Peel the onion and cut it into either rings or smaller slices.

Put it in a small bag along with flour and a little salt. Shake the bag well so the flour is well distributed. Pour the contents of the bag through a sieve to shake off the excess flour.

Fry them in neutral oil (in a pan, pot, or deep fryer) for about 5 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius (338 degrees Fahrenheit). Take them out of the hot oil and place them on paper towels to absorb the excess oil, such as a clean dish towel or paper towel.

You can easily make these in advance, and if you place them in a closed container with a piece of paper towel on top, they will stay crispy.

The patties can be a bit large. Season the meat with salt and pepper and divide it into 4 pieces and make a ball out of each. If your meat has a low-fat content, I recommend adding neutral-flavored oil to the pan.

Heat a large pan on high heat (13 out of 14 on my stove) and place each ball with a fairly large space between them.

Take something heavy (it can be anything from a similarly sized pan, an oven-safe dish, cutting board, or similar) and place it on top of the patties.

This way, you press them down and ensure they stay flat. The concept is called a "smash-burger".

Fry the meat for 3-4 minutes on high heat and flip the patties.

Turn down to medium heat (8 out of 14 on my stove) and place the cheddar cheese on top of the meat. Let them cook for about 3-4 minutes and then remove them from the pan.

Let the meat rest for a couple of minutes before you make your burger. If the cheese hasn't melted completely, you can use a blowtorch to melt it.

A good trick is always to toast the inside of the buns before using them for a burger. This way, they won't get too "soggy". I usually toast the inside on the same pan where I fried the patties. This way, I get all the flavors. But, of course, you can also use a toaster or oven.

I recommend using your own bearnaise essence here; it doesn't take long, and I usually pour it into ice cube trays so I can easily grab them from the freezer whenever I crave bearnaise - and that happens quite often.

I make this mayo with an immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can whisk it traditionally, but then you won't need to use egg whites. You can see how to whisk a mayonnaise here, but you’ll need to use essence instead of vinegar.

With an immersion blender, it's incredibly easy: First, add the eggs, then salt, then the mustard and essence into the tall immersion blender cup. Finally, add the oil, and you're ready to blend. The most important thing is to get the blender head all the way down into the cup before you start blending. Blend and when the bottom begins to thicken, slowly raise the blender. Continue until all the mayo has emulsified.

Chop the tarragon and add a generous amount along with a bit of cayenne pepper. Season with salt and lemon juice. It should be very tangy, so use lemon juice to achieve this if you feel it's lacking.

Rinse the lettuce (I used romaine lettuce) and place it in a bowl of cold water until it's ready to eat. This keeps it crisp and fresh. When assembling the burger, it's, of course, a good idea to dry it first.

My onion compote was this homemade onion marmalade, to which I just added a bit of smoked paprika and blended.

The recipe for the crispy potato sticks can be found here. They are made from a baking potato and are enough for 4 people. You can, of course, cut them smaller if you prefer, but I liked them this size.

I must confess that I can't quite remember the order in which McDonald's places their ingredients, but to me, it's important that all the crispy elements are on top, so they don't become soggy.

Spread the bottom bun with bearnaise mayo and add a little on the top bun.

Add onion compote to the bottom and place the cheese-topped patty on top.

Next, add lettuce, roasted onion, and finally a generous amount of potato sticks.

Place the top bun on and serve immediately.