I Tried McDonald's Animal-Style Fries & I’m Never Going Back
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Anyone who’s anyone lives for a good In-N-Out burger. The chain is crawling with celebs—everyone from Paris Hilton and Reese Witherspoon to Eric Wareheim and Kylie Jenner. However, unless you’re lucky enough to live in one of the seven states that have the popular chain (California, Arizona, Texas, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and Colorado), you’re going to have to get creative with your In-N-Out dupes at home—until now.
TikTokers have been heading to good ol' McDonald’s to recreate In-N-Out’s popular secret menu item: Animal-Style fries. We tried it at McDonald’s (and make it at home) so you don’t have to hop on a flight to get these fab fries.
Related: 32 In-N-Out Secret Menu Items
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What are Animal-Style fries?
The Animal-Style burger at In-N-Out is a burger that’s made with lettuce, tomato, a mustard-cooked patty, pickles, extra spread and grilled onions The fries are a bit different. When you order them at In-N-Out (not an *official* menu item, BTW), you get their crispy fries topped with cheese, their secret spread and grilled onions on top. Kind of like the best cheese fries you’ve ever had. It’s simple, messy and delicious.
For those of us who are unlucky in our geographic location (ie, not near an In-N-Out), TikTok has come to the rescue, offering up a genius hack at McDonald’s to get a similar Animal-Style fry feel no matter where you live.
Related: Fans Rejoice After McDonald's Brings Back Fan-Favorite Menu Item
How to order the Animal-Style fries at McDonald’s
I am not a regular at McDonald’s (in fact, it’s been years). So I was pleasantly surprised and relieved when I saw that I could order on their app. I downloaded it in seconds and perused the menu for a few minutes until I realized that ordering these fries was just not going to happen through the app. There was no way to order a side of the Big Mac sauce, onions or slices of cheese. Strike one.
So I drove over to my local McDonald’s and found that they have had a major glow-up since I was a kid. Gone was the creepy life-sized Ronald McDonald sitting on a bench by the door and in his place were chic black and white murals of burgers and fries, and bright, mustard-yellow seating straight out of a West Elm catalog (where were my beloved burger swivel stools??). It was as if Starbucks and IKEA had a burger baby and I wasn’t mad about it. I approached a kiosk (wow, this isn’t 1990) and started my order…only to find out that even though the kiosk had more options than the app, still no dice on ordering my French fry extravaganza. Strike two.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
As I approached the counter to order, the cashier knew exactly what I was doing and almost immediately apologized and told me there was no grilled onion at that location, only raw. Good enough. My order came to $7.28 (no charge for the onion). Start by asking for a large fry, a side of Big Mac sauce, a side of two slices of cheese and a side of onions (grilled or raw depending on your location). Compiling the fries is a cinch as you just pile all the ingredients on top and dig in.
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What do the Animal-Style fries taste like?
McDonald’s fries are always a winner and even though I’m not a fast-food regular (albeit a self-proclaimed crinkle-cut fry snob), they were the greasy, shoestring perfection that I remember from my youth and brought me right back to playing in that ball pit. I carefully unboxed all my little sides and got to work compiling my snack. Overall, the fries had just enough heat to melt the slices of cheese a bit; the Big Mac sauce was a sweet, pickled, creamy contrast to the hot and crispy fries; and the diced onion was surprisingly not as pungent as I thought it would be. But let’s break it down even more:
The fries
The next time I order this hack, I might be that person in line asking for a fresh batch of fries. Really, you need the fries to be super hot in order to be successful in melting the cheese. Mine were lukewarm (and needed more salt).
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
The Big Mac sauce
I don’t know what’s in this, but it was amazing. And I love Trader Joe’s Magnifisauce. But this was 10 times better. They did give me a side of it in a burger box and since I don’t travel with my own spatula, it was a little awkward to get out, but I managed.
The onions
The mismatched pieces of raw onion I got on the side were also served to me in a little box. As I said, it wasn’t pungent and overpowering like raw onion can be; I was just looking forward to some grilled onion. It would have been sweeter and easier to scoop onto the fries. The raw onion didn’t really add a “wow” factor to the entire dish but it wasn’t gross either.
The cheese
Ah, McDonald’s cheese—classically rubbery, processed and impossibly orange. It melted slightly since my fries were only sort of hot. Halfway through eating, I decided I should have torn the cheese up into pieces but since everyone on TikTok was placing the yellow squares directly on their fries, I did too.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
While eating my pile of fries, I thought about how much better I could make this at home (and you can too). Since the ingredients are so simple, there’s more quality control in your own kitchen. And I did try making them at home with frozen fries, Trader Joe's sauce, slices of sharp white cheddar and grilled onions. The sauce wasn't as good as the Big Mac sauce but my grilled onions were way better, my cheese melted and the fries were perfectly salted. With that being said, there are some easy tips to keep in mind if you decide to head to Mickey D’s and try this hack out for yourself.
Related: McDonald's Delights With Launch of Beloved Sauce as a Dipping Cup
Tips for ordering Animal-Style fries at McDonald’s:
If possible, see if you can get super hot, salted fries. If they’ve been sitting around under the lights, the cheese slices won’t melt well.
Some TikTokers are saying to ask for a plastic pancake tray to build your Animal-Style fries in. I didn’t (because, ya know, the environment) and instead built it on top of my fries bag like an absolute savage. It was messy but manageable.
Grab a fork. There are foods in this world that should be eaten with your hands; fries are one of them. But fries on a paper bag smothered with Big Mac sauce and onions (in public nonetheless)? Get a utensil.
If grilled onions aren’t an option at your McDonald’s, it isn’t the end of the world (but they're better than raw onion).
Remember that the app and kiosk didn’t give the options for ordering cheese slices, onions or Big Mac sauce. You’ll have to wait in line and order in person (or at the drive-thru) for this one.
How to make McDonald's Animal-Style fries at home
Ingredients:
Fries of your choice
Cooking spray
Trader Joe’s Magnifisauce
White onion
Sliced or shredded American or cheddar cheese
Directions:
Cook your fries to your liking—either in the air fryer, oven or fryer.
Dice your onion and add to a hot skillet sprayed with cooking oil. Cook over medium-low heat until onion bits start to brown. Remove from heat.
After the fries cook, add slices or strips of your cheese to the hot fries to melt slightly.
Drizzle sauce over fries and top with onions.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
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