Sourdough Jack
The best burger Jack in the Box makes, and it is not on a bun. A beef patty with bacon, Swiss and American cheese, tomato, mayo and ketchup is pressed between slices of grilled sourdough, so it eats like a burger crossed with a grilled cheese. The tang of the sourdough is the secret. It has been on the menu since the late 1990s, and fans get genuinely upset when it disappears.
The story
Jack in the Box has never been precious about the bun, which is how a chain from San Diego ended up with its best-known burger served on grilled sourdough instead. The sourdough burgers arrived in the 1990s and stuck, at a time when almost every rival treated a sesame-seed bun as non-negotiable. It is the same instinct behind the tacos and the egg rolls that share the menu: the chain has always been willing to sell whatever people ordered at two in the morning.
What’s inside
- beef patty
- bacon
- Swiss cheese
- American cheese
- tomato
- mayo
- ketchup
- grilled sourdough bread
Make it at home
There is no copycat of the Sourdough Jack yet. Until there is, these recipes on the site come closest to it, judged by what goes into the bun.
- Shares beef, bacon and cheese
TOP 3McDonald's Big Tasty (Copycat) - Shares beef, bacon and cheese
Peter’s Triple Bacon Burger - Shares beef, bacon and cheese
Cheeseburger Wellington - Shares beef, bacon and cheese
McDonald's Bacon McDouble (Copycat)
Similar burgers at other chains
Built around the same things as the Sourdough Jack.- Checkers & Rally's · beef, bacon and cheese
SignatureBaconzilla! - Wendy's · beef, bacon and cheese
SignatureBaconator - Big Smoke Burger · beef, bacon and cheese
SignatureSmokey Cheddar Bacon - Goody’s Burger House · beef, bacon and cheese
SignatureGolden
More from Jack in the Box
About Jack in the Box
Robert Peterson opened the first Jack in the Box in San Diego in 1951, one of the earliest restaurants built entirely around the drive-thru, with a giant clown on the roof and a speaker to order through. In 1980 the company literally blew up the clown in a TV ad to announce it was growing up, and the ping-pong-ball-headed Jack who replaced him has been the face of the chain since 1994.
Around 2,200 restaurants, mostly in the western and southern US.
Not affiliated with Jack in the Box. Trademarks belong to their owners.