A Sausage McGriddle at McDonald’s costs about $4-5. Making four at home costs about $6 total. More importantly, you can make them at 2 PM on a Saturday when the breakfast menu is long gone, and you can use better quality sausage than what comes out of a fast food kitchen.

• The maple syrup pockets are the key. The real McGriddle has maple syrup baked into crystallized pockets in the griddle cake. You can approximate this by drizzling syrup onto the warm pancake and letting it soak in, or by folding small drops of syrup into the batter before cooking.
• Keep the griddle cakes small. These are not breakfast pancakes. They should be about the size of your palm — just big enough to hold the sausage patty.
• Add an egg. The Sausage Egg McGriddle is the upgraded version. Fry an egg in a ring mold to get a perfectly round shape that fits the sandwich.
• Use sage sausage. If making your own patties, sage is the dominant flavor in McDonald’s sausage. Combine ground pork with rubbed sage, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a pinch of sugar.

The McGriddle is the star, but a real McDonald’s breakfast spread needs backup:

• McDonald’s Hash Browns — the crispy shredded-potato disk that belongs on every breakfast plate. Same technique, same oil temp.
• McDonald’s Hotcakes — the thick, flat, borderline-cakey pancakes with that signature buttery glaze.
• McDonald’s Egg McMuffin — the English muffin version for variety. Easier to make than the McGriddle, and just as satisfying.

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