sauce crafted with yellow mustard and sweet pickle relish is served on the side for dipping, along with shoestring fries.
Recipes for the culinary creation dubbed the “Big Mac Spiral” have been making the rounds on social media for a while, and I’m guessing it’s because the spirals actually are a fairly good facsimile of the real deal. The rice paper bakes up crispy, the ingredients are fairly economical and for those on gluten-free diets, there’s no worries about cross-contamination with flour.
Rice paper rounds aren’t as delicate as they might appear, but you do have to be careful when rehydrating them. Also, they need only a few seconds in the egg wash; linger too long and they’ll get too soft and be tricky to work with.
It helps to get all the ingredients organized at a work station before you prepare to roll. Lightly oiling the cutting board so nothing sticks will also make rolling easier, along with allowing yourself a few tries to get the hang of it. Practice makes perfect!
Don’t fret over small tears, as they can be repaired by overlapping the rounds. If the rip is too big to work with, simply replace the torn sheet with a fresh round — a package comes with more than the 12 sheets you need to make this recipe.
I served the rolls with a copycat McDonald’s special sauce but you could use thousand island dressing. Or, simply dip the spirals in Heinz ketchup. Fries go best as a side.
Cheeseburger Rice Paper Spirals
PG tested
1 pound ground beef
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch or two of garlic powder
12 rice paper sheets
2 eggs, beaten with a little water
Handful shredded lettuce
1/2 cup shredded American or cheddar cheese, or more to taste
1/4 cup finely diced dill pickles or pickle relish, or more to taste
1/4 cup finely diced onion, or more to taste
Sesame seeds, for garnish
For dipping sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon grated yellow onion
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Squirt or two of ketchup
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Brown and crumble ground beef in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Drain any grease. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a little garlic powder.
Whisk eggs with a little water in a wide and shallow bowl (it should be large enough to hold a rice paper round comfortably). One at a time, carefully dip 3 rice papers into the beaten egg for a few seconds until they soften (be gentle!), then lay them in a row with the edges overlapping on a lightly oiled cutting board.
Spoon 1/4 of the ground beef evenly across the top of the sheets, followed by shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, diced pickles and onions.
Roll up like a cigar into a tight cylinder, then gently curve it around itself into a spiral.
Place spirals on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Brush with a little bit of the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Repeat with remaining wrappers and fillings.
Bake spirals in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown.
While spirals are baking, make sauce by stirring all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Set aside.
When spirals are done baking, remove from the oven and serve immediately with dipping sauce.
Serves 4.
— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette
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