Alaska from Scratch April 26, 2012 posted by alaskafromscratch

Cheeseburgers Animal Style

Weather: 54 degrees, clear
What I’m listening to: Beach Boys, Greatest Hits

If this looks or sounds familiar to you, then you’ve been to In-n-Out Burger. When I was young, the only place you could get these was in Southern California. People (myself included) would drive hundreds of miles for these hamburgers. They’re sort of a big deal.

Now you can find them all over California and in several other states. I remember being thrilled when we lived in Arizona and an In-n-Out Burger was built in our town. Although the In-n-Out Burger love grows every year and new stores keep popping up, there aren’t any in Alaska (In-n-Out, if you’re reading this, Alaskans would adore you. Promise.).

I’ve made this tempting homemade version of the only thing I ever order there: Cheeseburger, Animal Style. By the way, it’s not on the menu; it’s on the secret menu. Animal Style is the classic cheeseburger, but with grilled onions instead of raw, and some hidden mustard grilled on the patty. Amazingness on a bun.

Cheeseburgers Animal Style

Yield: 2 burgers

Cheeseburgers Animal Style

Adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

2T + 2t mayonnaise
1T ketchup
2t sweet pickle relish
1/2t distilled vinegar
1/2t sugar

For the Onions:

1 large onion, finely chopped
oil
salt
water

For the Burgers:

1/2lb ground beef, formed into two 1/4lb patties
2T yellow mustard
2 slices American cheese
8 dill pickle chips
1 tomato, thickly sliced
Iceburg Lettuce leaves, torn into bun size pieces
Hamburger Buns, no seeds, toasted

Instructions

To Make the Sauce:

Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside (or cover and refrigerate until ready to use).

To Make the Onions:

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onions, coat with oil and salt generously. Cook, stirring and tossing often, adding small amounts of water (1T at a time) whenever onions appear to be dried out (you'll need to add water several times). Cook 10-15 minutes until onions are very soft and browned. Set aside.

To Make the Burgers:

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Toast the interior of the buns. Place the toasted buns into a 200 degree oven to keep warm.
Season the patties with salt and pepper. Place into hot pan. While they cook on the first side, spread 1T of mustard onto the raw sides of the patties. Flip. Place a cheese slice on each patty. Remove patties from pan when cheese is well melted and burgers are cooked through.

To Assemble Burgers:

On the bottom bun, spread a generous amount of the sauce. Top with 4 pickle chips followed by tomato and lettuce, then patty. Place the grilled onions directly on top of the cheese. Complete with top bun and serve.

Notes

Wrap burgers in parchment paper for the full experience.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://www.alaskafromscratch.com/2012/04/26/cheeseburgers-animal-style/

17 comments

Newest | Oldest

estrellita_1103

This was the most delicious burger I have ever eaten! I've heard about In-N-Out for years, but we don't have any on the East Coast. I'm so happy that I was able to try your version. I hope the real thing is as good as this burger. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!

alaskafromscratch moderator

@estrellita_1103 Hooray! I'm so happy to hear that! Thank you for letting us know that you enjoyed the burgers. :)

Amy

My fave! Oh how you must miss them...the rumor was that we were to get In n Out in K-town but they wouldn't put Swedish motif on their building and the city council wouldn't budge! Can you believe that? :) Gotta drive 30 minutes for one still but so worth it. Love that you can make them at home!

eileen

loved in-n-out burgers when we lived in the mojave--none super close but loved getting there often. will have to try this--my sonny will absolutely love it if it works!! thanks

Lilj_72

I've never been to one, can't wait to try this! Thanks so much!!

Emily {Frilly Details}

Oh, now I'm craving an In-N-Out burger! Hubby and I ate there way too often when we lived in Phoenix. I'll have to give this recipe a try! I'm so happy I stumbled upon your blog. You have some amazing recipes that I can't wait to try. And I love the clean layout of your site. I added you to the sidebar on my blog so I can keep track of you ;)

Alaska from Scratch

Emily, Thanks so much. I just visited your blog and am looking forward to going back and really digging in. I read about how you just lost your dad. I lost my mom in January. Hugs to you. Thank you very much for adding me to your blogroll. :) Yay. Our sons were born in Prescott, AZ. Do you still live in AZ or another state? Maya

Emily {Frilly Details}

Maya, So glad you stopped by my blog :) I'm so sorry about your Mom. Losing a parent is very difficult. We moved from Phoenix to Kansas City about 4 years ago. We loved the area but all of our family is around here, so this is home. I have really been enjoying your blog! Everything you post looks so yummy :)

Vbakaitis

HUH??? That's grape tomatoes

Vbkaitis

So, so, so delicious! I used mixed greens and grape ng. for postiT.

Melissa

I can't wait to try this! I grew up in So Cal and was relived to find an Inn N Out in Arizona when I left home. Now I live in NC and have dreams about the burgers!

Mikey

I've had I&O burgers once. It was at 12:30 am local time, after a cross-country flight, so for me, it was 3:30 am. And I had a two hour drive ahead of me. Needless to say, they were the best burgers I had ever eaten. I've reproduced them once at home, and that recipe works really well. I should give it another try, but cooking burgers inside always makes a mess of my stove.

Laura

I've had this article bookmarked to try forever! They look great. I visited In-N-Out many times while visiting my mother in law in Ventura. Been dying for one ever since!

Alaska from Scratch

Hi Laura, Thanks for stopping by! I love the Ventura area; my grandmother lived there for several years and I made many happy visits. :)