Cooking the In-N-Out Animal-Style Double-Double at home

July 28, 2010 10:15 PM

Cooking the In-N-Out Animal-Style Double-Double at home

The story of the In-N-Out 100x100

posted by Joe Beese (41 comments total)

As seen on AskMe.
posted by crunchland at 10:27 PM on July 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

SFW?
posted by dhartung at 10:28 PM on July 28, 2010 [3 favorites]

The following are some very nasty close ups. Click on the images to feel even more disgusted

Yes they are. Yes I do.

that leaves you with a 60 percent lean, 40 percent fat beef blend

.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 10:31 PM on July 28, 2010

Man. I literally heaved at those first few pictures of just the actual burger, but that's some fucking food SCIENCE!
posted by cmoj at 10:46 PM on July 28, 2010

As someone who has had intense cravings for In-N-Out since visiting the U.S. last year this information is like food gold. Thank you from the bottom of my belly.
posted by AzzaMcKazza at 11:03 PM on July 28, 2010

Well, now I guess I need to get up and go get one at the In n Out one mile from my house. And I'm not even hungry. Grr.
posted by davejay at 11:05 PM on July 28, 2010

I think I'm probably not the target demographic for this; In-N-Out doesn't do much for me, but the "onion jam" had me literally salivating.
posted by lekvar at 11:05 PM on July 28, 2010

I hear you davejay- I got about halfway through that before I made my husband leave to get us some In N Out ...
posted by starfyr at 11:08 PM on July 28, 2010

To calculate the ratio of relish to ketchup, I washed two tablespoons of Spread through a fine mesh strainer, which got rid of the mayo and ketchup, but kept the pickle particles

This is some serious shit.
posted by IvoShandor at 11:11 PM on July 28, 2010

I tried this guy's recipe for french fries and they are THE BEST GODDAMN FRIES I HAVE EVER TASTED. Seriously, they still taste good an hour later, cold.
posted by signalnine at 11:15 PM on July 28, 2010 [14 favorites]

Mustard grilling is something that is going to be tried this weekend.
posted by Back to you, Jim. at 11:16 PM on July 28, 2010

That tears it - In-N-Out for breakfast tomorrow.
posted by thedaniel at 11:26 PM on July 28, 2010

FINALLY.

This may prevent me from biking to California from Seattle just for a goddamn cheeseburger. Now I just need to figure out how to make a Neapolitan ice cream shake without a shake machine.

If you mention Dick's I'll cut you. Seriously? That place is so gross. I'd honestly rather eat at McDonald's, and I'd rather punch myself in the face than eat at McDonald's. Burgerville in PDX is damn good, but it just isn't the same.
posted by loquacious at 11:55 PM on July 28, 2010

He gets a couple things wrong, such as putting mayo in the spread. In-N-Out's spread has no mayo, and is, if I recall correctly, yogurt-based.

I worked at In-N-Out about 10 years ago. My scientifically engineered Perfect In-N-Out Lunch was as follows:

Double Double, no onion, light lettuce, extra tomato
Fries (they give employees a huge unregulated mountain of fries, always immediately fresh from the fryer...I've never had an order of fries as a customer that was as hot and crisp as those employee lunch fry mountains)
Pink Lemonade
A tiny dixie cup-sized shake with 70% chocolate, 30% vanilla (we weren't technically allowed to have shakes with lunch but nobody ever got on my case for taking little ones)

First, I would eat all the fries, causing a salt overload, which I would then relieve with the shake, in one gulp. Then I would eat the burger. By the end of that, I'd be so thirsty that I'd drink the whole lemonade in one go, and every time, it was the best thing I had ever tasted. The meal is basically a series of escalating stresses on the palate that the each subsequent step relieves while setting up the next step, all building up to that lemonade climax.

I've never really tried to reproduce this as a non-employee, because it would involve buying at least two orders of fries (one is not capable of producing the desired effect) and both a regular-sized shake and a regular drink, and it's just not economical.
posted by anazgnos at 12:11 AM on July 29, 2010 [34 favorites]

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

What, no 'III' or 'Jr'?
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:03 AM on July 29, 2010

I lived in LA for close to a year, and used to pass by the In-n-Out on Hollywood all the time, but never tried it. It sounds like I missed something.

I used to hit Oki Dog all the time, I guess because it was more punk rock.

Wow...street viewing around the area where the In-n-Out that I remember used to be, near Ralph's Giant on Hollywood Blvd, east of the 101. Looks like it's a 7-11 now, and the whole area has turned into Little Bankok. 20 years on....
posted by Jimmy Havok at 1:10 AM on July 29, 2010

Perfect McDonald's-esque fries by the same author.
posted by archagon at 1:37 AM on July 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

It is too early to be this hungry. Great website.
posted by Splunge at 2:46 AM on July 29, 2010

Finally, I can make it with a veggie burger instead of just getting the animal-style "grilled cheese" (way to corner the enormous market that is vegetarian Californians, ya Bible-thumping weirdos)!
posted by Mooseli at 3:34 AM on July 29, 2010

Wow, Kenji gets linked to on Mefi all the time! Good for him, he is the closest I come to internet stalking someone. For the food people! Oh, and his dog is adorable too! But as far as food science and food porn, his site is my favorite. I've used a lot of his techniques, not the sous vide,,,,yet!
posted by Jazz Hands at 3:45 AM on July 29, 2010

This is perhaps the best MeFi post of all time.
posted by allkindsoftime at 5:05 AM on July 29, 2010

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

What, no 'III' or 'Jr'?

