Animal Fries
Animal Fries are a secret menu item at In-N-Out. If you're unfamiliar with In-N-Out, it's a burger chain with a cult following in California and the American Southwest. All the locations are basically identical, they serve the same (consistently mid, but affordably priced) food, and for some reason there are Bible verses printed on all of the paper items. They have a pretentious secret menu, too, but it's been common knowledge for, like, a quarter century now. I'm ripping on them a bit, but I really do like In-N-Out. Any time I go over the Grapevine or take a day trip, I'm going to want it. I like that it never changes.
Anyways, animal fries are called animal fries for a reason. At one of the original In-N-Out locations, there were supposedly some teens who used to ask for their fries like this. Someone called them "animals," hence "animal-style." Is that true? Who fucking knows, honestly? It might be true, or it might well be marketing. If you think about it, the original animal kids are probably, like, really old or dead, which is kinda wild.
WHAT YOU NEED
- a bunch of fries (oven fries actually work best for this, because you can reuse the parchment and baking sheet)
- salt or seasoning to taste (In-N-Out uses salt, but I usually like to use adobo at home)
- a couple slices of american cheese
- burger sauce
- grilled diced onions
- optional: sliced pickled cascabella peppers (not pictured, because I was serving guests)
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HOW-TO
- Make your fries, then season them. The best way to do this is to put some seasoning (salt or whatever you like) in a mixing bowl, add the hot fries, and toss them around. Add a little more seasoning from the top if you need to, but shake them around well. Don't overseason, though. You can always add more, but you can't take away.
- If you made oven fries, just put the fries in a haphazard pile on the same baking sheet you used earlier. Put a layer of American cheese slices on top, then scatter grilled onions over the top.
- Throw the baking sheet back in the oven and let it go until the cheese melts, then take it out.
- Transfer the cheese fries onto or into your serving dish. (This is a lot easier if you used parchment paper). Top with burger sauce and serve.
TIPS AND TRICKS
- The cascabella peppers don't actually come on the animal fries. You have to put them on yourself. They're in a little self-serve container by the ketchup pump and the salt packets. The point is, you need to keep a small travel scissors in your car to cut them up. Animal fries are so much better with them. In-N-Out got me to keep a jar of them in my fridge, just because. Cascabellas just make Californian-style fast food taste right, for some reason.