Photo: Back Yard BurgersBlack Jack
A Southern twist on the classic: the beef is blackened with Cajun-style spices, then topped with pepper jack and a creole mayo. The spice crust and the melted pepper jack bring steady heat, and the creamy mayo tames it just enough. The most distinctive thing on the menu.
The story
Blackening is younger than most people assume. The chef Paul Prudhomme put blackened redfish on the menu at his New Orleans restaurant in the early 1980s — a fillet coated in Cajun spices and seared in a cast-iron pan hot enough to scorch them — and the technique spread across American restaurants so fast that redfish stocks collapsed and had to be protected by law. Everything else got blackened in its wake, burgers included, and on a flame-grilled patty the spice crust does the same job the pan once did.
What’s inside
Make it at home
There is no copycat of the Black Jack yet. Until there is, these recipes on the site come closest to it, judged by what goes into the bun.
- Shares beef, cheese and a double stack
The Mr. Smiley Burger - Shares beef, cheese and a double stack
McDonald's Daily Double (Copycat) - Shares beef, cheese and a double stack
Whopper (Copycat) - Shares beef, heat and cheese
Sloppy Smash Supreme
Similar burgers at other chains
Built around the same things as the Black Jack.- Rekas Burgers · beef, heat, cheese and a double stack
MFF - Wayback Burgers · beef, heat, cheese and a double stack
Cajun - Dairy Queen · beef, heat, cheese and a double stack
SignatureFlameThrower Stackburger - Madero · beef, cheese and a double stack
SignatureSuper Madero
More from Back Yard Burgers
About Back Yard Burgers
Lattimore Michael opened the first Back Yard Burgers in Cleveland, Mississippi, on 21 March 1987. The name sets the tone: Black Angus beef, flame-grilled so it tastes like a cookout in someone’s back yard. The first restaurants were drive-thru only, and franchising started a year later.
Only a handful of restaurants remain, in Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida and Illinois. At its peak in 2007 there were 179.
Not affiliated with Back Yard Burgers. Trademarks belong to their owners. The photo is credited under it and is used to illustrate this menu item; it comes down on request.