I finally did it, you guys. I’ve heard from so many people that I needed to try In-N-Out Burger for SO long and I honestly did not understand the hype at all. But now I GET IT. So naturally, now that I’m back on the East Coast and we don’t have them, I had to make my own In-N-Out Burger, Animal Style Recipe, Copycat Edition. DUH.

When you’re at In-N-Out, if you’re gluten-free like me, you order it lettuce-wrapped aka “protein-style” for a gluten allergy. Apparently, according to their website, everything at In-N-Out is gluten-free except their hamburger buns. Their fries are even made in a dedicated gluten-free frier in sunflower oil. Winning!! And, as I was told my first time, you’ve gotta go “animal style” too, which means your lettuce-wrapped burger not only comes with the normal fixin’s of tomato and lettuce, but extra secret sauce (from heaven? tbd) pickles, and grilled onions. THAT is my kind of burger.

The sauce though. It is SO tasty and I want to put it on anything and everything in life. It’s like my Fry sauce, but jacked up. You’d better believe as soon as I got home (and actually bought groceries) I made a big batch of that sauce ASAP.

So, how do we make an at-home, copycat In-N-Out Burger, Protein-style and Animal-style?

• lettuce bun
• burger with your favorite seasoning
• sliced tomato
• grilled (or sautéed) red onions
• sliced pickles
• In-N-Out sauce!!

Let’s do this. In-N-Out: protein style, animal style recipe…we comin’ for ya.

In-N-Out Burger, Animal-Style (Copycat Recipe)

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Dana: Real Food with Dana

Serves: 4 burgers

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 Tbsp Paleo Powder Pink or Primal Palate Steak Seasoning (sub your favorite burger seasoning!)
• 2 Tbsp ghee, divided*
• 1 red onion, sliced thin
• 1 head butter lettuce
• 1 large tomato

Special Sauce:

• 1 serving Fry Sauce (recipe here)
• 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
• 2-3 Tbsp dill pickle relish (to your taste)
• Sea salt and pepper to taste.

For serving:

• Bread & butter pickles

Directions

1. First, get the onions going. In a large skillet, melt 1 Tbsp ghee and add the onions, Sauté them for about 10-15 minutes, until they start to become translucent. When they are cooking down, add a small pinch of sea salt. You can also add a few tablespoons of broth (or add a top to the skillet) to help them along and cook down faster.
2. Next, prepare the burgers. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef with 1 Tbsp of your favorite steak or burger seasoning. Form the mixture into 4 patties.
3. Heat a cast iron skillet on medium and add the remaining 1 Tbsp ghee. Once hot (about 2 minutes), add the burgers in a single later. The original In-N-Out burgers are pretty flat. Cook for about 4-5 minutes per side, until cooked through and slightly pink in the middle (for medium).
4. While the burgers and onions are cooking, make the special sauce! Combine the fry sauce (click here for the recipe) with dijon mustard, dill pickle relish, and a pinch of sea salt and pepper to taste. Warning: this stuff is addictive.
5. Allow the burgers to rest for a few minutes before serving. Meanwhile, slice up the tomato and get out your pickles.
6. Assemble the burgers: start with a lettuce leaf on the bottom, then add the tomato, burger, onions, pickles, and douse it in sauce. Top with another lettuce leaf. DEVOUR.
7. Serve with fries. Obviously. Pictured here: oven-roasted sweet potato fries - about 25-30 minutes at 400.

Notes

*I made my burgers in a cast iron skillet. If using a grill, you’ll probably only need 1 Tbsp of ghee.

3.5.3208

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