Even More Top Secret Recipes: More Amazing Kitchen Clones of America's Favorite Brand-Name Foods: A Cookbook

INTRODUCTION

When a popular, ex-NBA basketball player was recently in Las Vegas, he was having a wild night at the roulette table. Tens of thousands of dollars had changed hands and he was getting mighty hungry. Recognizing this, the pit boss insisted on setting up a complimentary spread of food for the athlete and his entourage. The casino was braced to serve anything and everything the wealthy players desired. A dining room was set up; waiters and chefs stood by anxiously awaiting the order. Would the fancy feast include piles of imported Russian beluga caviar? Broiled fresh Maine lobster? Roquefort-encrusted corn-fed filet mignon? What does a large hungry man and his large hungry friends order when money isn’t an issue? To the casino’s delight the request was a simple one: It required only one person to make a quick trip to a drive-thru window just off the strip. Within twenty minutes the private dining room featured a fabulous spread of hot, juicy Fatburgers with cheese, thick milkshakes, and french fries.The hungry gamblers were in hamburger hog heaven.

I know that feeling well. Although I’ve never been comped for more than the $5.99 buffet while gambling in Las Vegas, I do know what it’s like to crave that special sinful something, when nothing else matters. You lock on hard to the thought of a particular favorite food—one of your edible guilty pleasures—knowing for certain that you just won’t be as deeply satisfied by anything else. When craving a drippy Taco Bell Burrito Supreme, a plateful of Peking duck—as good as Peking duck is at the right moment—isn’t going to do the job. Sure, when it’s all over your stomach’s full just the same, but the road you mowed getting there wasn’t the most delicious route.

When it comes to winning over a persistent palate, second-string selections score a hollow victory. A cheesy hamburger, a gooey caramel-and-peanut-coated candy bar, a soft chocolate chip cookie flanked by a tall, cold glass of milk; these are life’s simple pleasures, simply fulfilled. These drool-inducing delights call out to us in the middle of a tedious project at work, or in the sixth hour of a long holiday road trip, or while stranded on an island for six weeks with fifteen strangers and a bag full of rice. These are the foods that are notoriously ready when you are, when nothing else will do; they are dependably made and consistently good.These are the foods that this book is all about.

For ten years now I’ve been sharing my secret recipes for clone cuisine, both here in these Top Secret Recipes books and on the Web site at TopSecretRecipes.com. I’ve cloned recipes for drinks and for appetizers and entrees from well-known restaurant chains across the country, such as Chili’s, T.G.I. Friday’s, and Apple-bee’s. I’ve even created lite clone recipes for favorite sweet-tooth munchables such as Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls and Olive Garden Tiramisu. But the books that started it all, Top Secret Recipes and More Top Secret Recipes, are the books that this one follows up. Those books feature clone recipes for the delicious delicacies from fast food chains, and for candy bars, and cookies and snack cakes. I’m talking about clones for the Big Mac, Mrs. Fields Cookies, Snickers, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Twinkies, and Oreo Cookies. Some call it convenience food. Some call it junk food. It’s the food that spontaneous cravings are made of. I call it all delicious.

Whatever you call it, these are the most popular brand-name foods in the world. And it’s now time to journey back to the roots of Top Secret Recipes for even more clones of the famous convenience food we all hate to love and love to eat.

Even more than clones of drinks or duplicates of food from full-service restaurant chains, the stuff in this book amazes your diners when they know you made it in your kitchen. It’s this food, that’s manufactured by machines or finished by fast-food assembly lines, that can be the hardest for me to reproduce as homemade recipes. Yet, when the formula has finally been cracked, these products yield the most rewarding results. Perhaps it’s the sense that these foods aren’t supposed to be made at home that makes the experience so enjoyable—after all, these are the foods that manufacturers most often claim as secret formulas.

You’ll find a clone recipe in this book for KFC Extra Tasty Crispy Chicken, plus a recipe for re-creating McDonald’s French Fries.And I’ve included a long-overdue technique for making your own version of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels at home. You’ll also learn how to make your own Baby Ruth candy bars, and Taco Bell tacos from the ground up. Heinz Ketchup has finally been tackled, along with clones for Boston Market Meatloaf, KFC Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, and even those Fatburgers enjoyed at the gambler’s banquet in Las Vegas. This book holds more than 85 new clone recipes for all types of convenience food, presented with easy instructions, simple ingredients, and a chunk or two of food lore. It’s the biggest collection of convenience food recipes yet, and this cookbook should hold several favorites for everyone. Whether you’re a beginning cook or a seasoned chef, be prepared to amaze your diners with these kitchen copies.

