16 dinner rolls (the kind that are square when separated)
1/2 small onion, minced
salt
pepper
1. Prepare the patties by separating the ground beef into 16 1-ounce portions. On a sheet of wax paper, form the portions into square, very thin, 2 1/2-inch patties. Using a small, circular object, such as a straw or the tip of a clean pen cap, create five holes in each patty. Make one hole in the center of the patty and four holes surrounding the first one, with each about half an inch in from each corner. Freeze these patties, still on the wax paper, until firm.
2. Toast the faces of the dinner rolls, either in a hot frying pan over medium heat, or under the oven broiler.
3. In a hot frying pan or skillet preheated over medium heat, arrange tablespoon-size piles of onions, 3 inches apart. Salt and pepper each pile of onions.
4. Spread the onions flat, and then place a frozen beef patty on each pile of onions. Salt each patty.
5. Cook each burger for 4 to 6 minutes. If you made the patties thin enough, steam from the onions will rise around the meat and through the holes in the patty, cooking the meat thoroughly without having to flip it.
6. Plate each patty by placing the botton of a roll on top of the patty, then using a turner (spatula) to remove both the patty and onions under each patty (and, of course, the roll bottom). Put the spatula slightly under an overturned plate and flip it back upright. (Or just remove the roll, patty, and onions with the spatula and, holding a napkin to the roll, flip it over. Top with top of roll.
This is as close as you can get at home to a WC burger. For real authenticiy, serve with coffee on a dirty table.
Note: One serving is about 3 or 4 of these, possibly more. Most males eat at last 6. A friend ate 39 once on a bet. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 06-02-06, 07:48 PM Sailracer Who asked you? !!! WRONG! Bad info as to Castles at home! My instructions are available if you e-mail me!
06-02-06, 07:49 PM DorianGreyed We disagree.
06-02-06, 08:06 PM Sailracer I'm an expert on the subject: we need to discuss this!
The company was founded in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas, when entrepreneur Edgar Waldo "Billy" Ingram partnered with cook Walter Anderson, who had developed an efficient way of cooking hamburgers quickly. Anderson's original method used freshly ground beef and fresh onions. The ground beef was formed into balls by machine, 18 to a pound, or 40 per kilogram. The balls were placed upon a hot grill and topped with a handful of fresh thinly shredded onion. Then they were flipped so that the onion was under the ball. The ball was then squashed down, turning the ball into a very thin patty, The bottom of the bun was then placed atop the cooking patty with the bun top on top of that so that the juices from the beef and the onion would permeate the bun. After grilling, a slice of dill pickle was inserted before serving. Management decreed that any additives, such as ketchup or mustard, must be added by the customer. Anderson's method is not in use by the chain today, having changed when the company switched from using fresh beef and fresh onion to small, frozen square patties (originally supplied by Swift & Co.) which are cooked atop a bed of dehydrated onions laid out on a grill. The heat and steam rises up from the grill, through the onions. In 1949 five holes in the patty were added to facilitate quick and thorough cooking. The very thin patties are not flipped throughout this process. This "steam grilled" method is unique among major fast food restaurants. -------- Read what White Castle says at whitecastle.com/_pages/secret
I omitted the pickle in my recipe because I like my pickles on the side. In my recipe, I toast the bun before placing the botton on the patty because the surface of the frying pan used at home will not reach the 500-700° temperature that a commercial grill/griddle reaches*. That lower temperature means that patty needs more time to cook at home, causing the bun to steam too much at home, resulting in a barely usable mush rather than a burger bun.
*This grill temperature of a commercial grill is also why it is almost impossible to exactly replicate a Steak & Shake Steakburger® at home, even though it is nothing but a 2.5 ounce patty on a toasted bun. There are simply some things that cannot be done in a regular home kitchen. Unless you get a really expensive stove, a home stove will never reach the temperatures that a commercial range can. Most commercial gas lines are not only bigger than home gas lines, but also at a higher pressure.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed, 06-03-06 01:31 AM
06-04-06, 06:05 PM gizmogram SR? Why don't you post your recipe as well, and then people who have actually eaten WC burgers can try both versions and let us know which is better.
Personally, I've never had a White Castle burger - and if given my druthers, would elect to make just one nice juicy hamburger with all the fixin's. Wink
06-04-06, 08:09 PM juanruiz All I can say is that I haven't had a slider in decades. But I can still taste it.
06-04-06, 08:15 PM Sherasi I've never eaten one either. But I am starting to get a craving for a good burger or hotdog cooked on a grill. {drooling here}
Of course not having had dinner may be the source of my hunger.. LOLOLOL
This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,
Posts: 17551 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
