White Castle Sliders One Mans Journey For Truth Recipes

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.

Steps:

• Put the onion in a medium bowl and cover with 1/2 cup water. Set aside 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, puree the beef with 2 teaspoons water, the onion powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a food processor until smooth. Draw a 6-by-12-inch rectangle on a piece of parchment paper; flip over the paper so the pencil side is down (you should still be able to see the rectangle). Press the beef into the rectangle; cover with another piece of parchment and press until the beef is very thin and fills the rectangle completely. Uncover and score the beef into eight 3-inch-square patties. Poke 5 holes into each patty with a chopstick (one in the center and one near each corner). Slide the beef on the parchment onto a baking sheet, loosely cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Trim the edges of the rectangle to make it even; cut patties along the scored lines. Heat an extra-large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and liquid; bring to a boil. Stir in the butter and arrange the patties over the onion. Cook until the meat is no longer pink around the edges, 3 to 4 minutes. Put a bun bottom upside down on each patty. To steam the bun tops, rest each across 2 bun bottoms (like a bridge). Continue cooking until the patties are completely cooked through, about 2 more minutes, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons water if the skillet is too dry or if the onion starts browning.
• Remove the bun tops from the skillet. Slide a spatula under each patty, picking up the onions and bun bottoms along with the meat; flip over onto a plate. Top each with a pickle and a bun top.

Steps:

• Evenly spread the onions on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Gently press the ground beef on top of the onion flakes.
• Press evenly making one giant patty.
• Sprinkle with seasoned salt.
• Bake in a 400°F oven for 20 minutes.
• Using a paper towel, pat the excess grease from the top of the patty.
• Top with cheddar cheese, return to oven for 2 more minutes.
• Remove from oven, let set 5 minutes then cut into 24 patties.
• Slice open and separate each party roll.
• Place bottom of rolls on a large platter.
• Using a spatula lift patty with onion layer onto each bun bottom.
• Top each slider with a pickle slice then the bun lid.
• Serve immediately.
• Makes 24 sliders.
• Note- To make ahead -- store upside-down in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This will prevent the bottom bun from getting soggy from the onion layer. To reheat, place a few on a microwave safe plate and heat in the microwave for 20 seconds then 5 second increments after that until warm through.