Nicknamed “Sliders” and “Gut Bombers,” these famous tiny burgers were one of the earliest fast-food creations. It all started in 1921 when E.W. Ingram borrowed $700 to open a hamburger stand in Wichita, Kansas. He was able to pay the loan back within ninety days. Ingram chose the name White Castle because “white” signified purity and cleanliness, while “castle” represented strength and permanence, and stability. White Castle lived up to its name, maintaining permanence and stability by growing steadily over the years to a total of 380 restaurants. Ingrams inspiration was the development of steam-grilling, a unique process that helped the burgers retain moisture. The secret is simply to grill the meat over a small pile of onions. Five holes in each mini-burger help to ensure thorough cooking without having to flip the patties. Today customers can still buy these burgers “by the sack” at the outlets, or pick them up in the freezer section of most grocery stores.
Source; “More Top Secret Recipes” by Todd Wilbur.
- 1 pound ground beef
- 8 hot-dog buns or 16 hamburger buns or rounds of pita
- 1/2 medium onion
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- American cheese (optional)
- pickle slices (optional)
Chop the onions into small pieces and place in a pan with some oil over medium-low heat. Flatten the beef between sheets of wax or parchment paper. Roll out thinly with a rolling pin. Whack with salt, pepper, and onion powder. Cut the meat into squares and cook on top of the onions. After flipping, top with cheese.
Original version: - Prepare the beef ahead of time by separating into sixteen 1-ounce portions and flattening each on wax paper into very thin square patties, about 2 1/2 inches on a side. Using a small circular object like the tip of a pen cap, make five small, evenly spaced holes in each patty. Freeze the patties (still on the wax paper) completely and you're ready to cook. - If you're using hot-dog buns, cut off the ends and then cut each bun in half to make 2 buns from each. If you're using hamburger buns, cut each down to about a 2 1/2-inch square. - Slice the onion into match-size pieces. - Grill the faces of the buns in a large pan over medium heat. - In the hot pan, spread out tablespoon-size piles of onions 3 inches apart. Salt and pepper each pile of onions. - On each pile of onions place a frozen beef patty. You may have to spread the onions out some so that the hamburger patty lies flat. Salt each patty as it cooks. - Cook each burger for 4 to 5 minutes on the onions. If you made the burgers thin enough, the holes will ensure that each patty is cooked thoroughly without flipping them over. - Assemble by steaming the buns with the burgers and then sandwiching the patty and onions between each bun.
Makes 16 burgers.
Tidbits: If you want to add pickle slices to your burger, as you can at White Castle outlets, stack them on top of the grilled onions.
For a cheeseburger, you'll have to cut a slice of American cheese to the same size as your burger, and then it goes on top of the onions, under the pickles, if you use pickles. Got it?