'Mind Blown': The Easy In-N-Out Ordering Trick For Spicy Animal Style Fries

At first glance, one could be forgiven for thinking that the last thing an order of In-N-Out's Animal Style fries needs is more toppings. Perhaps the most famous item on the California-based burger chain's not-so-secret menu, Animal Style fries are a magnificent mess of crispy French fries slathered with cheese, grilled onions, and In-N-Out's unmistakable sauce, known simply as "spread."  Named after the rowdy customers who frequented In-N-Out restaurants during the franchise's early days, they're so beloved that they even inspired a copycat recipe in one of Las Vegas' hottest steakhouses. If you want to spice up your next order of Animal Style fries, do yourself a favor and order them with In-N-Out's optional chili peppers.

"Wait! Getting chopped chilis on fries can be a thing? Mind Blown," wrote one Reddit user in response to another, who recommended upgrading Animal Style fries in this manner. While many are yet unaware of this option, if you ask for them, In-N-Out will provide you with a serving of small but potent cascabella peppers. These innocuous-looking chilis, usually eaten when yellow, range between 1,500 to 6,000 units on the Scoville scale, making them similar in spiciness to the jalapeño. 

Though they're not as famous as banana peppers or pepperoncini, it is no surprise that In-N-Out offer the cascabella, as California has long enjoyed a love affair with this particular chili. In fact, In-N-Out and several other restaurant chains were thrown into crisis when, in 2016, the cascabella supply collapsed by as much as 60% due to a reported combination of disease, poor weather, and adverse soil conditions, and In-N-Out instructed its employees to ration the precious chilis to two per request.

Cascabella chilis also make a satisfyingly intense topping for In-N-Out burgers, so why not add to them to Animal Style fries? Well, consider the order's other garnishes. The cheese will be rich and unctuous, while the onions will bring a savory-sweetness after being caramelized to an absurd degree. So, while the constituent elements of your Animal Style fries undeniably bring lots of flavor to the party, heat is one thing they lack, which makes In-N-Out chilis the perfect adornment.

For true spice hounds who want to experience and contrast multiple kinds of heat sensation, pair your chili pepper-bedecked Animal Style fries with one of In-N-Out's mustard burgers. These call for the uncooked side of the patty to be drizzled with mustard while it is on the grill before being flipped, allowing the condiment's flavor to bind to the meat as it cooks. The heat we feel from chili peppers comes from capsaicin, a compound that binds to pain receptors in the mouth, whereas mustard owes its spiciness to chemicals called isothiocyanates that, as any Dijon devotee will tell you, hit you right in the nose. Combining the two therefore guarantees a true taste inferno — be sure to have a cold beverage nearby.