In this Backyard Life video, join Ballistic BBQ’s Greg Mrvich as he cooks his copycat Le Barchen Mac Wagyu burger. This recipe is based off a mouthwatering burger from the famous Barchen Beer Garden in Omaha, Nebraska—just 90 minutes away from Exmark HQ in Beatrice!
Mrvich’s Mac Sauce Steps
To kick off this cook, Greg throws together his Mac sauce (which he calls an elevated Big Mac sauce). He places the ingredients in a bowl, with the melted beef Wagyu fat last, and starts mixing immediately. This ensures that the tallow fully emulsifies into the sauce, creating a rich flavor to kick the burger up a notch. Once finished, he sets aside the sauce and gets started on the main part of the cook: the meat.
Grinding the Meat
But before he gets started forming the patties, Mrvich clarifies that his recipe slightly deviates from the real deal. Barchen Beer Garden uses straight American Wagyu for their dish, but he’s using a custom grind of Japanese A5 chuck steak and American Wagyu. He calls his American Wagyu an “ugly cut,” which is simply an end trimming off a rib roast. But for the purposes of making ground beef, it’s perfect.
After Greg hammers out the patty details, he cuts the meat into more manageable cubes and breaks out the grinder, utilizing a coarse chili grind plate. It creates the perfect, chunky texture that you just don’t get from store-bought ground Wagyu (which tends to be too thin and pasty for his liking).
Then, Greg adds the Japanese A5 alongside the Wagyu, chunk by chunk, to ensure they’re fully mixed. Once fully ground, it’s time to grill!
Grilling and Plating the Le Barchen Mac Wagyu Burger
Before setting the meat on the griddle (running at medium high) Mrvich creates two, loosely packed meatballs. He then tosses them on the griddle and flattens them with a spatula, forming thin patties.
While the first side of the patties start to grill, Greg sprinkles on some salt and throws a spoonful of Wagyu beef tallow on one side of the griddle. He also adds the buns to the flat top, adding a nice toast to the bread.
After flipping over the patties, he tops both with a slice of American yellow cheese and encloses them in a griddle dome. He keeps it on just until the cheese is melted, and the patties are cooked through.
Once cooked, now the fun begins: plating. Mrvich takes the bottom bun and throws on a bed of iceberg lettuce. He then tops it with both patties, a couple of his homemade pickles, and some paper-thin red onion rings. He finishes off this cook with the top bun, which he’s spread with his delicious Mac sauce.
And that’s it! Now that you have your own Le Barchen Mac Wagyu burger assembled, all there’s left to do is chow down.
