Burger King's Big King Burger - What To Know Before Ordering

We're still fresh into the year of 2022 and even as we're settling into February, we know that big things are coming. Good or bad, all we know is that whatever's coming around the bend is going to be something enormous. For Burger King, they know exactly what's coming — and it's going to one of the biggest, if not actually the biggest, items on the menu.

To anyone who remembers the zenith of the so-called "Burger Wars" in the 1980s and 1990s, McDonald's and Burger King, alongside a few other fast-food companies, were engaged in a fierce fight to claim the title of America's most beloved burger chain. Unlike today, when these companies have social media to roast one another, companies then used TV and innovation to get ahead. While some commercials such as Wendy's "Where's The Beef?" commercial took off with great success, other companies like Burger King were floundering behind with failed promotions and gimmicks. In 1987, the King was forced to lay off 15% of his workforce in Miami in a bid to save cash (via the Los Angeles Times). Something had to be done, something fresh, something new, something ... big. 

In 1997, Burger King introduced the Big King burger, designed to break Burger King out of its slump and stand toe-to-toe with McDonald's (via The Washington Post). Although the Big King faded in and out of the menu, most notably returning for a brief time in 2019, the King's biggest burger is coming back — and here's what you need to know.

If this is the first time you've heard of a Big King, you're probably wondering just what the heck it is. The Big King XL, according to Burger King itself, is made of two flame-grilled beef patties, American cheese, onions, pickles, lettuce and special "Stacker" sauce. That sounds kind of like McDonald's famous Big Mac, doesn't it? Truth be told, the Big King is meant to be the King's answer to Ronald McDonald's Big Mac.

Compared to the Whopper, which comes in at around 660 calories, with 40 grams of fat, 90 milligrams of cholesterol, and 980 milligrams of sodium (via Fast Food Calories), the Big King, true to the name, trumps its smaller counterpart. According to Fast Food Nutrition, the Big King XL boasts an impressive 1,009 calories, 64 grams of fat (which accounts for 56% of those calories), 174 milligrams of cholesterol, and an incredible 2,076 milligrams of sodium. A pretty hefty burger nutrition-wise, to say the least. But is the Big King any good at all, or is it just a failed attempt at copying a better product? The Big King won out on the New York Post's comparison between it and the Big Mac, with softer buns, crisper lettuce, zestier pickles, and incredibly, a better secret sauce than the Big Mac's trademarked sauce. Perhaps the King may have won over the Clown this time?

The Big King is available for at all participating Burger King locations — for a limited time, of course.