James Kenji Lopez-Alt
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This is What Happens When a Big Mac Snack Wrap and a Chop Cheese Have a Baby
🕑 Added 2025-09-03 22:17:40 +0000 UTCA chop cheese or a Big Mac—those were my late-night staples when I lived in Central Harlem in the mid-2000s. Both hit the spot after a night out, and judging by the lines, I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
The chop cheese, a ground beef and cheese sandwich born in East Harlem, was practically unknown outside the neighborhood until maybe eight years ago. Even my younger sister, who lived in Brooklyn at the time, had never heard of it.
Now it’s everywhere. You can still get it at the source—Hajji's Blue Sky Deli on 1st Ave. and 110th St., where it was invented in the 90s—but it’s also spread nationwide, often with pricier beef and pricier menus to match. I even made a video about my own homemade version a few years back.
The formula is simple: sear a hamburger patty on a flattop, chop it up with a pair of spatulas, melt in American cheese, and pile it all into a hero roll with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, and ketchup. Wrapped up and left to steam, it eats a little like a cheesesteak hoagie, but with a fast-foodier flavor all its own. It's a taste firmly locked into my memory banks, right next to that Big Mac.
So what happens when the two collide? I had to find out. Lunchtime seemed like the perfect test, except I was out of burger buns. What I did have was a stack of flour tortillas, which immediately made me think of another memory: the Big Mac Snack Wrap. The chicken version might be enjoying a comeback (the question of whether it's actually any good is a debate I'm not particularly interested in), but for me, the burger-based wrap was always the star of the lineup
To build my Franken-wrap, I seasoned ground beef with salt, pepper, and a little MSG, shaped it in parchment for an even patty, then seared it hard in a skillet. As the second side cooked, I softened tortillas directly over the burger, letting the pan’s heat and steam make them pliable while giving their edges just a bit of char.
Once the patty was nearly done, I chopped it up and blanketed it with American cheese. Meanwhile, I stirred together a quick sauce—mayo, ketchup, mustard, chopped dill pickles with some of their brine, a touch of sugar, black pepper, and, for fun, a splash of Marie Sharp’s Belizean Heat habanero hot sauce. (If you want a closer taste-alike, I have a reverse-engineered Big Mab sauce recipe here.) I spread the sauce on the tortillas and topped them with shredded lettuce, tomato, and dill pickle slices.
Finally, I finished off the chop cheese bodega-style but cutting the melty cheese right into the beef, folding it in in order to bind the beef together into a single, gooey, beefy, cheesy, greasy pile and scooped it onto the tortillas before folding them up and giving them just a moment to steam in order to let the flavors meld.
The result? Spectacular. Big Mac flavor, chop cheese gooeyness, and Snack Wrap portability—all in one bite.
Chop Cheese Big Mac Snack Wraps Recipe
Sometimes the best cooking experiments come from missing one ingredient and substituting with another. I was craving a Big Mac, but I was out of buns. I did have tortillas, though, and that reminded me of the old Big Mac Snack Wraps. Combine that with a Harlem chop cheese—gooey, chopped burger and cheese on a roll—and you’ve got yourself a wrap that’s comforting, messy, snackable, and, honestly, better than the original inspirations.
What I like about this recipe:
It combines a few of my favorite flavors — Big Macs, chop cheeses, and Snack Wraps — into a single simple snack.
Searing the beef as a full patty before chopping and folding the cheese into it gives you lots of browned flavor and a gooey texture.
Heating the tortillas on top of the searing beef steams them and infuses them with extra flavor.
Yield: 2 wraps
Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
For the sauce
2 tablespoons (30ml) mayonnaise
1 teaspoon (5ml) ketchup
2 teaspoons (10ml) yellow mustard
1 teaspoon (5ml) dill pickle brine
1 tablespoon finely chopped dill pickles
½ teaspoon sugar
freshly ground black pepper
A few dashes hot sauce (I like Marie Sharp’s Belizean Heat)
For the beef
1/2 (225 g) ground beef (80/20 is ideal)
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
MSG (optional, but good)
2 slices American cheese
To finish
2 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
6 dill pickle chips
Method
Make the sauce: In a small bowl, stir together mayo, ketchup, mustard, pickle brine, chopped pickles, sugar, pepper, and hot sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.
Cook the beef: Flatten the beef between parchment sheets to make a single patty, about 1/2-inch thick. Season with salt, pepper, and MSG. Heat a skillet over high heat until very hot. Add the patty and sear until well browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip and place a tortilla directly on top of the burger. Let it steam/char lightly about 30 seconds. Repeat with the second tortilla.
Dress the wraps: Spread sauce on each warmed tortilla. Top with shredded lettuce, tomato, and pickle chips.
Chop the cheese: Once the patty is cooked, chop it into small pieces in the pan using two spatulas. Spread out into a rectangle aobut the length of two slices of cheese. Top with the cheese. Let it melt for 30 seconds, then fold and chop it into the beef.
Assemble: Scoop half of the beef/cheese mixture into each tortilla and spread it out over the toppings. Drizzle with any remaining sauce. Wrap up the tortillas and eat.
Comments
James Kenji Lopez-Alt
It sure is! Original lotation, Hajji’s, is Yemeni, not Dominican, !75 km pretty sure they also use Sazón.
James Kenji Lopez-Alt
Ooh! Thats a good idea!
James Kenji Lopez-Alt
Some call it genius. I call it practicality 🤣
James Kenji Lopez-Alt
The science suggests that some people do actually have MSG sensitivities, but likely no more than folks who need to avoid table salt. I’m on a mission to make MSG great again!
Dina
I sure hope it wasn’t non-stick teflon.
Dina
I love seeing what’s in your fridge Kenji! I also love your use of the verboten MSG.
Laura Law
He explains in the recipe that you get the browned flavor from the crispy outside with a gooey texture after chopping by cooking as a patty. I assume if it was loose it would dry out a lot more?
Susan Lorimor
I’m from Iowa where loose meat sandwiches are the thing (Canteen/ Maid-Rite etc ) - so why make a patty then break it up? Why not just cook it as loose hamburger?
Chris Pickard
the tortilla directly over the burger is genius
Sky DeBoever
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought the Big Mac snack wrap was elite. I was so sad they didn’t bring it back with the chicken one
Harry Carrothers
Love the smiley face in the sauce at the end! Glad to see the old late night format live on!
edgar henriquez
what kind of pan is that?
Leesa Michaels
Mmmmmm...
Jwilli
Like a smash burger taco, only easier to eat!
Doris Yonker
Thank you so much for the Chop Cheese description. It sounds so good. I plan to make one very soon. I've not heard of it before.
Thomas Secor
I love that you added the MSG. Everyone around my way knows that you ask for a Chop Cheese Adobo - at least when you are at a Dominican-owned Bodega. And Dominican Adobo seasoning is basically MSG’s cousin.
