In-N-Out's Secret Menu Flying Dutchman, Explained

It's well known that In-N-Out Burger's simple menu (which only lists three styles of burgers, fries, and drinks) is deceptive and that a wide secret menu is available to order from. In-N-Out keeps up the facade to some extent, but even its website now lists a "Not So Secret Menu" that explains popular secret menu picks like Animal Style burgers and fries. There's still no In-N-Out chicken sandwich, but you've got options for hamburgers and they can get unusual.

If you've seen something called the "Flying Dutchman" going around, it's certainly an inside-out take on cheeseburgers: In-N-Out's Flying Dutchman burger contains no bread or vegetables of any kind and is instead just two hamburger patties with a couple of cheese slices in between them. Essentially, the meat itself serves as the bun. A popular variant that's gone viral on social media includes an extra addition that makes the bare-bones burger slightly more interesting: grilled onions for buns, with the two beef patties and cheese slices as the filling. You'll need to wash your hands after eating either version, but there's an appeal to a Flying Dutchman with no hamburger buns.

In In-N-Out terminology, the Flying Dutchman would be considered a Double-Double without buns or extras. Ordering a Flying Dutchman may range between $5 and $6, costing the same price or slightly less than a Double Double. However, the cost can vary because the secret menu doesn't always have prices set in stone.

You have to make sure you order the right item, too: During the height of the onion-bunned variant's popularity, lots of customers were ordering a Flying Dutchman expecting grilled onions and receiving just beef patties and cheese. To get grilled onion buns, you must order the Onion Wrapped Flying Dutchman specifically. On top of that, you can also order your Flying Dutchman Animal Style, which means diced onions are added to the cheese alongside a side of pickles and fast food special sauce.

It's not entirely clear where the name comes from, but the Flying Dutchman is an old legend about a ghostly ship that sails the seas for eternity without ever coming to port. Some In-N-Out fans speculate that the patties have nowhere to dock without bread to hold the burger together, but we may never truly know.

Beyond the novelty of the Flying Dutchman, there are plenty of reasons to consider trying it. Removing the bun won't make a hamburger a significantly healthier lunch, but it's a quick way to remove some carbohydrates and a few calories, although not many. It's also helpful for anybody with celiac disease whose bodies struggle to digest the gluten in foods like hamburger buns. This kind of bun experimentation is hardly unique to In-N-Out's secret menu – lots of hamburger bun swaps have been tried to varying degrees of tastiness and messiness. Sweet potato buns, lettuce buns, and sliders with pickle buns are all different directions if you start putting together a Flying Dutchman-type creation of your own.

There's a reason we use hamburger buns, though. They were invented in early 20th-century America, with differing legends on whether they came about because regular bread kept falling apart from all the burger grease or because bakeries had too many hot dog buns and nothing to do with them. Regardless, they do a great job helping you eat that patty and cheese, so do be wary of the Flying Dutchman's call and the mess it may leave behind.