The Beef Patties: Divide 1 lb of beef into 10 equal sized balls. Form a patty out of each ball about 4 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. Do this on waxed paper. Now freeze the patties for at least an hour. (this keeps them from falling apart when you grill 'em) Obviously you'll do this in advance of "burger time". It is pretty tough to make patties this small, so if you come up with 9 patties, I'll forgive you.

The Onions: Put the dried onions in a container, oh..like Tupperware...and add water. Water should be a few inches over the top of the onions. (better to have too much water than not enough) Cover, and refrigerate about 1/2 hour. Drain the liquid, and BAM...you have McDonald's little baby onions. Cover again and refrigerate until 'burger time".

The Pickles: McDonald's® pickle slices are unique in flavor, very sour dills. The only product I know of that comes close to the distinctive flavor is HEINZ Genuine Dills. (original sour dill.) But they don't come in slices, so slice your own VERY thin. I can't do it very well with a knife, so I use a K-tel "dial-a-slice" home vegetable slicer. ALSO....Vlasic "original" dills have that tart flavor. Make sure they're not "kosher" dills. Wal-Mart® carries Vlasic ORIGINAL dills, and you have to slice those too. (****note, these pickles are pretty small, so slice at an angle....you'll get bigger dill chips.) USE THESE PICKLES ON ALL McDONALD'S® HAMBURGERS!

The Buns: Use the small, plain cheapo store brand hamburger buns. You know, they come 8 or 12 in a pack. Usually about 59 to 69 cents for a pack of 8. (You'll want to separate the tops, or "crowns" from the bottoms, or "heels"...as most likely they'll be connected slightly on one edge.) When it's "burger time", you'll be toasting the buns. Those instructions are coming up. WalMart® sells a great product for regular buns---Great Value™ brand "jumbo" hamburger buns. They're almost exactly like McDonald's® buns and a little bigger than the other hamburger buns available at your supermarket.

ONE MORE THING: Before you cook these marvelous hamburgers, pre-cut 10 12"x12" sheets of waxed paper.