I, like so many other people, always assumed that In-N-Out burgers only came one way: well done. The vast majority of fast food burgers are served this way and, while I don't mind the odd crisp edge that appears on well-cooked burgers, many fast food fans lament the lack of juiciness in their meat. Lament no more, In-N-Out fans. According to a post on A Hamburger Today, you can get your burgers cooked medium-rare or rare at In-N-Out restaurants. Someone who identified himself as an In-N-Out associate told them that all you have to do is let the person taking your order know that you want it cooked to a certain doneness.

A fresh, delicious and extra juicy fast food burger? Quick - someone stop by In-N-Out for lunch and try this out. We want to know if it's true!

It is difficult to tell when a steak is done simply by looking at it unless you like your meat very, very rare or very, very well-done. The cooking times given in recipes, if given at all, tend to be vague because the temperatures that our grills and stoves work at can vary so widely. For example, a dial set to "medium heat"  on one stove might actually produce as large a flame as "high heat" in another kitchen. Cutting meat open once at the end of cooking isn't a big deal, but if you need to keep checking the interior of the meat, you can lose a lot of the cooking juices. The best way to check if the meat is done is by using a meat thermometer (125F for rare, 135F for medium, and 155F for well-done, according to Real Simple), but you can also use your hand as a reference and determine the doneness from the firmness of the meat.

I labeled a diagram of a hand, above, to identify the reference points. Simply press the labeled spots on your hand. They correspond with the following levels of doneness:

1. Rare meat should feel soft and offer little resistance to pressure.
2. Medium meat should feel firm, but with a little bit of give to it. The less give, the more well-done the piece will be.
3. Well done meat should also feel firm, but will have only minimal give to it.