McDonald’s tests Big Mac with a Sriracha kick

CHICAGO - McDonald's is trying a Sriracha Big Mac in the Columbus, Ohio, area, the latest attempt to spice up sales of its most famous sandwich.

The test is expected to run through the end of the year, but might be extended to other markets depending on the response. The sandwiches feature the traditional Big Mac sauce mixed with a kick of the Thai pepper-and-garlic sauce.

McDonald's also is testing the Big Mac sauce with Sriracha in a dipping container for fries and chicken nuggets.

The Sriracha Big Mac sauce also is available in another test on the West Coast - through McDonald's new customized burger offering, which it calls Signature Crafted Recipes. That test includes about 600 California restaurants.

McDonald's is sparring with 'better burger” competitors for a share of a growing young customer base. Only one in five millennials - now the largest generation - have tried the Big Mac, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal last month.

McDonald's has been tinkering with the Big Mac in an attempt to encourage more diners to order the double-decker sandwich.

The world's largest burger chain, based in suburban Chicago, also tested Big Macs in different sizes - the Grand Mac and the Mac Jr. - in Central Ohio earlier this year. Those sandwiches will debut on menus nationwide next year.