For real, every time I see the mishmash of different cultures represented in the dude's name, along with his good-natured obsession for perfecting his favorite foods, I get a little misty and proud to be an American.
posted by Greg Nog at 5:22 AM on July 29, 2010 [3 favorites]

gifted as I am with an extraordinarily delicate and precise palate

... which you use for deconstructing fast-food hamburgers.
posted by kcds at 5:43 AM on July 29, 2010

I loathe the NYC burger fetish scene. Same with the Pizza fetish. It is the worst form of hipstervoreism.
posted by JPD at 6:17 AM on July 29, 2010

Those are some good burgers, Walter.
posted by shakespeherian at 6:41 AM on July 29, 2010 [2 favorites]

For those in the Dallas area, rejoice.
posted by thewittyname at 6:47 AM on July 29, 2010

I tried this guy's recipe for french fries and they are THE BEST GODDAMN FRIES I HAVE EVER TASTED. Seriously, they still taste good an hour later, cold.

So you're saying they're nothing like In-N-Out fries, then?

Prefer the In-N-Out burgers, but gotta go with Five Guys fries by a mile...
posted by inigo2 at 7:10 AM on July 29, 2010

I've been to In-N-Out a few times on my excursions to the west coast and other than getting a cheap Nadsat chuckle over the name, I've never really understood the cult. They just taste like burgers to me; I've had better at New Jersey diners.
posted by octothorpe at 7:32 AM on July 29, 2010

What good luck! I was just trying this (or rather my own variation), last weekend. This guide is perfect.

I'm a bit naive though, I don't have a meat grinder and never grind-ed meat before.

I went to the butcher and got the fattiest chuck steaks I could find and ground them without trimming away any of the excess fat.

What exactly should I ask for here? Just "the fattiest chuck steaks you have"?

Also do I just cut up the meat into little cubes and dump into the grinder? Is there a zen to the distribution of meat and fatty parts?
posted by geoff. at 7:45 AM on July 29, 2010

Yes you tell them you want the fatiest chuck they've got - although personally I don't think that is a great burger so much as it replicates a fast food burger. I'd rather have a less fatty burger from very tasty cheap parts of the cow (brisket, short rib, cheek, etc, etc)

The key to grinding meat is small pieces with as much gristle and sinew removed as possible that is almost frozen it's so cold. Keep the grinder cold as well. How you grind the fat and meat isn't that material - you'll want to sort of knead the meat a bit anyway onces its done to mix in S&P and get the meat and fat spread evenly - although not to the degree you would with sausage.
posted by JPD at 7:56 AM on July 29, 2010

In more In-N-Out news, the company is building a distribution center in Texas, which will enable it to eventually cover a large portion of the southern midwest, including Texas (natch), Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
posted by jedicus at 9:13 AM on July 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Personally I prefer 75% ground sirloin 25% ground pork. My guy grinds it while I wait. I don't need to mess with a grinder, but I can understand why one might.
posted by Splunge at 10:00 AM on July 29, 2010

Thanks to signalnine for the fries link. This dude is so, so cool, and I badly want to go make french fries now.
posted by rachaelfaith at 10:05 AM on July 29, 2010

Walter Sobchak: He lives in North Hollywood on Radford, near the In-and-Out Burger...
The Dude: The In-and-Out Burger is on Camrose.
Walter Sobchak: Near the In-and-Out Burger...
Donny: Those are good burgers, Walter.
Walter Sobchak: Shut the fuck up, Donny.

posted by wcfields at 10:11 AM on July 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Is that from a movie?
posted by shakespeherian at 10:12 AM on July 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Just the other day I was contemplating doing an FPP on J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. Guess I should've acted upon that urge sooner.
posted by slogger at 11:04 AM on July 29, 2010

FTA:
"And all that before we even mention In-N-Out, perhaps the second most compelling reason to move out west like my wife would like me to*.
* Reason #1 is the burger at Pie 'n Burger in Pasadena"

Holy cow! A shout-out to the best burger that ISN'T In-n-Out! Seriously, people.
Any angelenos who want to come northeast and check it out, let me know!
posted by ApathyGirl at 12:03 PM on July 29, 2010

This is cool, but I'd rather have a homemade Shake Shack burger (also reverse engineered by Kenji)
posted by AceRock at 12:41 PM on July 29, 2010

This is cool, but I'd rather have a homemade Shake Shack burger

Which is probably a more valuable recipe, since who wants to wait in line that long for a hamburger.

Mmm. Gonna grab In-n-Out on the way home, now.
posted by hwyengr at 4:46 PM on July 29, 2010

I'm moving far, far away from any In-n-Outs, so this is timely! I'm not sure I'll go to all the effort listed in the article but you never know.

I've always thought that In-n-Out did so well partially because of the fact that they've kept themselves small and exclusive. I can remember when In-n-Out was just in California and other states had to lump it.

If, like me, you found yourself a little baffled by their expansion plans or if you're interested in the 'crazy Christian' folks who run it, read In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules, which is a super-recent (2009) history of the chain to present day (weird fact: the guy who founded Carl's Jr was good friends with the founders of In-n-Out).
posted by librarylis at 1:28 AM on July 30, 2010

Never had an In-n-Out burger before. Tried my own version of this recipe tonight. Damn tasty burger. Love the mustard grilling.
posted by Tenuki at 10:47 PM on July 30, 2010