The most popular item at In-N-Out is the animal-style burger from the secret menu. But what exactly is it?
Legend has it that the burger's name came from the rowdy surfer and skater kids who would hang out at the original In-N-Out location in Baldwin Park, California in the 1960's. The employees referred to them as animals, because of their raucous behavior (In-N-Out employees are notoriously clean-cut), and after they started ordering mustardy, grilled burgerswith grilled onion, spread, and pickles, that sandwich took on their name: the animal style burger.
To this day, you can still get your In-N-Out animal style burger, and you truly haven't lived until you've had the chain's animal style fries(order them well-done).
What makes a burger animal style?
Image via In-N-Out
According to In-N-Out's website, what separates the animal style from a normal cheeseburger (with lettuce and tomato) is the beef patty that gets grilled with mustard, topped with extra spread (AKA Thousand Island special sauce), pickles, and grilled, caramelized onions. If you're a vegetarian, you can also order animal style grilled cheese, which comes with all of the above, minus the beef patty.
What makes fries animal style?
Photo by Alena Shekhovtcova / PEXELS
Animal style fries come with melted American cheese and grilled chopped onions, and are smothered with In-N-Out's special sauce. To die for!
Is the animal style burger extra money?
Image via In-N-Out
Ordering an In-N-Out animal style burger doesn't cost extra money unless you're adding more meat or cheese. If you want the animal style fries, you can get them for an additional fee.
How to order the In-N-Out animal style burger?
Image via In-N-Out
To order the In-N-Out animal style burger, all you have to do is ask for your choice of a Double-Double, Cheeseburger, or Hamburger and order it "animal style."
The In-N-Out workers in-store or drive-thru will know exactly what you want! And, if you have any questions about animal style, they'll be able to answer them. If you've never tried the In-N-Out animal style burger, you need to, ASAP!
How to Make Animal Style Burgers and Fries at Home
Photo by Polina Tankilevitch / PEXELS
To make animal style food at home, all you need is some Thousand Island dressing, sliced pickles, and caramelized onions. American cheese – which you may turn your nose up at initially – melts like a dream, so it's worth having some of that on hand, too!
You can add animal style toppings to everything from tater tots to hot dogs, veggie burgers to grilled chicken breast. Even if you can't make it to the west coast, you can still indulge in all the glory of In-N-Out from the comfort of your own home.
No matter what coast you're on, the animal style burger can be made from the comfort of your home... and can we just say, this meal is COMFORTING.
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Header photo by Isaac Taylor / PEXELS.
This post has been updated.
