The Easiest Fast Food Burger To Replicate, According To Fast Foodies' Jeremy Ford - Exclusive

Here's some "Fast Foodies" wisdom straight from co-host Jeremy Ford's mouth. If you're going to try to replicate your favorite fast food order at home, start with the humble hamburger. As it turns out, replicating a fast food burger doesn't require any extraordinary genius; it's mostly about attention to detail. "The high caramelization seer" and "the melting of the cheese" are important, Ford exclusively tipped off in an exclusive Mashed interview. But, as Ford reflected, "I feel like a burger, man — with the certain thickness of the onions and the tomatoes — and once you nail all that stuff, I feel like those [challenges] are the easier ones."

Trust us when we say Ford knows what he's talking about. This season on "Fast Foodies," he and co-stars Kristen Kish and Justin Sutherland took on and vanquished four different giants in the fast food burger game: Burger King's iconic Whopper, as well as Wendy's Baconator, a hybrid McDoubleDare (that's a McDouble surrounded by a McChicken), and White Castle's Double Cheeseburger. So, which chain's offering is the easiest to copycat in your own home kitchen? You're in luck if you're a fan of Mickey D's, said Ford.

Maybe leave the McDoubleDare to the pros. But if you do want to take a stab at a burger, copycatting the Golden Arches is still your best bet. "I think the McDonald's cheeseburger is probably the easiest one to replicate," Ford told Mashed. There's one giant caveat, however: Don't go too fresh in your food prep efforts. "I learned from Justin this season that they don't use real onions, which I never thought of," Ford revealed. "They actually use dehydrated onions and they then hydrate them. When you eat a cheeseburger from there, you don't feel like this big crunch or overload of onion flavor ... so I would say give it a swing, but don't buy real onions."

Here's another hot tip, this one straight from Sutherland. While there's no single ingredient that he or Ford depend on while in the "Fast Foodies" kitchen, Sutherland told Mashed that both he and Ford are fans of kombu (dried seaweed) for seasoning. Try that next time you're looking to liven up your fries! 

In search of more fast-food cooking wisdom? Season 2 of "Fast Foodies" airs Thursdays on truTV.