Inspired by In-N-Out's Animal Style BurgerMarquee pick

Copycat In-N-Out Animal Style Burger Recipe

Name: Copycat In-N-Out Animal Style Burger Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 38 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 2 buns Hamburger buns; 0.5 lb 80/20 ground beef; 4 slices American cheese; 1 cup Yellow onion, finely diced; 1 tbsp Vegetable oil; 2 tbsp Yellow mustard; 2 slices Tomato; 2 leaves Iceberg lettuce; 6 slices Dill pickles; 0.25 cup Mayonnaise; 2 tbsp Ketchup; 1 tbsp Sweet pickle relish; 0.5 tsp White vinegar; 0.5 tsp Sugar; 1 tsp Salt; 0.5 tsp Black pepper

From the kitchen of The Big Apron

Inspired by In-N-Out's Animal Style burger. Mustard pressed into the raw patty so it sears into the surface, twenty-five minutes of caramelized onions, and a spread that earns its secret-menu name. Two thin patties, not one thick. That's the whole game.

Copycat In-N-Out Animal Style Burger Recipe

Animal Style is a stack of three small moves done well. The mustard goes on the raw patty, not in the bun, so it Maillards into the surface during the sear and finishes glassy and tangy. The onions go slow, with salt, for at least twenty-five minutes until they break down into something jammy and dark. The spread is a mayo-ketchup-relish base with vinegar to keep it from going syrupy. Two thin patties stacked with cheese between, not one thick patty. The architecture is the recipe.

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 8 min
Total: 38 min
Servings: 2
Difficulty: medium

Ingredients

2 servings

2 bunsHamburger buns
1/2 lb80/20 ground beef
4 slicesAmerican cheese
1 cupYellow onion, finely diced
1 tbspVegetable oil
2 tbspYellow mustard
2 slicesTomato
2 leavesIceberg lettuce
6 slicesDill pickles
1/4 cupMayonnaise
2 tbspKetchup
1 tbspSweet pickle relish
1/2 tspWhite vinegar
1/2 tspSugar
1 tspSalt
1/2 tspBlack pepper

Instructions

Caramelize the onions: heat oil in a skillet over medium-low. Add diced onion and a pinch of salt. Cook 25 minutes, stirring often, until deep brown and jammy.
Whisk mayo, ketchup, relish, vinegar, and sugar for the spread.
Divide beef into two 4-ounce balls. Press into thin, wide patties on a flat top or in a hot cast iron pan.
Brush mustard onto the top of each raw patty. Cook patty side down for 2 minutes; flip and the mustard sears into the surface.
Top each patty with two slices of cheese. Cover briefly to melt.
Toast the buns in the patty fond.
Build: bottom bun, spread, lettuce, tomato, pickle, cheese-topped patty, caramelized onion, second cheese-topped patty, top bun.

Substitutions

80/20 ground beef to 85/15 ground chuck. Slightly leaner; the mustard sear still works.
Yellow mustard to Dijon mustard. Sharper; less classic.
Hamburger buns to Brioche buns. Richer; the spread cuts through.

Pairs well with: Animal-style fries, A vanilla shake, Pickled jalapeños

Pro tips

Caramelize the onions slow. Twenty-five minutes is the floor.
The mustard goes on the raw patty, not in the bun. The sear is the whole point.
Two thin patties, not one thick. The texture builds the burger.

Try the original

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