Long before Himself and children, my roommate Sara and I would make the trek to White Castle’s for some sliders or Gut Busters as we liked to call them. Piping hot and smelling so good we could down two or three before our brain knew what was happening and made us slow down. Kinda like Krispie Kreme Hot and Nows. Those days are far away and so is the nearest White Castle, therefore I have resorted to making my own. I have tried the frozen kind but I prefer fresh.
Let’s start. First evenly cover the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish with 1/2 cup dried onion flakes.
Firmly pat 2 pounds of ground chuck over top of the onion flakes and sprinkle with your favorite seasoned salt. It must be chuck to render juices, a lean ground beef will be too dry. You need an 80/20 combo for good flavor and juices.
Bake for 25 minutes in a 400 degree oven. The beef will shrink and the onions will rehydrate from the meat juices, er, grease. Blot grease from the top of the giant patty, cover with 6 slices cheddar cheese and return to oven for 2 more minutes.
Cut the burger patty into 24 pieces.
Slice open 24 party rolls and separate. Place bottoms of rolls on a platter. Using a small spatula, lift patties with onions and place on each bun bottom.
Top each slider with a dill slice.
Top off with bun lids and enjoy immediately.
Look at the juicy layer of onions, a signature of White Castle Sliders.
White Castle-like Sliders
1/2 cup dried onion flakes
2 pounds ground chuck- 80/20 ground beef
1/2 t. seasoned salt
6 slices cheddar cheese
24 small party rolls- I use Martin’s Potato Bread Party Rolls
24 dill pickle slices
Evenly spread the onions on the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Gently press the ground beef on top of the onion flakes. Press evenly making one giant pattie. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Using a paper towel, pat the excess grease from the top of the pattie. 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 pattie with onion layer onto each bun bottom. Top each slider with a pickle slice then the bun lid. Serve immediately. Makes 24 Sliders.
Note- I store these 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 mircowave for 20 seconds then 5 second increments after that until warm through.
Our last day of school is this Friday, a bittersweet day actually. I look forward to being off with my children this summer but it also hurts me that another year has passed all too quickly. I wish I could slow down time when it comes to my children growing up so fast.
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132 Comments
I just thought I would let you know that this is an often requested item in our house, now!! When the boy comes home from college, when the Bears are on, when the mood strikes! Thanks so much for sharing!
Very cute.
Just made a half batch, they were delicious. However, next time, i'm thinking i may try adding a few fresh, fine-chopped onions, in addition to the dehydrated ones. Excellent Post!
We made these last night & enjoyed them. The process was very easy & we look forward to doing it again. We did find the onions to be overpowering though. I'm trying to think up ways to make them sweeter instead of so strong. Maybe I'll toss the dried onions in 1 T sugar & butter, then use a 90/10 meat. We served them on hawaiian rolls which was terrific!
Making these tonight, no onions for these kids. Can't wait. DELISH!
They were great! I now have a super easy meal that we all 4 will eat!!! Thank you. My husband even said to add them to the rotation. ;o) Thanks!
Very excited about this recipe. I found a package of 24 mini-buns at my grocery store and decided that I wanted to use your method but end up with thinner patties that would fit the buns better. So I am using a jelly roll pan, and I broke up the meat carefully and sort of sprinkled it to make a thin layer, then used plastic wrap to help me compress it into an even thickness. I will bake it for probably a shorter time. Will let you know how they turn out!
Kimberly
Salem, OR
to the folks on the west coast. I'll ship you some real white castle if you send me some carl jr..
I've never had White Castle, being that they don't have any Canadian locations… I'll have to give this a try.
These were great! I've followed your recipe several times and now I've finally got them on my blog too. I've got a link back to yours!
http://fromlaptoptostovetop.blogspot.com/2010/02/sliders-great-burgers.html
I used to eat WC once a week in HS, but now i go to college in buffalo (no white castles for hundred of miles)… the most I have eaten is 33 in one sitting, looking forward to my first attempt at making and eating these bad boys
I never tried white castle, but this looks close enough. Delicious looking babies, mhmmm..
Nice. I do a similar recipe but use chopped shallot instead of the dry onion flakes.
I thank you and my family thanks you! What a great recipe. Thanks for sharing. I found your web site via Stumble Upon today and I am hooked!
Fantastic recipe! So glad I Stumbled here.
Since I use mainly organic meats (yes, even for junk food) it can be tough to find ground beef with enough fat to make this work. What we did to solve this problem was add three slices of diced uncooked organic bacon to lean ground beef. Worked like a charm and got rave reviews from the group, even if it wasn't much like White Castle.
Want to recreate the true thinness? Use a cookie sheet and spread the onion – add just a smidgen of water to moisten.
Use a rolling pin to roll out your meat "slab" and when you transfer it to the cookie sheet, use the end of a dowel or a rounded end of a kitchen utensil to punch holes about an inch apart all across the slab up and down. This will let the onion steam rise through, cook the meat a bit faster and get that flavor in more fully. It also doesn't trap the onion beneath the meat and make it heavy onion tasting.
During the last 5-7 minutes of cooking, place a cake pan of water underneath the cookie sheet on a lower rack. Place the bun bottoms face down (inside to the meat) across and down the meat slab – leave about 1/4 inch between on all sides. Place the but tops rounded sides up on top of the bun bottoms. Allow the meat, onions, buns to continue cooking getting steam from the water in the cake pan.
That's the closest you'll get to actual cooking method for White Castle unless you have a flat griddle and do it the fast food way.
Very good… Just like a White Castle. Thanks.
My sister in law, Aggie from Aggie's Kitchen just posted about these…she got the recipe from you. I wanted to come over and check out your site. I can't wait to try these sliders. I'm thinking this 4th of July weekend would be the perfect time.
Also, there's a little something for you over here…
looks delicious, thank you for sharing, going to cook some up tonight for my guys while they watch the ball games
Thank you. I "stumbledupon" your WC's. I immediately forwarded it to a college student (friend) to add to his Survival kit. My family is thumbs up from my translation of the description So I've got all the ingredients and I just need to hear that my wife's on the way home and in they go.
I got the word and in they went. When I added the cheese I put in a rack with the buns and two minutes later sliders were up.
Full family approval and serious consideration for serving as a "quicky" for informal guests.
hey – i'm going to include this in my february 7/11 round-up for my copycat club if that's ok with you. thanks!!!
I made these tonight, and they were a huge hit! Thank you so much!
Shawna- Thanks for coming back and letting me know, it means so much to me!
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