The Ultimate Secret Menu Guide: In-N-Out

Only six states have In-N-Out locations: the six best states in the whole damn world. While the brand’s straightforward style is admirable, you occasionally want to spice things up a bit.

Customers, employees, and even the company have promoted endless creativity from a seemingly limited set of ingredients through the “Not-So-Secret-Menu."

But there’s a world of possibility beyond the “official” secrets, and we’re going to go through the highlights of both – including the “unofficial” items this popular fast food chain has to offer because that’s what a hamburger’s all about.

Burger Basics

The 4x4

Going off Double-Double math (that’s two patties and two slices of cheese for the uninitiated), the 4x4 is four patties and four slices of cheese. If it sounds like a mouthful, well, yeah, but it’s delicious, bro. You can also get a 3x3, a 4x2, a 2x1… whatever your little heart desires. If you want two patties with no cheese, order the Double Meat.

Keep in mind you can also ask for your burger cooked however you’d like. Prefer the patty to be medium rare? Just ask.

Grilled Cheese

Going in the opposite direction, In-N-Out also offers a meatless alternative that focuses the ooey-gooey goodness of their melted cheese. With all the fixings of their regular burger, this is a favorite of vegetarians, and from everything they tell me, it’s pretty darn good. But I’ll never actually find out.

Protein Style

If you’re looking for a way to cut back on carbs, then you’ll want the protein style burger. In place of buns, employees wrap your burger in a leaf of iceberg lettuce to keep the grease (mostly) off your fingers. They’ll make any regular burger this way, which is good news for weight-lifters looking for a splurge. But there’s also a different protein-heavy option…

The Flying Dutchman

Where it got its name is anyone’s guess, but this is a go-to order for the most maximal of minimalists. No buns, no veggies, no spreads: with a slice of cheese melted between two all-beef patties. It’s essentially your favorite part of the burger removed from… ya know, the burger.

Animal Style

Animal Style is what legends are made of, and a standard order for anyone who hails from Southern California. It starts with a mustard-grilled patty, giving the meat an extra tang. Double pickles, double spread, and grilled onions make this mess-o-meat a surefire way to ruin a white shirt. But it’s worth it.

French Fry Fun

Control Your Crispiness

The party line on In-N-Out french fries is the more well-done, the better, but that’s not your only option. Since they can make them fresh to order, you can get them as a “light” and bendable as you’d like, or as “well-done” and crispy as you want. Same goes for salt. Prefer them unsalted? Just make sure you specify the next time you order.

Animal Style Fries

Probably one of the most signature creations the company has ever put on their official Not-So-Secret-Menu. The Animal Style Fries are much like the burger, which is to say covered in melted cheese, classic spread, and grilled onions. You’ll need a fork, but don’t let that slow you down from inhaling this delicious masterpiece.

Cheese Fries

Right, so you can also just get a slice of cheese slapped on top of your fries and call it a day. I mean, I assume that that would probably taste alright, I guess. But with the option for Animal Style Fries right there in front of me, I’m not going to waste my time finding out for myself.

Fountain Fundamentals

Neapolitan Shake

I mean, it’s pretty brilliant. They’re already serving vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry milkshakes – why not tickle our proverbial pickles a little bit more? You can get an equal dose of all three flavorful shakes poured into a cup, creating everything that you should have been dreaming about your entire childhood.

Root Beer Float

This is another natural, especially with Barq’s root beer on tap. Basically, they’ll fill up your cup halfway with vanilla milkshake and then top it off with rich, heady root beer. You’ll be glad you asked for it, but make sure to grab a spoon.

Above and Beyond the Not-So-Secret-Menu

With a little ingenuity and unlimited time to sculpt your fast food opus, you can make these creations using items available on the menu and off on the side.

Monkey Style

Ok, are you sitting down? This one’s a doozy. Order some Animal Style Fries and slap them on top of the meat in your Double-Double. It’s every individual flavor of In-N-Out rolled up into one bite, and your taste buds will be thanking you.

Roadkill Fries

Roadkill Fries are like a reverse-engineered version of the Monkey Style Burger. Just throw a Flying Dutchman on top of Animal Style Fries and you’re there. You can use the plastic silverware to cut up the meat or just bite it as you go. Also, ask for some yellow peppers at the counter and slice them up for an added kick.