“Saturday night and it’s gettin’ late
I’m gettin’ hungry, I just can’t wait
Not just any kind of burger will do
I’m being hit by those White Castle Blues”
The Smithereens wrote White Castle Blues in ’86, immortalizing these late night, iconic after-party munchies. Then the 2004 film Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle affirmed those feelings for a new generation. Open 24/7 White Castle offers a cheap, greasy burger on a soft steamed bun, but it is oh, so, good. For me, I ate them to satisfy my hunger pangs long ago, when they were only 12 cents.
I still suffer the White Castle Blues, because the nearest castle is six hours away in St. Louis.
A Little About White Castle and Sliders
White Castle is our nation’s first hamburger chain, established in 1921 by Billy Ingram in Wichita, Kansas. The price was 5 cents, gradually increasing to ten cents by 1950, but 12 cents is the earliest I can remember. Today they are about 1$ each, still a bargain.
Their burgers are 100% beef with onions, topped with a pickle on a steamed bun. Cheese and condiments were added as options later. Though I love cheese, the plain original remains my favorite. The simple taste of seasoned beef, onion and pickle is unbeatable.
The original slogan was “Buy ’em by the sack” and by 2001 they declared them “What you crave”. Always affordable and open late the small oniony, greasy burger with the soft bun defined the term “slider”. It made a life-long impression on my taste buds.
Today, I took a break from “fancy food” to recreate them at home.
Let’s Make Some!
My objective was to duplicate the slider you receive at any of the company “castles”, but while doing so did I actually improve upon them? I believe I did.
The beef patties for homemade white castle sliders are easy to make using the ingredients listed on their website. 100% ground beef, salt and pepper. What is not listed because it falls below the quantities for required reporting is onion powder and other seasoning.
The additional ingredients, with the exception of onion powder are unnecessary and don’t significantly impact the flavor. That brings me to my improvement on the original – an ever so slightly larger slider. I cannot find buns as small as theirs which segues to the need for a larger patty, so the size grows by about 1/4″ per burger. More of the same wonderful goodness in each slider – yes, please!
Homemade white castle sliders begin with 1 lb of 75% lean ground beef. Place it in a food processor and pulse into a fine grind while adding the mixed salt, black pepper and onion powder.
Spread the ground beef onto a baking half-sheet covered with parchment paper into a large 9″ x 12″ rectangle, then slice the beef into 3″ square patties with a table knife. Poke five 1/4″ holes into each patty using a wooden dowel or any round object in the same pattern as the pips on a five side of a gaming die.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 90 minutes until the patties are frozen solid. Remove them, turn them over and peel off the parchment paper, separate each patty and return them to the freezer until ready to cook.
Place a half cup of dehydrated onions in a sauce pot with three cups of water and 1/4 cup of beef stock. Bring to a simmer, turn off the heat, cover and let set for 90 minutes to re-hydrate. The beef stock will add the flavors of the mystery seasonings. Stir occasionally until ready to cook.
Preheat a griddle on your stovetop or a grill to 250. Ladle the onions and water on the griddle and spread in a pattern large enough to place each beef patty on the bed of onions, not directly on the griddle surface. Place the beef patties in a tight pattern touching one another. Place the inside of a bun bottom on top of each patty, then place a top over the cracks between each bottom bun, trapping the steam. Cook for about 5-6 minutes until cooked through.
When ready, use a spatula to lift a burger with onions off the grill. Place the top bun under the spatula and slide the burger off. Turn upright and set aside. Repeat for the remaining burgers.
Remove the top, place a pickle slice or two and optional cheese or condiments on the burger and replace the top. Serve quickly.
If you want the real original thing, check here to find the nearest castle! Print
Homemade White Castle Sliders
Homemade, unauthorized recreation of the iconic White Castle Slider
- Prep Time: 45
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb 75/25 ground beef
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 12 square slider buns – Wal-Mart square yeast rolls
- 1/2 cup minced dried onions
- 1/4 cup beef stock
- 3 cups water
- Dill pickle slices
- American sliced cheese – optional
- Condiments – optional
Instructions
- Make the beef patties: Place the ground beef in a food processor. Combine the salt, pepper and onion powder, then add in two or three parts while pulsing the ground beef into a fine grind
- Cover a half baking sheet with parchment paper. Using your hands and/or a rolling pin spread the beef over the parchment paper and into a large 9″ x 12″ square
- Divide the beef into 12 patties with a table knife. Don’t cut the parchment paper
- Make (5) 1/4″ holes in each patty using a wooden dowel or any blunt round object. Pattern the holes like the 5 pips on a pair of dice
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze the patties solid about 90 minutes
- While waiting for the patties to freeze, re-hydrate the onions with a mixture of the water and beef stock. Bring it to a low simmer while stirring, turn off the heat, cover and steep until the burger patties are ready
- Heat a griddle to 250 F. Remove the patties from the freezer, turn over and peel off the parchment paper and separate the patties carefully to avoid breaking them. stack them and return to freezer until ready to cook
- Separate and carefully slice the rolls into tops and bottoms with a bread knife
- When the griddle is hot, spread the onions with plenty of water over the surface large enough to place all the patties in rows on the onions. Let the patties touch and make sure you place the patties ON the onions, not on a bare griddle surface
- Cover the beef patties with the inside of the bun bottoms, then cover the cracks between the bun bottoms with the bun tops to trap the steam
- Cook for 5-6 minutes until done. Use a spatula to scoop up each burger with some onion, place the top under the spatula and slide it off. Turn over and set aside. Repeat for the remaining burgers
- Lift the top of each burger and add cheese (optional), then a pickle or two and optional condiments, then replace the top bun
- Stack on paper plates to serve