CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2022	Dec. 25, 2021	Dec. 26, 2020
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 3,982,455	$ 3,769,345	$ 2,398,043
Cost of goods sold	2,864,862	2,938,989	1,966,161
Depreciation and amortization	43,731	45,390	44,843
Selling, general, and administrative expense	203,086	184,052	159,483
Litigation settlement, net	0	0	(22,053)
Gain on sale of businesses	0	(57,760)	0
Gain on sale of assets, net	(6,373)	0	0
Impairment charges	0	2,829	3,771
Operating income	877,149	655,845	245,838
Interest expense	(810)	(7,709)	(19,247)
Redemption premium	0	(5,674)	0
Environmental expense	(1,298)	(5,053)	(4,454)
Pension plan termination expense	(13,100)	0	(17,835)
Other income, net	14,090	3,730	4,887
Income before income taxes	876,031	641,139	209,189
Income tax expense	(223,322)	(165,858)	(55,321)
Income (loss) from unconsolidated affiliates, net of foreign tax	10,111	(157)	(10,219)
Consolidated net income	662,820	475,124	143,649
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(4,504)	(6,604)	(4,156)
Net income attributable to Mueller Industries, Inc.	$ 658,316	$ 468,520	$ 139,493
Weighted average shares for basic earnings per share (in shares)	55,779	56,011	55,821
Effect of dilutive stock-based awards (in shares)	776	787	569
Adjusted weighted average shares for diluted earnings per share (in shares)	56,555	56,798	56,390
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 11.80	$ 8.36	$ 2.50
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	11.64	8.25	2.47
Dividends per share (in dollars per share)	$ 1.00	$ 0.52	$ 0.40