diff --git a/uvdat/core/rest/dataset.py b/uvdat/core/rest/dataset.py
index 1ef7eaf9..85f6f1be 100644
--- a/uvdat/core/rest/dataset.py
+++ b/uvdat/core/rest/dataset.py
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 import json
 
+from django.db import connection
 from django.http import HttpResponse
 from rest_framework.decorators import action
 from rest_framework.response import Response
 from rest_framework.viewsets import ModelViewSet
 
-from uvdat.core.models import Dataset, NetworkEdge, NetworkNode
+from uvdat.core.models import Dataset, Network, NetworkEdge, NetworkNode
 from uvdat.core.rest.access_control import GuardianFilter, GuardianPermission
 from uvdat.core.rest.serializers import (
     DatasetSerializer,
@@ -16,6 +17,76 @@
 )
 from uvdat.core.tasks.chart import add_gcc_chart_datum
 
+GCC_QUERY = """
+WITH RECURSIVE n as (
+    -- starting node
+    SELECT id FROM (
+        SELECT cnn.id
+        FROM core_networknode cnn
+        WHERE
+            cnn.network_id = %(network_id)s AND
+            NOT (cnn.id = ANY(%(excluded_nodes)s))
+        ORDER BY random()
+        LIMIT 1
+    ) nn
+    UNION
+    -- Select the *other* node in the edge
+    SELECT CASE
+        WHEN e.to_node_id = n.id
+        THEN e.from_node_id
+        ELSE e.to_node_id
+    END
+    FROM n
+    JOIN (
+        SELECT *
+        FROM core_networkedge ne
+        WHERE
+            ne.network_id = %(network_id)s AND
+            NOT (
+                ne.from_node_id = ANY(%(excluded_nodes)s) OR
+                ne.to_node_id = ANY(%(excluded_nodes)s)
+            )
+    ) e
+    ON
+        e.from_node_id = n.id OR
+        e.to_node_id = n.id
+)
+SELECT id FROM n ORDER BY id
+;
+"""
+
+
+def find_network_gcc(network: Network, excluded_nodes: list[int]) -> list[int]:
+    total_nodes = NetworkNode.objects.filter(network=network).count()
+
+    # This is used to store all the nodes we've already visited,
+    # starting with the explicitly excluded nodes
+    cur_excluded_nodes = excluded_nodes.copy()
+
+    # Store largest network found so far
+    gcc = []
+
+    with connection.cursor() as cursor:
+        # If the GCC size is greater than half the network, we know that there's no way to find a
+        # larger one. If we've exhausted all nodes, also stop searching
+        while not (len(gcc) > (total_nodes // 2) or len(cur_excluded_nodes) >= total_nodes):
+            cursor.execute(
+                GCC_QUERY,
+                {
+                    'excluded_nodes': cur_excluded_nodes,
+                    'network_id': network.pk,
+                },
+            )
+            nodes = [x[0] for x in cursor.fetchall()]
+            if not nodes:
+                raise Exception('Expected to find nodes but found none')
+
+            cur_excluded_nodes.extend(nodes)
+            if len(nodes) > len(gcc):
+                gcc = nodes
+
+    return gcc
+
 
 class DatasetViewSet(ModelViewSet):
     queryset = Dataset.objects.all()
@@ -82,16 +153,14 @@ def gcc(self, request, **kwargs):
         exclude_nodes = exclude_nodes.split(',')
         exclude_nodes = [int(n) for n in exclude_nodes if len(n)]
 
-        # TODO: improve this for datasets with multiple networks;
-        # this currently returns the gcc for the network with the most excluded nodes
-        results = []
+        # Find the GCC for each network in the dataset
+        network_gccs: list[list[int]] = []
         for network in dataset.networks.all():
-            excluded_node_names = [n.name for n in network.nodes.all() if n.id in exclude_nodes]
-            gcc = network.get_gcc(exclude_nodes)
-            results.append(dict(excluded=excluded_node_names, gcc=gcc))
-        if len(results):
-            results.sort(key=lambda r: len(r.get('excluded')), reverse=True)
-            gcc = results[0].get('gcc')
-            excluded = results[0].get('excluded')
-            add_gcc_chart_datum(dataset, project_id, excluded, len(gcc))
-            return HttpResponse(json.dumps(gcc), status=200)
+            network_gccs.append(find_network_gcc(network=network, excluded_nodes=exclude_nodes))
+
+        # TODO: improve this for datasets with multiple networks.
+        # This currently returns the gcc for the network with the most excluded nodes
+        gcc = max(network_gccs, key=len)
+
+        add_gcc_chart_datum(dataset, project_id, exclude_nodes, len(gcc))
+        return Response(gcc, status=200)