Much has changed in the food industry since the first Top Secret Recipes book came out in 1993. In the Introduction of that book I included a list of the top-grossing fast food chains in America based on 1991 sales. Now, ten years later, it’s interesting to glance back at how much has changed in this volatile industry in just a decade (and then again, how much hasn’t).

Source: Nation’s Restaurant News

Since 1991, the planet’s largest restaurant chain has focused almost all of its growth on McDonald’s hamburger outlets overseas, with restaurants now located in 120 countries. Over 4000 of those stores are in Asia, including five of the world’s busiest McDonald’s. Even though the chain hasn’t flexed its domestic hamburger muscle much, Ronald has been busy dotting the globe.

Along the way McDonald’s scooped up the faltering Boston Market chain (a new addition to the top 25 fast food chains list in the last 10 years), with an initial plan to gut 1000 of the Boston Market units and crown them with the Golden Arches.

Mickey D’s has diversified with other brands as well, including ownership in Donatos Pizza and Chipotle Mexican Grill. And don’t be surprised if one day you’re ordering a Grande McLatte at McDonald’s new McCafe coffeehouse. This Starbucks-like coffee chain has already seen success in other countries, and will now be grinding the beans here on our shores with test units opening in select cities. Just when you thought you’d seen it all, if you’re looking for a place to stay in Switzerland some day you may find rooms in one of two Golden Arch Hotels opened by the Swiss arm of McDonald’s Corp. (French fries on the pillows at night?)

Source: Nation’s Restaurant News

Ten years later Burger King still holds its position at second place with nearly 2000 units added since 1991.The King is closing the gap with McDonald’s and has challenged the Golden Arches not only with the Big King (see clone recipe on page 26), a burger that looks and tastes similar to the Big Mac, but has altered its french fry formula twice in the last four years in the hopes of gaining some ground on the spud front. Unfortunately the Big King burger didn’t catch on, and reviews for the first round of new fries came up soggy.

Wendy’s moved up to number three from 1991, filling KFC’s old slot. It seems burgers and sandwiches continue to thrive over fried chicken products. Hoping to ride the sandwich wave, KFC continues to develop new chicken sandwiches, despite some less than popular selections. Sure, the sandwiches are tasty, but not tasty enough to keep KFC’s market share from shrinking. In the last decade the chain shuttered over 3000 domestic units, while converting many outlets into dual- or triple-brand multiconcept locations with parent company Tricon’s other two brands, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

Taco Bell, however, nearly doubled its number of units since 1991 and moved up the ladder into fourth place. New products have bolstered the chain, as a talking Chihuahua coaxed us into munching on the occasional Gordita and Chalupa. The Bell has more recently been adding five-thousand-dollar grills to each restaurant to introduce a line of new grilled products that kicked off with the Grilled Stuft Burrito. Expect to see mucho other grilled offerings from the Bell in the future.

New product development was also important for Pizza Hut over the last decade.The Stuffed Crust Pizza,The Edge Pizza, and the Twisted Crust Pizza are several reasons why Pizza Hut remains the number-one pizza chain in the country, although competition from other chains (such as newcomer Papa John’s) forced the Hut to close nearly 1000 units over the last decade, causing its overall fast food rank to fall from fourth to fifth place.

Subway was a big mover over the years, doubling its units from 6000 to over 12,000.That number of units is up in McDonald’s territory, but since total sales per store is low compared to McDonald’s, Subway ranks down at seventh on the list. Still, that’s up from twelfth a decade ago, helped in part by a promotional campaign with a weight loss angle. Perhaps you’ve seen the spots with Jared, the young man who melted the pounds away on a diet of Subway sandwiches. Okay, whatever. Personally, I’m still waiting for the diet of french fries and beer.

Arby’s, Dairy Queen, and Jack in the Box maintained their same approximate positions in the list. But Hardee’s, a struggling hamburger joint with units throughout the South, Midwest, and Eastern United States, slipped way down, from fifth to twelfth place with the closure of over 1000 stores.

Even though Dairy Queen stayed strong, losing only around 200 units, it looks like we don’t do ice cream and frozen yogurt like we did ten years ago. Have creamy frozen confections been replaced by coffee drinks and donuts? TCBY is off the list and Baskin-Robbins dropped seven places, losing over 1000 units. Dunkin’ Donuts continues to thrive, and farther down (just off the list at number 27) Krispy Kreme is quickly approaching with hot donuts now signs a-flashing.

Take note of the newcomers to the top 25, most impressive of which is the Papa John’s pizza chain. In 1999, Papa John’s breezed right past Little Caesar’s. Now Papa John’s is over 2500 units strong and is raking in almost two billion dollars in sales. That’s impressive