White Castle Sliders One Mans Journey For Truth Recipes

COPYCAT WHITE CASTLE SLIDERS

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Mix ground beef and 1/3 cup of the beef consommé together until mixture is easily spreadable. Gently press and spread meat mixture onto lined baking sheet until you form an 11" x 9" inch rectangle in a thin and even layer. (Or 1", all the way around, larger than your package of rolls to allow for shrinkage of beef when cooked).
• Using a pizza wheel, score, cutting through into 12 equal squares. (3 rows of 4). Make 5 holes in each square patty using a toothpick and your index finger resembling the 5-dot pattern of standard playing dice. Cover with another sheet of plastic wrap and pop into freezer for at least 2 hours or overnight for later. (Until firm).
• When frozen, remove and carefully snap apart frozen patties along score lines, separating each.
• Preheat oven to 450º F.
• Pour remaining beef consommé onto a baking sheet, tilt to coat entire bottom and sprinkle evenly with dried minced onions. Let sit for 5 minutes to let the onions absorb some of the broth and rehydrate. Lightly and evenly, sprinkle entire mixture with garlic salt, pepper, and onion powder.
• With a spatula, squeegee the mixture into a smaller rectangle to place the patties on, leaving about a 1" space all around the outside. Place frozen beef patties on top of seasoned onion mixture, leaving a little space in-between each one. Lightly sprinkle top evenly with a little regular salt and pepper, about an 1/8 tsp. of each. (*A little bit more doesn't hurt!)
• Pop into fully-preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes to allow burgers to steam-cook, and until browned.
• While patties are baking, cut rolls in half making buns.
• Remove patties from oven and place 2 cheese squares onto each patty overlapping slightly, (if making cheese burger sliders). Top each with 1 - 2 dill pickle slices. Top each with a bun top, cover tightly with foil, and pop back into oven for 3 minutes.
• Place bottom buns onto serving platter. Remove patties from oven. Use a solid (no drain holes) spatula to pick up each slider with the onions and some juice from the pan, and place onto bottom buns. Use the same foil and tightly cover well for 1 minute to let rest and steam. Remove foil and serve immediately. Enjoy!!
• To Reheat: Place on microwave-safe plate, cover sliders with a damp sheet of paper towel, and zap at 50% for about 1 minute and 20 seconds for 2 sliders, or until heated through.

WHITE CASTLE SLIDERS: ONE MAN'S JOURNEY FOR TRUTH

Steps:

• 1. MYTH BUSTING: There have been a lot of rumors on what exactly a White Castle hamburger is composed of... just go out on the Internet and see for yourself. Some of the wilder ones are that White Castle hamburgers contain: • 30% liver... (Yummy) • 20% beef baby food (I'm not kidding) • 2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter per pound of beef Can you imagine the lawsuits that White Castle would have if they put a nut product in their burgers, and didn't mention that to anyone? Think of all the people who have allergies to nuts. For the record, White Castle hamburgers are 100 beef... FULL STOP. How do I know... Well, because I had one analyzed at a food lab. 100% pure ground beef with a 20% fat content... okay I'm a geek, forgive me.
• 2. THEY'RE NOT COOKED... THEY'RE STEAMED: A White Castle hamburger never touches the grill; in essence it rests on a bed of gently cooking onions, and they slowly steam the meat, and the buns.
• 3. THE MUSTARD: At the White Castle that I occasioned, they had this wonderful brown mustard. To me, it wasn't a White Castle hamburger without that mustard. I assumed that all White Castle's used that mustard; however, they do not. It's more of a Midwest thing... go figure. Anyway, for me that "special" mustard was part of the experience. I NEEDED that dang mustard to complete the experience. You can purchase "White Castle" mustard, but it's hard to find. I wanted to see if there was a commercial mustard that might do the trick, and 15 bottles of brown mustard later, the winner is: Lowensenf Extra. It's German brown creamy mustard with just a wonderful hint of vinegar.
• 4. SECRET INGREDIENT: If there is a secret ingredient to the White Castle Burger, it's not peanut butter, baby food (yuk), or liver (double yuk); it's in the onions. The onions have to be dried, and rehydrated before using.
• 5. THE PICKLE: Only one pickle per slider, please. But to cook the pickle or not, that is the question. In the end I cooked the pickle along with the burger. It was a marriage made in heaven.
• 6. Movie Trivia: In the movie Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (yes, they did actually make a movie about White Castle), the actor that played Kumar was a strict vegetarian, so at the end of the movie when they're scarfing down all those sliders, Kumar's are veggie burgers... kind of ruins the point of the whole movie.
• 7. PREP/PREPARE
• 8. Gather your ingredients.
• 9. Chef's Note: In order to get the best visual experience, your patty needs to be the same size as the bun. Mine were 2.5 inches (6.3cm), so I made the raw patties 3 inches (7.5cm), and when they cooked they shrank down to the proper size.
• 10. Press the meat out into a square to the dimensions of the four sliders.
• 11. Chef's Note: We have enough beef for 4 sliders, so make a square 6x6 inches (12.5cm). We're adding a bit extra to account for shrinkage during cooking.
• 12. Chef's Note: The beef should be 1/5 inch (.5cm) thick.
• 13. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
• 14. Remove from freezer, and cut into four equal burgers of 3 inches (7.5cm) each.
• 15. Use a soda straw or other small hole punch to create the iconic five holes per burger.
• 16. Chef's Note: Those five holes are not for decoration they are very important to the cooking process. They allow the burger to be cooked without flipping.
• 17. Return the burgers to the freezer until completely frozen, about 60 minutes.
• 18. Add the onion powder to the hot beef stock and mix to combine.
• 19. Rehydrate the onions in the hot beef stock, about 15 minutes.
• 20. Chef's Note: White Castle began using dehydrated onions back during World War II, when most fresh produce was going to the troops. They liked how they worked with the sliders and never stopped using them.
• 21. Place a skillet or griddle over medium heat and allow to heat up.
• 22. Place an area of onions on the griddle/skillet with a bit of the liquid.
• 23. Chef's Note: the minimum number to cook at a time is 4 sliders.
• 24. Place 4 patties on top of the onions, and separate by 1/2 inch (1.2cm).
• 25. Place the bottom of the buns, cut side down, on each patty.
• 26. Place the top buns across the gaps between the patties.
• 27. Allow to steam/cook for 4 to 6 minutes.
• 28. Remove the top buns and set aside.
• 29. Use a spatula to remove the burgers with the bottom buns, and place on a serving plate.
• 30. Add a bit of the mustard, if using, and place the tops on the burgers.
• 31. Serve while still warm. Enjoy.
• 32. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.