Animal Stlye Cheeseburgers
These In-N-Out inspired double-doubles are made "animal style" with caramelized onions, juicy beef patties, melted cheese, and extra spread.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground chuck 80/20
- 4 hamburger buns potato or brioche
- 8 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 8 slices cheddar or American cheese
- tomato slices
- iceberg lettuce
- dill pickle slices
- butter or vegetable oil to cook patties and toast buns
For caramelized onions
- 3 white onions finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar optional
For spread
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 4 tablespoons pickled or sweet relish
- 2 teaspoon white vinegar
- 2 teaspoon white sugar
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
For spread
- In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, vinegar, sugar, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. Keep in refrigerator until ready to use.
For caramelized onions
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a pan. Cook chopped onions in oil and butter over medium heat for 40 minutes, or until onions are soft and caramelized. Stir occasionally. Add a few tablespoons of water to the onions if they appear dried out while cooking. The water also helps the flavorful brown bits come off the pan. [Optional: Add balsamic vinegar when onions are almost done to incorporate more depth of flavor.]
For patties
- Loosely form beef into 8 patties (¼ pound each). Season patties with salt and pepper.
- Coat griddle or skillet in butter.
- Cook patties for 2 to 3 minutes. Spread 1 tablespoon yellow mustard on top of each patty.
- Flip patties. Add a slice of cheese on top of each patty. Cook for another 2 minutes or until patties are cooked to your liking.
For buns
- Toast buns on griddle or skillet with a little bit of butter or vegetable oil.
Compose burgers
- Spread a tablespoon (or more) of spread on each slice of the toasted buns. To the bottom bun, layer pickles, tomato slices, lettuce, two meat patties with cheese, caramelized onions, and then top with the other half of the bun.
Notes
This recipe makes 4 double-doubles or 8 single cheeseburgers. If making single cheeseburgers, adjust the bun count accordingly.
If you have extra cheese, spread and caramelized onions, you can make Animal Style fries. All you need to do is add the extra toppings to homemade or store bought fries.
Tips for burger patties:
- Buy beef with no added water or salt
- Loosely shape the burgers and don’t over handle the meat with your hands
- Make patties larger than the size you want them to be as some shrinkage will naturally occur as fat cooks off in the skillet
- Make a small dimple in the center to prevent puffing
- Cook on medium or medium low heat for even cooking