CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 25, 2021	Sep. 26, 2020	Sep. 25, 2021	Sep. 26, 2020
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 982,248	$ 619,105	$ 2,812,988	$ 1,722,192
Cost of goods sold	744,265	500,780	2,212,395	1,412,654
Depreciation and amortization	10,868	10,752	33,757	32,888
Selling, general, and administrative expense	48,524	38,346	137,891	117,749
Gain on sale of businesses	(54,759)	0	(54,759)	0
Litigation settlement, net	0	0	0	(21,933)
Operating income	233,350	69,227	483,704	180,834
Interest expense	(1,116)	(4,885)	(7,451)	(15,237)
Redemption premium	0	0	(5,674)	0
Other (expense) income, net	(2,548)	522	(1,288)	3,634
Income before income taxes	229,686	64,864	469,291	169,231
Income tax expense	(60,229)	(15,450)	(120,996)	(42,623)
Income (loss) from unconsolidated affiliates, net of foreign tax	2,799	(5,457)	131	(20,213)
Consolidated net income	172,256	43,957	348,426	106,395
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1,276)	(1,255)	(5,507)	(3,322)
Net income attributable to Mueller Industries, Inc.	$ 170,980	$ 42,702	$ 342,919	$ 103,073
Weighted average shares for basic earnings per share (in shares)	56,077	55,816	55,979	55,805
Effect of dilutive stock-based awards (in shares)	731	550	784	534
Adjusted weighted average shares for diluted earnings per share (in shares)	56,808	56,366	56,763	56,339
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 3.05	$ 0.77	$ 6.13	$ 1.85
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	3.01	0.76	6.04	1.83
Dividends per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.13	$ 0.10	$ 0.39	$ 0.30