Never Eat Soggy In-N-Out Fries Again With This Simple Ordering Request

In-N-Out is consistently ranked one of the best fast food joints in the country. Millions swear by the chain's no-frills burgers (especially when ordered animal-style) and shakes, with powerful names regularly speaking out in agreement that no one does fast food like In-N-Out. These include Julia Child (who loved the restaurant), Ina Garten, and Anthony Bourdain. Here's the thing: Most people love the burgers, but they don't always love In-N-Out's french fries. 

I myself am a devoted fan of In-N-Out and while I order the fries each time I visit, it's mostly a matter of principle. They're honestly not great (ketchup covers up a multitude of sins) and are often described as limp and soggy. I love that they're made fresh, never frozen, but they seriously lack the crisp factor that makes, say, McDonald's fries so craveable. As it turns out, you can order In-N-Out fries on the crispier side, if you just know what to say.

When you order In-N-Out french fries "well done," they will be cooked a bit longer than normal, resulting in a crispier exterior. It's unclear why the burger chain doesn't automatically cook its fries to be crispier, but at least it's an option. It's worth noting that even ordering the fries well done doesn't mean they'll taste exactly like other fast food chains' versions. In-N-Out fries are made from only potatoes and sunflower oil, but other fast food fries achieve their flavor and texture by adding a lot of ingredients that are hard to pronounce and heavily processed. Clearly, "real food" tastes different, but a little extra time in the fryer doesn't hurt.

There are actually several different ways you can customize your french fries at In-N-Out. Of course, there's the company's famous "animal-style" version in which your paper boat of fries comes topped with melted cheese, spread (similar to Thousand Island dressing), and grilled onions. Thousand Island is now considered a staple ingredient at many burger chains. Alternatively, you can order fries topped with just cheese or only spread. To get lemon pepper fries, order your fries how you like them and request a packet of ground black pepper alongside a couple of lemon wedges. In this case, you'll do the flavoring yourself, but apparently there is a fan base to these fries.

Not all of In-N-Out's fry hacks involve extra ingredients. Similar to ordering them well done, you can also request the opposite. That is, if you like your fries really soft, ask for them to be cooked "light." If for some reason this is still too crispy for your tastes, consider "two minute fries." I imagine these are just barely past the point of raw potatoes and extraordinarily greasy, but I haven't confirmed this. For myself, I'll definitely be trying my fries well done the next time I'm getting my Double Double fix. Perhaps I won't need quite as much ketchup this time.