The Big Mac was McDonald’s signature hamburger introduced in 1967.
Jim Delligatti, a McDonald’s franchisee in the Pittsburgh area, created the sandwich as a larger menu item. It used two beef patties, a middle bun section, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and a special sauce. The sandwich was tested locally before being introduced more broadly.
The Big Mac’s three-part bun and layered construction gave it a distinctive appearance. Its name also became an important branding asset, helping McDonald’s promote a specific product rather than only the restaurant chain as a whole.
The Big Mac is sometimes confused with the Quarter Pounder because both are flagship McDonald’s hamburgers. They are different products: the Quarter Pounder is defined by its quarter-pound beef patty before cooking, while the Big Mac is defined by its two patties, middle bun, and special sauce. The Big Mac entered the national menu in 1968 after its 1967 introduction.